Be Careful What You Wish For

by Jeffrey Archer

  Everyone around the table turned to look at the one person none of them had come across before. He was dressed in a three-piece gray suit, white shirt and well-worn blue silk tie. He couldn’t have been more than an inch over five foot, and he was almost completely bald except for a thin, semi-circle of gray hair that barely reached his ears. Because he wore thick, horn-rimmed glasses, it was almost impossible to guess his age. Fifty? Sixty? Possibly even seventy? Mr. Hardcastle removed his glasses to reveal steel-gray eyes, and Emma felt certain that she had seen him before, but couldn’t remember where.

  “Good morning, Mr. Chairman,” was all he said, although those four words revealed which county he hailed from.

  “Let us move on to the business at hand,” said Buchanan. “By the deadline of six o’clock yesterday evening, two candidates had allowed their names to be put forward as prospective chairmen: Mrs. Emma Clifton, who is proposed by Sir Giles Barrington MC MP, and seconded by Dr. Grace Barrington, and Major Alex Fisher, proposed by Mr. Anscott and seconded by Mr. Knowles. Both candidates will now address the board on how they see the future of the company. I call upon Major Fisher to open proceedings.”

  Fisher didn’t move from his place. “I feel it would be courteous to allow the lady to speak first,” he said, giving Emma a warm smile.

  “How kind of you, major,” replied Emma, “but I’m quite happy to abide by the chairman’s decision and allow you to go first.”

  Fisher appeared to be a little flustered, but quickly recovered. He shuffled his notes, rose from his place and took a long look around the table, before he began to speak.

  “Mr. Chairman, members of the board. I consider it a great privilege even to be considered as a candidate for chairman of the Barrington Shipping Company. As a Bristol man born and bred, I have been aware of this great company all my life, its history, its tradition, as well as its reputation, which has become part of Bristol’s great sea-going heritage. Sir Joshua Barrington was a legendary figure, and Sir Walter, whom I had the privilege of knowing”—Emma looked surprised, unless “knowing” her grandfather meant bumping into him at a school speech day some thirty years ago—“was responsible for taking this company public and building its reputation as one of the leading shipping institutions, not only in this country, but around the world. But sadly that is no longer the case, partly because Sir Walter’s son, Sir Hugo, was simply not up to the job, and although our present chairman has done a great deal to restore the firm’s reputation, a series of recent events, not of his making, have led to a lack of confidence among some of our shareholders. What you, my fellow directors, have to decide today,” said Fisher, once again looking around the table, “is who is best equipped to deal with that crisis of confidence. Given the circumstances, I feel I should mention my credentials when it comes to fighting battles. I served my country as a young lieutenant at Tobruk, described by Montgomery as one of the bloodiest battles in history. I was lucky enough to survive that onslaught, when I was decorated in the field.”

  Giles put his head in his hands. He would have liked to tell the board what had really happened when the enemy had appeared over the North African horizon, but he knew it wouldn’t help his sister’s cause.

  “My next battle was when I stood against Sir Giles Barrington as the Conservative candidate at the last general election,” said Fisher, emphasizing the word Conservative, as he felt it was unlikely that, with the exception of Giles, anyone else around that table had ever voted Labor, “for the safe Labor seat of Bristol Docklands, losing by a mere handful of votes, and then only after three recounts.” This time he graced Giles with a smile.

  Giles wanted to leap up and wipe the smile off Fisher’s face, but somehow managed to restrain himself.

  “So I think I can say with some conviction that I have experienced both triumph and disaster, and, to quote Kipling, have treated those two imposters just the same.

  “And now,” he continued, “allow me to touch on some of the problems facing our distinguished company at the present time. And I stress at the present time. Just over a year ago we made an important decision, and may I remind the board that at that time I fully supported the chairman’s proposal to build the MV Buckingham. However, since then, there has been a succession of calamities, some unexpected, others that we should have foreseen, which have caused us to fall behind on our timetable. As a result, for the first time in the company’s history, we have had to consider going to the banks for a loan to assist us through these troubled times.

