My pair are anthracite gray with silver studs, and Minnie absolutely adores them. She grabbed them and put them on as soon as I got them out of the box, and she tottered around in them all evening. Then she wanted to go to bed in them. When I said, “No, darling, you can’t wear boots in bed,” she wanted to hug them in bed, like a teddy. And then, when I finally exclaimed, “No! Mummy is wearing them tonight!” she said, “But da boots love Minnie,” and gave me this sad, reproachful look that actually made me feel really bad, even though they’re my boots. I mean, honestly.

Anyway, she’s asleep now. We’ve found a really nice, highly recommended babysitter called Judy, and she’s staying in our bedroom till we’ve finished our meeting. I mean, yes, I could have brought Minnie along and sat her on my knee. But first: It’s past her bedtime. And second: This is business. As I look around, I can see that all our faces are taut with intent. (Except Danny’s, which is taut with the “firming serum” he got at his facial. Apparently his afternoon at the spa was so blissful, he doesn’t care if he missed all the action, and he can always get it on “catch-up”—i.e., me telling him all about it.)

“Corey is like a fortress, we all know that.” Dad’s voice brings me back to the room. “Nevertheless, Tarquin has managed to get into the inner sanctum.”

“Corey’s asked me to meet his board members.” Tarquin gives an affirming nod. “I have his cell number. He’s told me to call anytime.”

“That’s amazing!” I say. “Well done!” I break into applause and everyone joins in, while Tarquin looks modest.

“It’s still tricky, though,” Tarkie continues. “First, because Corey has stepped back from the day-to-day running of his business. His new wife and daughter are the apple of his eye, and that’s all he’s interested in. Second, because he doesn’t like talking about the past.”

“Because his wife thinks he’s fifty-something,” I put in, and Dad gives a wry chuckle.

“It’s not just that,” says Tarkie. “He’s almost phobic. He ducks any question about the past. I asked him directly if he’d ever traveled round the States as a young man, whereupon he flinched and started talking about his last holiday in Hawaii.”

“So we can’t appeal to the goodness of his heart,” says Dad. “Or any sense of nostalgia.”

“Not at all,” agrees Tarkie. “We’ll somehow have to force him into doing the right thing. Now, as I said, I’m having lawyers look at the deal that Brent did. But unfortunately there’s no hard evidence that Corey ever lied to or misled Brent. This all happened a long time ago, and it’s one man’s word against the other’s.”

“But Raymond told us!” puts in Suze.

“Maybe. But do you think Raymond will ever agree to appear in court to support Brent?” Tarkie shakes his head. “Corey’s story will be that Brent is simply bitter after having made a poor business decision.”