The Scottish Banker of Surabaya - By Ian Hamilton Page 0,60
Rome office humming. Linno wasn’t the first offer I had from a foreign bank, you know.”
“But you accepted their offer.”
“They offered me more money than anyone else, and a chance to be the boss.”
It was close to drunken bravado, except that Cameron couldn’t seem to maintain eye contact with her. Ava felt the first flutter of doubt.
“Lucky you. Lucky them.”
“No regrets from my side, and none from theirs, I can tell you.”
“Quite a move, though, from a Scottish bank with offices in Rome to a provincial bank in Indonesia.”
“What do you mean?” he shot back.
“In some eyes it could be seen as moving down market.”
“Let me tell you something, girlie,” he said. “It’s all about opportunity. I was given the chance to grow this bank, and that’s what I’ve done. It’s twenty times the size it was in terms of assets and deposits since I took over, and it’s not just an East Java bank anymore. So you can tell your client in Hong Kong that if he decides to do business with us, he’ll be dealing with a first-rate organization.”
“I didn’t mean to cause any offence,” Ava said.
“None taken,” he said, his tone belying his words.
“So your bank does business outside East Java?”
“Why does that matter if your client wants to do business here?”
“I guess it doesn’t,” she said, wondering why he was so defensive.
“Good.”
Ava and Fay both passed on the bananas and ice cream. Fay wrapped her arm around John’s neck, kissing him on the ear, and watched him eat his share. Ava kept her eyes on Cameron. He was working hard at appearing cool. There is something there, she thought. Maybe nothing important, but there is something.
“That was a great meal,” Ava said as the bill arrived and was quickly picked up by Masterson.
Cameron finished his fourth beer and burped. “Excuse me . . . Manners,” he said, and then grinned the same cocky grin she’d seen when he first walked into the restaurant. “Ms. Lee, why don’t I walk you back to your hotel? We can talk banking on the way and I can buy you a nightcap.”
“Sure,” she said, ignoring the panicked look from Fay.
“I can drive you,” Masterson said.
“No, I’d rather walk,” Ava said.
They left the restaurant together, Masterson and Fay peeling off right to the car park, Cameron leading Ava to the left.
Just before they exited the mall, Cameron stopped. “Look, I have a toilet kit at my office and it’s only a few hundred yards from here. If you want I can go get it.”
“I’m sorry?” Ava said, not quite sure she had heard him properly.
“I’ll spend the night at the Majapahit if you want. Must get lonely for a girl like you, Friday night in a strange city.”
“I don’t get that kind of lonely,” Ava said.
“I don’t make that kind of offer to many girls,” Cameron said, smiling at her discomfort.
“Am I to take that as a compliment?”
“Well, I don’t do ugly.”
“And I don’t do with someone I hardly know. I’m an old-fashioned girl who likes to take her time and ease into things, so if you would rather head on home instead of walking me back to the hotel I’ll understand.”
“Hell no, I’ll walk you. And I’ll still buy you that nightcap while we talk about your client.”
“And your bank.”
“Of course.”
As they walked she kept waiting for him to say something else or try something else, but he was quiet and polite, even keeping a physical distance between them. His directness had surprised her, even with Fay’s warning in mind. Now, she hoped, the moves were over and they could actually talk business.
The hotel lounge was quiet. They found a corner table with no one within hearing distance. “I’m switching to Scotch,” he said.
“I’ll stay with wine,” said Ava.
“Pak Andy, Ibu Ava,” the waiter said.
“I’ll have Glenlivet, neat.”
“The Meursault,” Ava said.
“Your client, what is he actually looking to do here?” Cameron asked when they were alone.
Ava took the business card from the Hong Kong accounting firm and placed it on the table in front of him. “He has an interest in real estate either directly or indirectly attached to the tourist trade. He owns several resorts in Thailand and another in the Philippines, and he has interests in various adjacent properties such as shopping centres, restaurants, and the like.”
Cameron pursed his lips and frowned. “Ava, do you know — and the client should know — that foreigners can’t own land here?”
Shit, she thought, and then started backpedalling. “Of course, it’s