Finding Alice Read online

  About two years ago Graham had come to see John with a deal. He had gathered together a group of investors and was trying to consolidate a development site. Currently the site was owned by a number of small businesses. If Graham could buy them all out and own the whole site, of about 1.5 acres, he would be able to sell it to a developer. It would then be suitable to build high-rise apartments on it.

  It was to be a win win deal for everyone. They could afford to pay the current small business owners a premium for their land, then get a high rise unit developer to pay a big price for the whole site. The developer would be able to spread the cost of the land over each of the units in his block.

  Graham had formed a syndicate and had got some of his rich contacts to invest with him. For a share of the profits, he needed John to convince two remaining owners, to sell to the Syndicate. Without their land, the whole project would be doomed, as they were right in the middle of it. No developer would buy the site unless these two integral blocks were included.

  It was taking a long time to consolidate the site and two of Graham’s investors were getting itchy feet. He wanted a progress report. John needed to keep Graham calm and get some breathing space. He was getting close to a deal, but still needed more time.

  He arranged for Graham to come to the office and then took him to Alfredo’s for lunch. Nothing like a nice meal and a good wine to calm the nerves.

  Alfredo met them at the door,

  “So nice to see you again Mr. Mason and so soon. Beautiful lady you bring with you last time. Very high class.”

  “You make her sound like a prostitute, Alfredo.”

  “Oh no, Mr. Mason, you no understand. She like a princess, very beautiful.”

  “ Ah, so you liked her?”

  “Oh, very much but too much classy for me. Maybe for rich man like you?”

  Alfredo led them to their table.

  “What was that all about?” asked Graham intrigued. “Who was she?”

  “Oh, just a client,” lied John.

  “Oh, yeah,” said Graham with a knowing suspicious look in his eye.

  Graham had every reason to be suspicious, for he knew John very well. Both through their business deals and also privately.

  Graham came from a rich family. His father had been a very successful building contractor who had worked his way up from being a builder’s labourer, to owning one of the largest commercial building companies in the State. He was a self made man, who was one of the rich guys, that John had got along well with in his gardening days. As with many self-made men, having to struggle all the way up, he wanted his son to have a better life than he had, had. He wanted his son to have the privileges he never had, having to work 16 hour days and fight employees, unions etc. So, he had sent Graham to private school, to give him all the privileges he had missed out on.

  Graham however, rather than develop his father’s strong work ethic, had become a wheeler and dealer, rather than a hard worker like his father. His attitude was, why work your guts out 16 hours a day when there are smarter ways to make money?

  Graham had married well. His wife was from a well-connected socialite family, with “traditional” money. If it could be known her family's fortune, had originally been founded by a street fighter, just like Graham’s father. However, they had become “sophisticated”, through generations of private schools and privilege.

  Graham had had a big wedding, with five bridesmaids and groomsmen. It had been all over the social pages. What wasn’t reported, was a very embarrassing moment at the wedding reception. Graham’s father had made a speech to toast the bride and groom. In a room full of socialites his working class origins had been all too blatantly obvious, as he had stumbled over his words.

  Like John’s wife Audry, Graham’s wife was not particularly interested in sex. Sex was only to have children and they had managed to have three of them. However like John, Graham was highly sexed. This had led him to lead a double life. He had a penthouse apartment in an expensive inner city building, where he entertained on a regular basis, with a select list of invitees. John had been to a number of these “functions”.

  Graham had a mistress there whose job, in addition to meeting his love requirements, was to invite a bevy of beautiful women along to these functions. John was certain that some of them were really high-class call girls. But others were well-known models and party girls.

  The functions usually took on a familiar pattern. Early in the night it was an above board social function, with a bartender and waiters serving champagne and h’orderves. Later in the evening, the waiters and peripheral guests would leave. A few close associates, including John, and a number of girls would be left. They would all end up in the large spa on the balcony and anything would go. Graham was free with his mistress and often shared her with the other guests. John had been with her a number of times and was sure she had been a high-class call girl. However she was very discrete and he could not get any information out of her.

  So coming from this background, Graham was right on to John, when Alfredo had said, John had brought a beautiful woman to his restaurant.

  “I’m having a function on Friday night, perhaps you would like to bring your lady friend along?” probed Graham. He was intrigued to meet this woman.

  “She’s not a lady friend, she’s a client,” John persisted.

  “Why did you bring her here for lunch then?” Graham came back at him.

  “Graham, I bring a lot of my clients here, including you. Its no big deal,” said John, with a strong tone of irritation in his voice,

  “Now can we get down to talking business?”