  “If I were elected chairman, allow me to tell you the three changes I would instigate immediately. First, I would invite Mrs. Clifton to be my deputy chairman, so that the City would be in no doubt that the Barrington family remains fully committed to the company’s future, as it has been for over a century.”

  Several “Hear, hears” emanated from around the table, and Fisher smiled at Emma for the second time since he’d joined the board. Giles had to admire the man’s gall, because he must have known that Emma wouldn’t consider returning the compliment, as she believed that Fisher was responsible for the company’s present troubles, and she certainly would never agree to serve as his deputy.

  “Secondly,” continued Fisher, “I would fly to Belfast tomorrow morning, sit down with Sir Frederick Rebbeck, chairman of Harland and Wolff, and set about renegotiating our contract, pointing out that his company has persistently declined to take responsibility for any of the unfortunate setbacks that have taken place during the construction of the Buckingham. And thirdly, I would employ a top security company to guard any equipment that is sent to Belfast on Barrington’s behalf, so that an act of sabotage like the one that took place on the Heysham ferry could never happen again. At the same time, I would take out new insurance policies that didn’t have pages of penalty clauses in very small print. Finally, I would add that if I am fortunate enough to become your chairman, I will start work this afternoon and not rest until the MV Buckingham has been launched on the high seas, and is showing the company a profitable return on its investment.”

  Fisher sat down to warm applause, smiles and nods of approval. Even before the clapping had died away, Emma realized she’d made a tactical mistake by allowing her opponent to go first. He had covered most of the points she had intended to make, and it would now look as if she was, at best, agreeing with him and, at worst, as if she had no ideas of her own. How well she recalled Giles humiliating the same man at Colston Hall during the recent election campaign. But it was a different man who had turned up at Barrington House that morning, and one look at her brother confirmed that he also had been taken by surprise.

  “Mrs. Clifton,” said the chairman. “Perhaps you’d like to share your ideas with the board?”

  Emma rose unsteadily to her feet as Grace gave her a thumbs-up sign, making her feel like a Christian slave about to be thrown to the lions.

  “Mr. Chairman, let me begin by saying that you see a reluctant candidate standing before you today, because if I had a choice you would remain as chairman of this company. It was only when you decided that you had no alternative but to stand down that I even considered taking your place and continuing the tradition of my family’s long association with this company. Let me begin by confronting what some board members may well consider my biggest disadvantage, my sex.”

  This remark caused an outburst of laughter, some of it nervous, although Susan Fisher looked sympathetic.

  “I suffer,” Emma continued, “from being a woman in a man’s world, and frankly there is nothing I can do about it. I appreciate that it will take a brave board to appoint a woman as chairman of Barrington’s, especially in the difficult circumstances we are currently facing. But then, courage and innovation are precisely what this company needs at the present time. Barrington’s stands at a crossroads, and whoever you select today will have to choose which signpost to follow. As you know, when the board decided last year that we should go ahead with the building of the Buckingham, I opposed the idea, and
voted accordingly. So it is only fair that I should let the board know where I currently stand on that issue. In my opinion, we cannot consider turning back, because that would spell humiliation, and possibly even oblivion, for the company. The board took its decision in good faith, and we owe it to our shareholders not to walk away and blame others, but instead to do everything in our power to make up any lost time, and to ensure that we succeed in the long term.”

  Emma looked down at a page of notes that repeated almost everything her rival had already said. She plowed on, hoping her natural enthusiasm and energy would overcome the fact that her colleagues were hearing the same ideas and opinions voiced for a second time.

  But by the time she reached the last line of her speech, she could feel the board’s interest slipping away. Giles had warned her that something unexpected would happen on the day, and it had. Fisher had raised his game.

  “May I close my remarks, Mr. Chairman, by saying that it would be a great privilege for this Barrington to be allowed to join her illustrious forebears and chair the board, especially at a time when the company faces such real difficulties. I know that with your help I can overcome those difficulties and win back Barrington’s good name, and its reputation for excellence and financial probity.”

