Deceit. [COMPLETED.]

Chapter16

"Sinking deeper and deeper."
[KIRK ATTWOOD]

The meal was nice.

The starter was smoked salmon followed by a rack of lamb perched on a bed of sweet potato mash while desert was fresh lemon sorbet. Fine wine flowed and talk around the table was light. It wasn't any surprise to eventually be asked how I came to be in the company.

To be honest it was a lovely distraction away from Max.

'By chance,' I said. 'I received a phone call from an employment agency who apparently had my cv on file and they said I was a perfect fit for the job.'

Which was strange considering I had never heard of this agency nor had I any recollection of ever being in contact with them but I must have or why else would they have known me at all?

'And of course I couldn't refuse,' I added. 'I mean. You don't do you? One minute you are swabbing the decks as a young midshipman and the next you are standing by the wheel of your own ship.'

My reference to the good old days seemed to have passed Mr Nicholson by from the look of utter bewilderment on his face which was not surprising considering that he was just one of six people around the table that were from the financial department. I doubted any of them had ever set foot on a ship.

Mr Nicholson was in his fifties; a pleasant man of medium build with short brown hair who worked on the second floor. He was married with two grown up children and he had been in the company a long time. He seemed more than happy to answer questions of my own.

'The Jupiter? Well at one point,' he said leaning towards me, 'I didn't think the whole thing was ever going to get off the ground.'

I learnt that five ships in all had been ordered from the Takiyoma shipyard, one to arrive every year and that all would be named after the planets of the solar system.

'Of course all this couldn't have happened without the backing of Mr Takiyoma himself,' said Nicholson pausing to reflect. 'I only met him the once. A nice man. Quietly spoken and he and Mr Stamford have known each other for years. Graduated together at Oxford I believe.'

Around eleven, the chandeliers dimmed and live music began to filter through. It was the signal for people to leave their tables and mingle and after a few more sips of wine I took my wife's hand and escorted her onto the dance floor.

We swayed to a good imitation of a Lionel Richie song with my arms happily nestled around her waist and the male singer was half way through his song before Cheryl spoke.

'So why didn't you mention you had met the boss's daughter?'

I didn't blame her for asking and now that we were on our own I guess it was as good a time as any to get it all out in the open. I pulled away slightly hoping to catch  a glimpse of my wife's eyes but they remained soft and gentle.

I had been stupid. I knew that now. Not for giving Max a lift home but to have ever thought I needed to have lied to my best friend and wife.

'To be honest.' I wanted to find the easiest way to defuse the incident. 'I met loads of people that day and yes she must have been there but I'm sure she called herself Max and she definitely didn't introduced herself as the bosses daughter.'

Some of that was true.

My wife frowned but said nothing and so I pulled her close again allowing her to place her head on my shoulder. I responded in turn with giving her a light reassuring squeeze.

The band had two singers one of each sex. As the Lionel Richie song ended so it was the turn of the slightly younger female singer to offer a very good rendition of 'Time after Time' by Cyndi Lauper.