he was nondescript: medium height, slight build, a thin, wormy moustache, black hair cropped close to his skull. He hadn’t changed much in five years. Maybe a little heavier, no eyeglasses, but still the same teeth and still the same affection for Burberry tartan shirts. She remembered that his name was Lok.
She extended her hand when they reached the table. Kao Lok came halfway out of his seat and reached for her hand, barely touching it. She searched his eyes for recognition but they were blank. “I’m Lok. This is Wu,” he said, pointing to the other man.
Wu didn’t budge, his gaze still fixed on her chest. Bad manners and a pig as well, she thought.
The Hong Kong group sat and Lok poured tea for them. Ava thanked him with a gentle tap of her middle finger on the table. He gave an awkward smile. “I wasn’t very happy when I found out you were bringing a financial adviser, but now that I’ve met her I’m pleased you did. Maybe when she’s finished with you, she can give me advice,” he said.
Simon and Michael both looked uncomfortable. Ava knew it was only going to get worse. You stupid sons of bitches, she thought.
“Did you bring our cheque?” Wu asked.
“Did you bring ours?” Simon shot back.
Wu bristled. Ava looked at him. He was a short, compact, ugly man with thick arms, a big chest, and a small nose that turned up so much the nostrils stared straight ahead. He had a large black mole on his cheek with long, curly black hairs springing from it. The hairs were supposed to be good luck.
There goes Plan A, Ava thought when she noticed two men standing against a wall about ten metres from their table. They were watching them — looking bored, but watching them all the same. This really isn’t going to go well, she decided.
“You made a promise and we’re holding you to it,” Wu said.
Michael struggled to interrupt, to start the meeting on a more even keel, but he had barely got the first sentence out of his mouth before Simon spoke over him. “That’s bullshit.”
“You told David Chi that you were committed, and that if more money was needed you’d find it.”
“We were in a fucking karaoke bar, half-drunk, having a casual conversation about the project, and he said something vague about cost overruns. That was all I was responding to, and all I said was that if it came to that, we’d consider putting up more money. More money on the assumption that the fucking shopping centre was almost finished. You fuckers haven’t even dug a hole yet.”
And there goes Plan B, Ava thought, before interrupting. “Gentlemen, could we please just back it up for a moment.”
Wu sat back.
“I apologize for Simon,” Michael said, finally trying to salvage the meeting. “We’re under tremendous stress on our side. Because of the delays in the project — none of which, I’m sure, are deliberate — we’ve breached a number of covenants with our bank, and they’re ready to call in the loan we used to finance our portion. You can imagine how difficult that is.”
“Not our problem,” Wu said.
“It is if the bank decides to try to foreclose on the property, or if it decides to pursue action against all of us.”
“Not our problem.”
Ava waited for Michael to continue. He sat silent. Well, let’s play this out, she thought. “Gentlemen, I’m quite confused about the status of the project. Could you give me an update?” she said.
“One of the investors pulled out. We need more money. There’s no point starting what we can’t finish,” Wu said.
“When I reviewed the contract, I didn’t see any provision that required us to put in additional funds.”
“I told you, he agreed to it,” Wu said, pointing to Simon.
“I did no such fucking thing,” Simon yelled.
Lok reached into his trousers pocket and Ava flinched, afraid of what he might pull out. It was a piece of paper. “Here is a signed affidavit from David Chi.”
Simon grabbed it and, without reading, tore it to shreds. “He’s a fucking liar and so are you,” he yelled, throwing the pieces at Lok.
Ava was so focused on the paper she didn’t notice Wu get out of his chair until it was too late. He came around the table, and as he was moving forward he threw a punch at Simon’s head. It caught him on the upper cheek, just below the eye. Simon reeled back and then, almost in