Sons of Fortune

The auctioneer swung his attention back to the lawyer, who had placed his brochure on the empty seat beside him. “Can I say three million seven hundred thousand sir, or are we all finished?”

The brochure remained on the seat. “Any other bids from the floor?” asked the auctioneer as his eyes swept the dozen or so people who were seated in a hall that had held a thousand the night before. “One last chance, otherwise I will let it go at three million six hundred thousand.” He raised his hammer and, receiving no response, brought it down with a thud. “Sold for three million six hundred thousand dollars to the gentleman at the end of the row.”

“Well done,” said Julia.

“It’s going to cost you another hundred thousand,” said Tom, “but we couldn’t have known that two of us would settle on the same upper limit. I’ll just go and sort out the paperwork and hand over the check, then we can go off and celebrate.”

“What a good idea,” said Julia, as she ran a finger down the inside of his leg.

“Congratulations, Mr. Russell,” said Mr. Cooke. “Your client has secured a fine property which I am sure in the long term will yield an excellent return.”

“I agree,” said Tom, as he wrote out a check for three point six million dollars and handed it across to the council’s chief executive.

“Is Russell’s Bank the principal in this transaction?” inquired Mr. Cooke as he studied the signature.

“No, we are representing a New York client who banks with us.”

“I am sorry to appear to be nitpicking about this, Mr. Russell, but the terms of the agreement make it clear that the check for the full amount must be signed by the principal and not by his or her representative.”

“But we represent the company, and are holding their deposit.”

“Then it shouldn’t be too difficult for your client to sign a check on behalf of that company,” suggested Mr. Cooke.

“But why…” began Tom.

“It’s not for me to try and fathom the machinations of our elected representatives, Mr. Russell, but after the debacle last year over the Aldwich contract and the questions I have to answer daily from Mrs. Hunter,” he let out a sigh, “I have been left with no choice but to keep to the letter, as well as the spirit, of the agreement.”

“But what can I do about it at this late stage?” asked Tom.

“You still have until five o’clock to produce a check signed by the principal. If you fail to do so, the property will be offered to the under-bidder for three point five million, and the council will look to you to make up the difference of one hundred thousand dollars.”

Tom ran to the back of the room. “Have you got your checkbook with you?”

“No,” said Julia. “You told me that Russell’s would cover the full amount until I transferred the difference on Monday.”

“Yes, I did,” said Tom, trying to think on his feet. “There’s nothing else for it,” he added, “we’ll just have to go straight to the bank.” He checked his watch, it was nearly four o’clock. “Damn,” he added, painfully aware that if Nat hadn’t been on holiday, he would have spotted the subclause and anticipated its consequences. On the short walk from City Hall to Russell’s Bank, Tom explained to Julia what Mr. Cooke had insisted on.

“Does that mean I’ve lost the deal, not to mention a hundred thousand?”

“No, I’ve already thought of a way around that, but it will need your agreement.”

“If it will secure the property,” said Julia, “I’ll do whatever you advise.”

As soon as they entered the bank, Tom went straight to his office, picked up a phone and asked the chief teller to join him. While he waited for Ray Jackson to arrive, he took out a blank checkbook and began writing out the words three million six hundred thousand dollars. The chief teller knocked on the door and entered the chairman’s office.

“Ray, I want you to transfer three million one hundred thousand dollars to Mrs. Kirkbridge’s account.”

The chief teller hesitated for a moment. “I’ll need a letter of authorization before I can transfer such a large amount,” he said. “It’s way above my limit.”

“Yes, of course,” said the chairman, and removed the standard form from his top drawer and quickly filled in the relevant figures. Tom didn’t comment on the fact that it was also the largest sum he had ever authorized. He passed the form across to the chief teller, who studied the details carefully. He looked as if he wanted to query the chairman’s decision, and then thought better of it.

“Immediately,” emphasized Tom.

“Yes, sir,” said the chief teller, and departed as quickly as he had arrived.

“Are you sure that was sensible?” asked Julia. “Aren’t you taking an unnecessary risk?”

“We have the property and your five hundred thousand, so we can’t lose. As Nat would say, it’s a win-win proposition.” He turned the checkbook around and asked Julia to sign it and print beneath her signature the name of her company. Once Tom had checked it he said, “We’d better get back to City Hall as quickly as possible.”