  Emma sat down with a feeling that her report card would have read Could have done better. She just hoped that Giles was right about another of his pronouncements. Almost all of the people around that table would have already decided how they were going to vote long before the meeting had been called to order.

  Once the two candidates had pleaded their case, it was the board members’ turn to offer their opinion. Most of them wanted to have their say, but not a great deal of insight or originality was evident during the next hour, and despite refusing to answer the question “Would you appoint Major Fisher as your deputy?” Emma still felt the outcome was in the balance. That was until Lady Virginia spoke.

  “I only want to make one observation, chairman,” she cooed, accompanied by the fluttering of eyelashes. “I don’t believe that women were put on earth to chair boards, take on trade union leaders, build luxury liners or have to raise vast sums of money from bankers in the City of London. Much as I admire Mrs. Clifton and all she has achieved, I shall be supporting Major Fisher, and I only hope that she will accept the major’s generous offer to serve as his deputy. I came here with an open mind, willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but sadly she has not lived up to my expectations.”

  Emma had to admire Virginia’s nerve. She had clearly memorized every word of her script long before she’d entered the room, rehearsing even the dramatic pauses, yet somehow she managed to give the impression that she’d never intended to intervene until the last moment when she had been left with no choice but to deliver a few off-the-cuff remarks. Emma could only wonder how many of those seated around the boardroom table had been fooled. Certainly not Giles, who looked as if he could have strangled his former wife.

  Only two people had not offered an opinion by the time Lady Virginia resumed her seat. The chairman, courteous as ever, said, “Before I call for a vote, I wonder if Mrs. Fisher or Mr. Hardcastle would like to make a contribution?”

  “No, thank you, Mr. Chairman,” Susan Fisher blurted out, before, once again bowing her head. The chairman glanced toward Mr. Hardcastle.

  “It’s kind of you to ask, chairman,” Hardcastle replied, “but I only wish to say that I have listened with great interest to all the contributions, and in particular to those of the two candidates, and that, like Lady Virginia, I have made up my mind who I shall be supporting.”

  Fisher smiled at the Yorkshireman.

  “Thank you, Mr. Hardcastle,” said the chairman. “Unless anyone else wishes to make a further contribution, the time has come for the members of the board to cast their votes.” He paused for a moment, but no one spoke. “The company secretary will now call out each name in turn. Please let him know which candidate you support.”

  “I will begin with the executive directors,” said Webster, “before I invite the rest of the board to cast their votes. Mr. Buchanan?”

  “I will not be supporting either candidate,” Buchanan said. “However, should the vote result in a tie, I will, as is the chairman’s prerogative, cast my vote in favor of the person I believe should be the next chairman.”

  Ross had spent several sleepless nights wrestling with the question of who should succeed him, and had finally come down in favor of Emma. But Fisher’s resounding speech, and Emma’s rather feeble response, had caused him to reconsider. He still couldn’t bring himself to vote for Fisher, so he had decided to abstain, and allow his colleagues to make the decision. Nevertheless, if the vote resulted in a tie, he would have to reluctantly support Fisher.

  Emma couldn’t hide her surprise and disappointment at Ross’s decision not to vote. Fisher smiled, and drew a line through the chairman’s name, which had, until then, been in the Clifton column.

  “Mr. Dixon?”

  “Mrs. Clifton,” said the chief executive without hesitation.

  “Mr. Carrick?”

  “Major Fisher,” said the finance director.

  “Mr. Anscott?”

  “Major Fisher.” Emma was disappointed, but not surprised, because she knew that meant Knowles would also vote against her.

  “Sir Giles Barrington?”

  “Mrs. Clifton.”

  “Dr. Grace Barrington?”

  “Mrs. Clifton.”

  “Mrs. Emma Clifton?”

  “I shall not be voting, chairman,” said Emma “and will abstain.” Fisher nodded his approval.

