Jigsaw Lovers (10 page)

He analysed his expenditure; the
satellite TV terminated, he could restrict the usage of his cell phone, and by not eating out so much, some savings could be made. He could put his investment contributions on hold, and generally be more careful before he spent anything.

There were certain essentials that he couldn’t do without, and would endeavour to maintain for as long as possible. Listed in this group were cigarettes, alcohol and the services of his maid. The thought of washing, ironing and generally tidying-up after himself was not one he cared to entertain, and besides he felt a sense of responsibility for her well-being.

Having steeled himself for the onset of frugality he decided to have one last meal at his favourite restaurant, and begin the new regimen in the morning.

James looked through the file he had on Ben Samuels. As of six months ago, when it was last updated he had no current long-term girlfriend. There were several bars and restaurants that he visited on a regular basis, as well as a couple of fashionable expensive nightclubs. Any of these would be a good starting place.

He telephoned Diana and asked her to be ready for an evening of bars and clubs. When he arrived at her flat he found she had chosen to wear a respectable two-piece business suit, to give the impression she had just come from the office.

He showed her photographs and parts of the file on Ben Samuels, so if they did manage to find him at one of the places he usually went to she would be able to recognise him. He gave her just a brief outline of the man, in order not to spoil the spontaneity of a supposedly chance encounter. He gave no details as to their overall aim, other than that he wanted her to secure an invitation to go with Samuels to Tuscany the following week.

The idea appealed greatly to Diana.

By telephoning the restaurants that Samuels frequented, pretending to be a friend, James had discovered that Samuels had a reservation in his name for that night, in a bistro in Covent Garden. There was a strong possibility that Samuels may well go to one of two cocktail bars, in the vicinity, before eating.

They were fortunate. Samuels was sitting on a stool at a high table in the first of the bars they went into. The place was relatively crowded, with people having a few drinks after work, before going home or out to dinner.

James looked around the place, as if trying to find somewhere to sit, then strolled over to the table at which Samuels was sitting.

‘Do you mind if we join you,’ he asked whilst gesturing at the empty stool on the other side from Samuels. He looked up from his evening newspaper, a slightly irritated expression on his face, which disappeared the moment he caught sight of Diana.

‘No, not at all. I was expecting someone, but they’re late, so they can stand, if they get here.’

James pulled out the stool for Diana, and caught the eye of a passing waitress, from whom he ordered a bottle of Australian Chardonnay. Samuels returned to reading his newspaper, but allowed himself the occasional glance in Diana’s direction.

James and Diana chatted away in a relaxed fashion about their respective days. After a while James excused himself and pushed his way through to the toilet. There he telephoned his assistant and told her to call him in ten minutes.

He was just about to refill Diana’s glass from the bottle that sat in a wine-cooler in front of them, when his cell phone rang.

‘Hello, yes.’ There was a pause whilst he listened, then a frown appeared on his face. ‘Can’t it wait until the morning?’ Another pause. ‘Are you sure? This is the first free evening I’ve had in weeks. No, that won’t help at all. I’ll be there in twenty minutes, half an hour.’ He switched the phone off and turned to Diana, a helpless look on his face. He noticed that Samuels was paying attention, whilst pretending to read his newspaper.

‘I’m sorry darling, but I’ve got to go back to the office.’ He drained his glass.

‘What about dinner?’ There was an edge to her voice.

‘There’s no way I’ll be able to make it. It’ll probably take most of the night to sort out this problem.’ He was apologetic.

‘Can’t you get somebody else to do it?’

‘I can’t run the risk of it being screwed up. It’s too important a client.’ He waved for the bill.

‘Every time we’ve planned an evening recently this has happened. I’m becoming more and more fed up with you and your work.’ She sounded irritated.

‘Look, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you at the weekend.’

‘I’m going away this weekend, by myself.’ She was cross now, and Samuels couldn’t fail to notice the friction between the two of them.

‘I have to go. Come, I’ll get you a cab.’ James left money on the table to cover the bill.

‘I’m not ready to go yet. I’m going to stay and have another drink.’ She reached for the bottle.

‘I’m sorry. I’ll call you in the morning.’

‘Don’t put yourself out.’

James tried to kiss her on the cheek, but she shook her head. Saying good-bye he left.

Samuels stood up, and moved slightly towards Diana.

‘I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear. Can I get you another drink?’ he asked with a smile that he thought was charming and concerned.

Diana looked at him, as if noticing him for the first time.

‘I think it’s I who should apologise, making a scene in public like that. I’m very sorry, it must have been very embarrassing for you. Especially since you were kind enough to let us sit at your table in the first place.’ She smiled at him.

‘Some more chardonnay?’ he asked as he called a waitress.

‘That would be very kind, thank you.’

‘My name’s Samuels, Ben Samuels.’

‘Diana Johnston.’ She offered him her hand.

‘What does your friend do, that dragged him away so urgently?’

‘He runs a company that specialises in financial design and printing. Annual report and accounts, launch documents, that sort of thing.’

‘I see. That business can be pretty demanding.’ He sounded as though he understood about it.

‘I don’t care. I’ve had enough of coming second to his work all the time. That’s the third occasion we’ve tried to have dinner together in the last two weeks. And tonight I’m particularly hungry.’ She picked up her glass. ‘Cheers.’

‘Cheers. This may sound a bit forward, but would you like to join me for dinner. It looks like I’ve been stood up as well, and I’m also quite hungry.’ He said it with an air of modest resignation, and slight hesitation.

‘You’re right, it is a bit forward of you. Normally, I wouldn’t dream of having dinner with someone I’ve only just met, but under the circumstances I’d be pleased to.’ She smiled warmly at him.

