Chris absorbed this seriously.
‘And we’d like the report in four weeks. Mid-October.’
‘No problem.’
Cullen pushed his chair back from the table and turned to Chris. ‘This is a priority project, Chris. A lot is hanging on it.’
It was clear that he didn’t only mean a lot for Starwear; the project would also be the test of him.
‘The information we’re dealing with here is highly sensitive. We don’t want you to mention it to anyone else in the agency besides Charlotte. I suggest we give it the code name Project Silo.’
‘Uh-huh.’ Chris wrote it down.
‘As a general rule,’ Cullen met his eyes across the desk, ‘you know, of course, there must be no talking shop outside the office. Even the most casual asides are open to misinterpretation. So, it’s best to say absolutely nothing. Not about clients, not about colleagues, not about anything that you do.’
There could be no mistaking his gravity.
Chris was nodding with equal seriousness when Rosa appeared. ‘Mr Cullen, your five o’clock is in the Boardroom.’
‘Thanks.’ Cullen got up to leave. ‘A copy of the report to each of us, please, in four weeks.’
•••
Mike Cullen looked up from his desk as Rosa stepped into his office. Rosa had been with him since Lombard began twelve years before in a single, serviced office suite, and knew more about the agency and its clients than most of the bright young things who worked on the floors below. She also knew Mike Cullen’s every mood, and had an intuitive understanding of when to offer advice, and when to hold back; what to say, and how to say it. It was, she often used to think, almost like a professional marriage.
Mike Cullen had certainly changed her life. She’d been at a very low ebb when her husband had wa
lked out on her when she was in her mid-forties, leaving her with two teenage children. A regular churchgoer, she had been introduced by her priest to another member of his congregation, a man who helped provide Sunday School outings for under-privileged kids, and whose handsome, open features she could hardly have missed. Mike Cullen had explained that he was starting a new business and was looking for a secretary. Would she be interested?
Since then, Mr Cullen, as she still insisted on calling him, had rewarded her loyalty, not only in purely financial terms, but also by allowing her to take on an assistant to carry out the more routine secretarial work. He trusted her to look after personal arrangements, as well as Lombard business. And to take care of matters like the one in hand.
‘I just wanted to check this with you before sending it to City News,’ she said, holding out a single sheet of paper. It was headed ‘Condolences’ and the message was short but poignant: ‘Merlin de Vere. One of the City’s brightest and best. A respected colleague whose wisdom and friendship will be sadly missed. Sincere condolences to Frances and family. From Mike Cullen and all at Lombard.’
After reading the message, Cullen handed it back to her. ‘That’s fine.’ He spoke quietly. ‘You’ll circulate it round the agency?’
‘Right away.’
He was shaking his head. ‘I had lunch with him just a couple of weeks ago. It’s a tragedy. A real tragedy. His mind was so …’ He gestured with his right hand, holding the tips of his fingers and thumb together,’ … he was right there.’
After a pause, he looked up at Rosa. ‘Has there been an announcement about a funeral?’
“Not yet.’ She shook her head. ‘I expect the inquest …’
‘Yes.’ It would be another week at least before his family was able to bury him. ‘When the date’s announced, you’ll organise things, will you?’
‘Kate Taylor and you will be going?’ she confirmed.
He nodded. ‘And a personal cheque donation to their charity. What do you think – five hundred?’
‘That would be more than generous.’
‘No word to anyone. Wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea.’
‘Of course, Mr Cullen.’ She bowed out of his office.
The wrong idea, to which he was referring, was the one that circulated about his personal wealth. Masterful though he was at keeping his clients in the public eye, Rosa had always known that Mr Cullen hated having the spotlight on himself. He avoided all personal publicity and, in particular, had a visceral aversion to being thought of as rich. Which was why all the charitable donations he made – and they were always generous – went unnoticed, except by those who benefited directly from them. Her employer, Rosa often used to think, was the most private of men. Deep down underneath, she believed, he was really quite shy.
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