panting, their breath steaming the glass. Marcus reached down to zip his flies.
As if she knew exactly what was going on inside the sauna, Lee swam to the edge of the pool and lifted herself out. She took a towel from a pile lying on a deckchair, dried herself slowly and then pulled on the bridesmaid’s dress that was hanging over the arm of the chair. Marcus and Mouse smoked a cigarette together, wanting to allow some time before leaving the building. When the cigarette had burned down to a stub, they made their way quietly back to the marquee.
Marcus kept the image of Lee in his mind throughout his honeymoon. She must have gone to bed immediately after her swim, because he didn’t see her again before he and Abby were whisked off to the bridal suite and then, early the next morning, to Gatwick. And when they made love on the starched white sheets of their Corsican chalet, when they swam naked together in the hidden coves around Propriano, when Abby lay back for him in a hollow on a wooded headland outside Bonifacio, Marcus felt that they were somehow paying homage to Lee. As if they were pursuing an ideal that she had created during her midnight swim.
*
Marcus jumped. Someone had come into his office. He had an erection and he realised that he had fallen asleep. It was still raining; the drops were racing down the glass. Whoever was behind him cleared his throat again. Marcus swung his chair around. Michael Faraday, one of the senior partners, was standing with his eyebrows raised and his hands in his pockets .
‘Michael, good to see you,’ Marcus babbled. ‘I was just thinking about the Crystal Capital situation. Well, actually that’s a lie. I had been thinking about Crystal Capital but then I started thinking about rain, and why we don’t hear about acid rain any more. Whether it’s because it isn’t a problem any more, or if it’s because we have much bigger ecological things to worry about now.’
Marcus shimmered his most winning smile at the grey-haired partner.
‘No idea. Don’t give a fuck either. I want you to drop Crystal and come with me. I’ve a case I think will really grab you. Fascinating business and needs your brain on it. A Chinese bank is trying to sue Plantagenet Partners. It’s going to be a massive job. Hope you’re not busy over the next few weeks. I’m going to need you to run through walls on this one. Most complicated buggeration of a case I’ve seen.’
Marcus tried to adjust his cock under the desk, stood awkwardly, and followed the partner out. They walked down the corridor together.
‘The first thing you should know is that the Chinese have a bloody strong case. You’re going to need to be pretty tricksy on this one. I’ve already made sure that the boys at Plantagenet have got rid of all the records relating to the transaction that they don’t absolutely have to keep. You might want to encourage them to lose a few more. Software issues, or something. This case will teach you that being a good lawyer means always being one step ahead of the law. Hope I’m making myself clear . . .’
Marcus was late for the Course that night. He had slipped away as soon as Faraday went to buy his dinner, but the Tube chuntered slowly, pausing ominously with flickering lights between stations. When he finally arrived at Sloane Square, he ran flat out down the middle of the King’s Road. He came to the familiar black railings and sprinted up the gravel driveway and into the church. David’s voice was very low, very intense, and stopped Marcus as he slipped inside the heavy wooden door.
‘Hopefully some of you will have felt something when we prayed at the end of the last session. If you didn’t feel anything, then don’t worry. It happens at different speeds and with different intensities for different people. But just keep on praying, keep on asking God to come into your life. And he will come. I remember a Course member several years back who approached me on the final day
As if she knew exactly what was going on inside the sauna, Lee swam to the edge of the pool and lifted herself out. She took a towel from a pile lying on a deckchair, dried herself slowly and then pulled on the bridesmaid’s dress that was hanging over the arm of the chair. Marcus and Mouse smoked a cigarette together, wanting to allow some time before leaving the building. When the cigarette had burned down to a stub, they made their way quietly back to the marquee.
Marcus kept the image of Lee in his mind throughout his honeymoon. She must have gone to bed immediately after her swim, because he didn’t see her again before he and Abby were whisked off to the bridal suite and then, early the next morning, to Gatwick. And when they made love on the starched white sheets of their Corsican chalet, when they swam naked together in the hidden coves around Propriano, when Abby lay back for him in a hollow on a wooded headland outside Bonifacio, Marcus felt that they were somehow paying homage to Lee. As if they were pursuing an ideal that she had created during her midnight swim.
*
Marcus jumped. Someone had come into his office. He had an erection and he realised that he had fallen asleep. It was still raining; the drops were racing down the glass. Whoever was behind him cleared his throat again. Marcus swung his chair around. Michael Faraday, one of the senior partners, was standing with his eyebrows raised and his hands in his pockets .
‘Michael, good to see you,’ Marcus babbled. ‘I was just thinking about the Crystal Capital situation. Well, actually that’s a lie. I had been thinking about Crystal Capital but then I started thinking about rain, and why we don’t hear about acid rain any more. Whether it’s because it isn’t a problem any more, or if it’s because we have much bigger ecological things to worry about now.’
Marcus shimmered his most winning smile at the grey-haired partner.
‘No idea. Don’t give a fuck either. I want you to drop Crystal and come with me. I’ve a case I think will really grab you. Fascinating business and needs your brain on it. A Chinese bank is trying to sue Plantagenet Partners. It’s going to be a massive job. Hope you’re not busy over the next few weeks. I’m going to need you to run through walls on this one. Most complicated buggeration of a case I’ve seen.’
Marcus tried to adjust his cock under the desk, stood awkwardly, and followed the partner out. They walked down the corridor together.
‘The first thing you should know is that the Chinese have a bloody strong case. You’re going to need to be pretty tricksy on this one. I’ve already made sure that the boys at Plantagenet have got rid of all the records relating to the transaction that they don’t absolutely have to keep. You might want to encourage them to lose a few more. Software issues, or something. This case will teach you that being a good lawyer means always being one step ahead of the law. Hope I’m making myself clear . . .’
Marcus was late for the Course that night. He had slipped away as soon as Faraday went to buy his dinner, but the Tube chuntered slowly, pausing ominously with flickering lights between stations. When he finally arrived at Sloane Square, he ran flat out down the middle of the King’s Road. He came to the familiar black railings and sprinted up the gravel driveway and into the church. David’s voice was very low, very intense, and stopped Marcus as he slipped inside the heavy wooden door.
‘Hopefully some of you will have felt something when we prayed at the end of the last session. If you didn’t feel anything, then don’t worry. It happens at different speeds and with different intensities for different people. But just keep on praying, keep on asking God to come into your life. And he will come. I remember a Course member several years back who approached me on the final day
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