“… had enough of this!”
I watch in dismay as Luke stalks off, out of the room. Michael looks completely taken aback by his reaction. For a moment he’s stock still — then he reaches for his glass and takes a slug of whiskey.
I can’t believe it. I’ve never known Luke and Michael to have a cross word before. I mean, Luke adores Michael. He practically sees him as a father figure. What on earth can be going on?
“I’ll be back in a minute,” I murmur to Suze, and hurry, as discreetly as possible, over to where Michael is still standing, staring into space.
“What was all that about?” I demand as soon as I reach him. “Why were you and Luke fighting?”
Michael looks up, startled — then quickly composes his features into a smile.
“Just a little business disagreement,” he says. “Nothing to worry about. So, have you decided on a honeymoon location yet?”
“Michael, come on. It’s me! Tell me what’s going on.” I lower my voice. “What did you mean, Luke’s abusing his position? What’s happened?”
There’s a long pause and I can see Michael weighing up whether or not to tell me.
“Did you know,” he says at last, “that at least one member of staff from Brandon Communications has been redeployed to work for the Elinor Sherman Foundation?”
“What?” I stare at him in shock. “Are you serious?”
“I’ve recently discovered that a new assistant at the company has been assigned to work for Luke’s mother. Brandon Communications is still paying her salary — but essentially she’s Elinor’s full-time lackey. Naturally she’s unhappy about the situation.” Michael sighs. “All I wanted to do was raise the point, but Luke’s very defensive.”
“He hasn’t said anything about this to me!” I say incredulously.
“He hasn’t said anything about it to anybody. I only found out because it so happens that this assistant knows my daughter, and felt she could call me up.” Michael lowers his voice. “The real danger is that she might complain to the investors. Then Luke would be in trouble.”
“It’s his mother,” I say at last. “You know what a hold she’s got over him. He’ll do anything to impress her.”
“I know,” says Michael. “And I can understand that. Everyone has their own hang-ups.” He looks at his watch. “I have to go, I’m afraid.”
“You can’t leave! Not without talking to him again!”
“I’m not sure that would do any good right now.” Michael looks at me kindly. “Becky, don’t let this spoil your evening. And don’t go and give Luke a hard time. It’s obviously a very sensitive topic.” He squeezes my arm. “I’m sure it’ll all work out.”
“I won’t. I promise!” I force myself to smile brightly. “And thanks for coming, Michael. It meant a lot to us. Both of us.”
I give him a warm hug and watch as he walks away. Then, when he’s gone, I head out of the room. I have to talk to Luke, as quickly as possible.
Obviously, Michael’s right. It’s a very sensitive subject, so I won’t go charging in. I’ll just ask a few probing, tactful questions, and gently steer him in the right direction. Just like a future wife should.
Eventually I find him upstairs, sitting in a chair in his mother’s bedroom, staring into space.
“Luke, I just spoke to Michael!” I exclaim. “He told me you were sending the Brandon Communications staff over to work for your mother’s charity!”
Oops. That didn’t quite come out right.
“One assistant,” says Luke without turning his head. “OK?”
“Can’t she hire her own assistant? Luke, what if your investors find out?”
“Becky, I’m not completely stupid. This whole charity thing will be good for the company too.” At last he turns his head to look at me. “This business is all about image. When I’m photographed handing over some enormous check to a deserving charity, the positive effect will be enormous. These days, people want to be associated with companies that give something back. I’ve already planned a photo opportunity in the New York Post in a couple of weeks’ time, plus a couple of carefully placed features. The effect on our profile will be huge!”
“So why didn’t Michael see it like that?”
“He wasn’t listening. All he could talk about was how I was ‘setting the wrong precedent.’ ”
“Well, maybe he has a point! I mean, surely you hire staff in order to work for you, not to send off to other companies—”