  “OK,” said Graham abandoning the quest for the present, “here is the situation.”

  He went on to outline how his father and his father-in-law were the main contributors to the Syndicate. However there were two other members. Both were from his father -in law’s golf club. They had contributed substantial sums and were now getting nervous. He wanted to know what was happening with the two small businesses, who were holding out from selling and also what feedback John had got from any developers, as to their interest in the site, once it had been consolidated.

  It occurred to John he was doing all the work, however he was aware there would be no project without Graham’s access to the Syndicate money. John had not paid too much attention to maths at school, but he understood percentages and knew after all expenses and paying his Syndicate members, Graham was likely to make something like $1 million on the deal. John was on a fixed 10% of that. Yes, Graham knew how to make money without working too hard.

  “OK,” said John, “firstly I am working on the two who won’t sell.”

  He then explained how one of the small businesses was prepared to sell, but it was a deceased estate and the relatives were waiting for probate to come through. John expected this to happen in the next few weeks. The remaining business was a problem however, as it was right in the middle of the parcel of land.

  An old boy had been running a knife sharpening business there for 50 years. John had concluded there could be no way he was making any money from his business; there was never anyone in his shop. He was a widower and really ran the business as a hobby, to have customers come, so he would not get lonely. However, John had taken the time to sit down and talk with the old boy and really get to know him. He actually reminded John a bit of his father, being a working class man of the same vintage. No amount of money was going to make this old codger shift and he was not interested in having a more modern shop. However John, being strategic, had asked him during one of their discussions, what he would do if he won the lottery?

  “I don’t gamble, he had said,” for every winner there are thousands of losers; not my cup of tea.”

  However, John had persisted and found out that, if he had the money, he would help his daughter pay off her mortgage. This gave John an “in”. He had found the old codger’s weak spot.... his daughter. Also by visiting him regularly, John was gradually gain
ing his trust. One day when the old boy was talking wistfully about his daughter, John thought the time had come to pounce,

  “What about if you could stay here, but still have the money to help your daughter pay her mortgage off?”

  “Yeah, but that’s not going to happen,” said the old boy becoming irritated.

  “What if I could make that happen,” John threw in.

  “Yeah, and pigs will fly.”

  “No,” said John. He was in full persuasive mode now.

  “ I can make it happen with just one small change.”

  “Oh yeah,” said the old man, who was now very suspicious, “ and what would that be?”

  John needed distract him away from his negative thinking.

  “Come outside, I want to show you something.”

  The old man got up and reluctantly followed John out to the street.

  “OK,” said John,” you see that block of land down there on the corner, its flat just like where you are now.” The old man looked towards it suspiciously.

  “What if I was to say we could move your whole shop, “hollis bolis” down onto that block, leaving everything just as you have it now. We could give you the land down there for free, and give you a very good price for your land here. It would just mean moving a hundred yards or so down the street.”

  “You young blokes and your fancy ideas. I don’t know what it is all coming to,” the old man replied, heading back into his shop.

  “OK,” said John following him in. At least have a think about it. You could have your same shop exactly as it is now, it would just be a bit further down the street. You would have the money to help your daughter with her mortgage and still have your business and the new land it is on, to eventually leave to her in your will.”

  It was all a bit much for the old boy, but John could see he was at least thinking it over. John changed the subject and talked on with him for a while. Just as he was leaving the old boy inquired?

  “So everything would be just as it is now, all my old knives and all?”

  “Exactly as it is now, that old cutting machine over there, just as it is now.”

  John could see he had his interest, the seed had been planted. It was in fact a very good deal for the old boy. However it was vital for consolidation of the site, that they move him. Sacrificing a small block on the edge of the site would be a reasonable price to pay, to make the whole thing viable to a developer.

  John had been visiting the old boy every week recently. He wanted to know everything. It was a big change for him after 50 years in the one spot and John felt he was going to need a push. He was too old for any changes. Through careful questioning John had found out the daughter’s married name and where she lived. It was in a modest house in an outer suburb.

  John’s BMW looked out of place as after an hours drive he pulled up outside the daughter’s house. He found she was far easier to convince than her father. The lure for her was, she could get her mortgage paid off and still eventually get her inheritance. She even volunteered that her father was slipping a bit and it may be time for him to go to a retirement home soon.

  John now had her working on the old boy for him.

  “Well all right,” said Graham, when John had outlined all this to him,

  “We can live with the loss of 100 sq metres on the corner of the land. How long is it going to take to get the old bastard to move?”

  “Well I think within the next month or so,” volunteered John.

