He narrowed his eyes. “You honestly expect me to have sympathy for a murderer?”
“No, for an ordinary man who was pushed to the point where he lost his mind and for an event which may have been preventable.”
Malcolm made a sound of loathing, it gurgled in his throat like sewer water. “I think you’ve quite finished here.”
She was only turning on the tap. “This bank took Roger’s livelihood and his home without any consideration. You took my mother’s confidence and then you forced her to do things she was frightened of.”
He sniffed a sharp breath, his eyes flicking towards the door. “You will leave my office now. Alison.”
“She gave up the things she loved for you; her art, her writing, her music. I always thought she was less of a person because she was beautiful. But now I see you made her less, you reduced her to something decorative you could control. She never would’ve skied that mountain but for you pushing her to. This bank has a responsibility to provide a duty of care for our customers. You had a responsibility to love and care for my mother. You fail on both counts.”
“Get. Out.”
“With more pleasure than you can possibly imagine. You have no idea how grateful I am to you for this gift of clear sight. “
“Alison.”
Alison appeared in the doorway with a startled expression and two uniformed guards. Malcolm sat and opened a folder. He issued his instructions without looking up.
“Escort Ms Wentworth to her desk. She’s to take nothing but personal items with her, which excludes the car. See that she is off the premises within the next thirty minutes and has vacated the company apartment with only personal possessions no later than forty-eight hours from now.”
This was the last time she’d see Malcolm, other than in the pages of the business press or the occasional television appearance. That thought made her feel nothing. Not sadness, not relief. It spoke to a void in her heart where emptiness flourished.
“You were never a parent to me. You paid for my food and shelter, my clothing and education. You made me useful according to your view of the world. You were never a father. You were always a bank.”
He looked up with irritation on his face, as if to say are you still here?
“And I am your worst risk, your biggest default, because I will use everything you’ve taught me to live a life that proves you wrong.”
“Thirty minutes. Forty-eight hours. The terms of your contract are clear. By resigning you leave with salary owing. All other bonuses and entitlements are forfeited.”
She might as well not have spoken, not have issued that empty threat. You couldn’t threaten someone who didn’t care. She looked down on him. She’d seen him sit like this; dismissive, imperial, hundreds of times. Only this time, his clenched fists were different. It was enough. He no longer mattered. If her legs would carry her, she was more than ready to leave. She turned an
d nodded to the guards.
“Jacinta.”
She didn’t give him the courtesy of slowing her steps, to falter might be to crumble.
“If you try anything stupid, you will not find another financial institution in this country to employ you. You cannot hurt this company and I will ensure that.”
She couldn’t help but hear what he meant. He would poison her reputation within the industry and sue her to keep the bank from harm if she threatened him.
“Ms Wentworth, are you all right?” The older of the two guards got her attention. She knew his face, but not his name. He peered at her with genuine concern.
“I’m fine. Shall we?”
They fell in beside her. “Very sorry to have to do this, Ms Wentworth.”
She nodded to Alison who mouthed, “I’m so sorry.”
She said, “All in a day’s work,” and meant it to soothe Alison and the two men. All she wanted now was to get out of the building into untainted air she could breathe.
In the doorway to her office, Mel was on her feet, white-faced. The news was already out, less than five minutes and a two hundred metre corridor later.
“It’s all right, Mel. This is the best thing.”
“Can I come with you?”