‘I’ve got a table booked at a little place around the corner, if that’s all right.’ He was confident now.

‘Sounds perfect. There’s one condition though.’ she saw his expression change. ‘We don’t talk about James any more.’

‘James?’

‘The man I was with. It’ll put me off my food,’ she laughed.

‘Easily done. Shall we go?’

Diana actually enjoyed dinner. Samuels was very charming and pleasant company. Admittedly, he had a very high opinion of himself and was something of a show-off, but then that was probably because he knew he was good at what he did. He had told her he was a broker and she had looked suitably impressed.

He had excused himself a couple of times during the evening to go to the toilet, and when he returned he seemed to be even more sure of himself, and somewhat exuberant. Diana also noticed that he tended to sniff frequently.

It was as they were having coffee and liqueurs, and after yet another trip to the toilet, that Samuels asked her if she would like to go to Tuscany with him.

He tried to make it sound casual and off-hand, but Diana detected that he was being completely serious.

‘I thought you were a little forward before, but that was nothing compared with this latest suggestion.’ Diana laughed to maintain a feeling of levity.

‘At least you haven’t said no.’ He sat back and smelt his cognac.

‘Neither have I said yes.’ She flicked a strand of loose hair off her cheek.

‘You said earlier, you needed to get away from it all to have time to think. This is the perfect opportunity.’

‘Sounds like I’d be getting out of the frying pan into the fire.’

‘Not at all. You’d have a choice of five bedrooms, and I promise I’ll behave myself.’

‘I should hope so too.’ She sounded severe but her look was playful. He felt encouraged to carry on with his attempt to persuade her to accompany him.

‘Haven’t you had a pleasant evening tonight? We seem to get on well together.’

‘That’s true. I have enjoyed your company, but there’s a difference between spending an evening together and spending a week together.’

‘Ten days,’ he said cheekily. She couldn’t help but laugh.

‘But we’ve only just met. I hardly know you.’

‘Trust your instincts. It’ll be fun.’

She stirred her coffee pensively, as though considering the situation. He looked across the table at her expectantly.

‘Do you have a business card?’ she asked.

‘Here.’ he pulled one from his jacket top pocket, and handed it to her.

‘I’ll think about it and phone you in the morning. If I haven’t phoned you by twelve, then I’m not coming. Whatever I decide, I’ve enjoyed this evening, but I really must leave now. Thank you.’

She stood up, kissed him lightly on the cheek and walked out into the street.

Hamilton reached over to answer the telephone. ‘Mr Hamilton? This is Pamela at Mutual Insurance.’

‘Yes. Good morning.’ She was his broker. ‘I’m well thank you.’

‘Mr Hamilton, there seems to be an error with your monthly debit payments for the regular unit trust purchases, and for your medical aid insurance payments.’

‘I’m afraid it’s no error.’

‘No, what I mean is they haven’t been paid for the last two months, and your bank has returned them saying “Refer to Drawer”.’

‘That’s because at the moment I don’t have any money.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that. If there’s a problem we can defer payments for a couple of months, but after that I’m afraid your medical aid will lapse.’

‘A couple of months won’t really help. I’m in the midst of a severe cashflow problem with the business, and I think it will be at least six months before its rectified.’

‘That is a shame.’ she sounded genuinely sympathetic, no doubt because she could see her commission on his policies coming to an end. ‘Can’t your bank help? Maybe a loan?’

‘The Bank is the main reason I’m in this position. I don’t have a very friendly manager.’ There was an edge to Hamilton’s voice.

‘Well, I’m sure things will get better. In the meantime, the unit trusts aren’t a problem. You can start buying those again whenever you like.’

‘I’ve been meaning to call you about those. I’d like you to arrange to sell them all for me.’

‘It’s not a good time to sell. At present the market’s at one of its lowest points for years. I recommend that you wait.’

‘I don’t really have a choice. I need the money to meet my expenses for this month.’

‘Very well then. If you’re sure you have to then I’ll arrange it for you. You should have the money in the next few days. I do hope things get better for you soon. If there’s anything I can do to help please call me.’

‘Thank you.’ He hung up.

When the cheque arrived for the proceeds of the sale of the unit trusts he found that he had indeed been forced to sell at the bottom of the market. He was extremely cross to see that he had barely recovered his original investment of the last four years, but, at least, it enabled him to survive another month.

Samuels’s telephone rang many times the next morning, but not once was it Diana Johnston. It was now almost twelve and he was beginning to think that she wasn’t going to call. Not to worry, he told himself, it had been a pleasant evening, and he could probably find any one of a number of girls who would jump at the offer of a free holiday with him. However, there were none whom he would rather take than Diana. Although he had only spent one evening with her, he had been completely enchanted by her. He looked at his watch; twelve noon exactly. The minutes ticked by. She wasn’t going to call.

Then the telephone rang. It startled him.

‘Ben? It’s Diana.’

‘Good heavens. I didn’t think you were going phone. It’s past twelve.’

‘It’s a woman’s prerogative to be late. Thank you for dinner last night. I’m sorry I had to rush off so quickly.’

‘That’s quite all right.’ Should he ask her or wait for her to tell him?

‘I’ve given your offer about Tuscany some thought.’ She paused.

‘Oh yes?’ he held his breath.

‘If you still want me to come with you, then I’d love to.’

He couldn’t believe his luck.

‘I do, honestly.’ He was telling the truth.

‘There are a couple of conditions. I pay my own way, and I’m afraid, I can only go for a week. There was something I couldn’t rearrange at such short notice.’