  “Mr. Dobbs?”

  “Mrs. Clifton.”

  “Lady Virginia Fenwick?”

  “Major Fisher.”

  “Major Fisher?”

  “I shall vote for myself, as is my right,” said Fisher, smiling across the table at Emma.

  How many times had Sebastian begged his mother not to abstain, as he had been certain that there was absolutely no chance that Fisher would behave like a gentleman.

  “Mrs. Fisher?”

  Susan looked up at the chairman, hesitated a moment then whispered nervously, “Mrs. Clifton.”

  Alex swung around and stared at his wife in disbelief. But this time Susan didn’t bow her head. Instead, she glanced across at Emma and smiled. Emma, looking equally surprised, put a tick by Susan’s name.

  “Mr. Knowles?”

  “Major Fisher,” he said without hesitation.

  “Mr. Maynard?”

  “Major Fisher.”

  Emma checked the ticks and crosses on her pad. Fisher led by six to five.

  “Admiral Summers?” said the company secretary. There was a silence that felt interminable to Emma, but was in fact only a few seconds.

  “Mrs. Clifton,” he eventually said. Emma gasped. The old man leaned across and whispered, “I’ve never been sure about Fisher, and when he voted for himself, I knew I’d been right all along.”

  Emma wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to kiss him, but the company secretary interrupted her thoughts. “Mr. Hardcastle?” Once again, everyone in the room turned their attention to the one man no one knew anything about. “Would you be kind enough to let us know your decision, sir?” Fisher scowled. Six all. If Susan had voted for him, Hardcastle’s vote would have been irrelevant, but he still felt confident the Yorkshireman would back him.

  Cedric Hardcastle took a handkerchief out of his top pocket, removed his glasses and polished them before he spoke. “I shall abstain, and allow the chairman, who knows both candidates far better than I do, to decide who is the right person to succeed him.”

  * * *

  Susan Fisher pushed back her chair and slipped quietly out of the boardroom as the newly elected chairman took her place at the top of the table.

  Everything had gone well so far. However, Susan knew that the next hour would be vital if she hoped to complete the rest of her plan. Alex hadn’t even commented when
she’d offered to drive him to the board meeting that morning so he could concentrate on his speech. What she hadn’t told him was that she wouldn’t be driving him back.

  For some time, Susan had accepted that their marriage was a sham, and she couldn’t even remember when they’d last made love. She often wondered why she’d agreed to marry him in the first place. Her mother’s constant reminder, ‘If you’re not careful, my girl, you’ll be left on the shelf,’ hadn’t helped. Still, she now intended to clear everything off the shelves.

  * * *

  Alex Fisher was unable to concentrate on Emma’s acceptance speech, as he was still trying to work out how he would explain to Don Pedro that his wife had voted against him.

  Martinez had originally proposed that Diego and Luis represent him on the board, but Alex had persuaded him that if there was one thing that would frighten the directors more than the thought of a female chairman, it would be the thought of a foreigner taking over the company.

  He decided that he would simply tell Don Pedro that Emma had won the vote, and not mention the fact that his wife hadn’t supported him. He didn’t care to think about what would happen if Don Pedro ever read the minutes.

  * * *

  Susan Fisher parked the car outside Arcadia Mansions, opened the front door with her latch key, took the lift to the third floor and let herself into the flat. She walked quickly through to the bedroom, dropped on her knees and pulled two suitcases out from under the bed. She then began to empty one of the wardrobes of six dresses, two suits, several skirts and a ball gown, which she wondered if she’d ever wear again. Next she pulled open the chest of drawers one drawer at a time, and took out her stockings, underwear, blouses and jumpers, which almost filled the first suitcase.

  When she got off her knees, her eyes settled on a watercolor of the Lake District that Alex had paid a little too much for when they were on their honeymoon. She was delighted to find that it fitted neatly into the bottom of the second case. She then walked through to the bathroom and gathered up all her toiletries, a dressing gown and several towels, cramming them into every available space left in the second suitcase.