The overhead fan began to squeal, sending little bolts of tension into the air, before slowly the mechanism returned to its normal hum. Dimples appeared on Sam’s cheeks. The young man’s eyebrows were raised the entire meeting, his forehead creased. His expression, smarmy or anxious, was difficult for Lucky to read. Shirley, the speaker, the leader, seemed to enjoy getting to the point.

‘How long you two been in the restaurant game?’ Lucky asked.

‘What’s important is that we understand strategy,’ said Shirley. ‘That’s what you should pay attention to. We’ve done the research. As it happens, we own a few retail spaces in the city. And we part-own an afternoon newspaper, the Sydney Daily Post.’

‘I don’t buy that paper,’ said Lucky. ‘It’s low-grade stuff.’

He opened the folder in front of him: inside were addresses, estimated property values, estimates for yearly turnover, spreadsheets he couldn’t comprehend, graphs that baffled him, and a new Lucky’s logo, which wasn’t half bad. He flicked through the papers, as if rummaging for something he couldn’t find.

‘You want a stake in the franchise?’ Lucky said. ‘I’m kind of intrigued. How much?’

‘Not a stake—we want to acquire the Lucky’s franchise outright. There’s a figure on the first page of that document. That’s what we’re offering. And it’s a generous offer, all things taken into account.’

All things? Lucky turned to the first page. The figure was enough to pay his creditors and take a brief overseas holiday.

‘You must be joking,’ he said.

‘We understand exactly what state the business is in,’ said Shirley. ‘We know a great deal about the situation with Phoenix Construction. We know what it’s cost you. We know the banks. We’re giving you an opportunity to walk away.’

‘Do you ever say anything?’ Lucky asked silent Sam.

‘I do numbers,’ Sam said. ‘Shirley is the more creative half.’

2.