  “Can’t you do it any faster than that, we really need to get moving.”

  “No,” said John, “apart from having him knocked off it will take another month.”

  “Don’t laugh,” said Graham, “that may not be such a bad idea.”

  John was in fact making it all seem a bit harder than it really was. He had been talking to the daughter again and she had been really working on her father. The old boy was just about ready to fall over. It was likely he would be able to make the sale within two weeks, but no harm in giving yourself a bit of breathing space with Graham, he thought.

  He also thought it was time to get Graham off his back,

  “How are you going with the re-zoning?”

  That at least was something Graham had been working on. Currently the site was zoned only for low-rise buildings. Getting approval for a developer to construct high-rise was crucial to sell the site for a high price. The local Council had refused to budge so Graham had taken it to the Land and Environment Court. He had also used his father-in law, to talk with a few of his high-level government contacts, now it was out of the hands of the local authorities.

  “It’s coming along but you know how slow the legal process is,” Graham said with a sigh.

  “Look,” said John, “we are now very close. Just tell your investors to back off for one more month.”

  It was true; they were finally very close. Graham sat back sipped his wine.

  “Any nibbles from those developers you have been talking to?”

  “Well not directly. As you know, I can’t give them too much information. We don’t want one of them going in and buying one of the two remaining blocks, then holding us to ransom. But I know two big one’s are anxious to get their hands on a good site, close to the city like ours. So there will be no trouble once we have the consolidation completed.

  Graham’s questions had been satisfied and he was starting to relax now,

  “So who is this mysterious beautiful woman?” He was at it again.

  “None of your business. How’s Francis?” That was the name of Graham’s mistress and he did not like talking about her. Especially in a public restaurant.

  “OK, OK, don’t get your knickers in a twist.” Graham was ready to back off now. Even though there were no other diners near their table, you can never be too careful when you have a mistress and a wealthy wife.

  He went on to talk about a model whom he really fancied, that someone had brought along to his last function.

  “Who did she come with?” he asked. When John told him, he asked rhetorically,

  “How did that loser get onto a chick like her?”

  “Find out who she is and ask her along on Friday. Get her to hang around for the after party for me, will you?”

  God, thought John, he wants me to procure for him now. He also didn’t like Graham talking like that. Did Graham think he was a loser too?

  Like John, Graham was never satisfied. But unlike John he really did have it all. At least in John’s eyes anyway. He had a wife and a grand home to live in. It was a Victorian stone mansion, with a tennis court, pool and sweeping grounds all the way down to the water. John had only been there once. Graham liked to keep his home life separate from his other life, so there could be no slip-ups in front of his wife. He also of course had the penthouse in the city, to entertain in with his mistress. Yes, he had it all worked out. He was where John would like to be. However Graham had a push start, with a rich father to help him out all the way along. Unlike John who had to fight hard for everything he had.

  Chapter 12 The After Party

  Friday night and John told Audry he was going to dinner with a client. Well, it was at least partly true. He was going to Graham’s penthouse and Graham was a client, was he not?

  He had found out who the girl was. She was a model and had recently done some bikini shots for a men's magazine. John had rung up “the loser” and managed to find out her name was Gail and had even got her mobile number. John said he wanted to use her for a brochure he was producing and the loser swallowed it. It was no trouble then to ring her. She was very happy to be invited again. John told her not to mention it to “the loser”.

  John arrived at the penthouse apartment block just after 8:00 pm. The doorman greeted him with a warm friendly smile,

  “Good evening Mr. Mason, nice weather today.”

  “Yes,” said John, handing him the keys to his car so he could arrange to have it parked,

  “Has Graham arrived yet?�
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  “Yes, he got here about an hour ago.”

  “Thanks,” said John, “tell that young guy who parks the cars to take it easy with my BMW will you? He’s got a bit of a lead foot”

  “I will Mr. Mason.”

  Normally the doorman would ring through to check with Graham but with John there was no need for this. He knew John was a welcome guest so walked with him to the lift and used his swipe card to unlock access to the penthouse apartment.

  “Enjoy your evening,” he called after John as he entered the lift, “I’ll make sure they look after your car.”

  The lift moved swiftly up the building with a swishing sound as John adjusted his hair in the mirror as the lift slowed then stopped. The doors opened straight into Grahams penthouse apartment. As he stepped from the lift Francis greeted John with a warm kiss and embrace. Francis was probably somewhere in her 40’s and wearing a tight fitting red outfit with a low cut neck that showed off her ample cleavage. Not bad thought John but not at all classy like Alice.