‘So what happens next?’

Shireen shrugged. ‘Well, Johnny Lam can either increase the offer to change the family’s mind, or go hostile, which essentially means opening it up to independent shareholders to see if what he is offering is more attractive than staying with the existing management. Or he can abandon the takeover.’

‘Which, according to Cathcart, he never does.’ Gillard noticed that several commuters were eyeing them curiously, probably listening to what they were saying. ‘I don’t think this is quite the place,’ he said.

Later, as they walked to Snow Hill police station, she said, ‘I really don’t understand this. All the hopes and dreams of the Roy children will be destroyed if they reject the bid. Prisha, desperately trying to give birth to a boy so she can grab the prize from the trust, Kiara and her fashion business, Deepak and his greed. I mean, they are really not in a position to pick and choose. The banks will demand their money back the moment they miss an interest payment. From what we’ve heard, EoS just doesn’t have the cash.’

‘Well, people can be stubborn,’ Gillard said. ‘They just won’t let go of the dream.’

‘It’s about to become a nightmare,’ Shireen said, pointing out an article on her phone. ‘The press has finally identified that EoS had a valuable stake in Nosh2U. By tomorrow morning they’ll have figured out that the company isn’t solvent.’ She looked up. ‘Boss, I think it’s the end for them.’

‘It certainly will be if the SFO announces an investigation into the company, which is what I expect we’ll agree tonight. I just hope that we get our hands on Tripathi before he gets away.’

Susannah Majesky was on her first business class flight, her first major sales trip since being promoted to VP for South Asia. Okay, so the company was still loss-making, and there were bigger rivals among the ride hailing apps, but at twenty-nine she had the job that had been worth getting the MBA for. Now, reclining in her window seat, waiting for the BA flight to Mumbai to push back from the air bridge, she was sipping a glass of champagne, and looking forward to plugging into some very good music. She heard a slight noise behind her, and the thunk of the jet door closing. It was departure time, 4.10 p.m. The seat next to her was still vacant, even better news.

She looked up to see a sleekly handsome Indian-looking man in a dark suit. He smiled at her, perfect white teeth in a well-cared-for designer stubble.

‘Phew, just made it,’ he said, stowing his slim silver briefcase in the overhead locker. He settled himself down and introduced himself. ‘Are you a regular on this route?’ he asked, his mocha-coloured eyes drinking her in. She began to tell him her story, interrupted only when the pretty but overly made-up blond stewardess brought him a glass of fizz.

He downed it in one, returning the glass to her. ‘Thank you so much. It’s been that kind of a day,’ he said, earning in exchange a smile that seemed at least a millimetre broader and more interested than required. Susannah was surprised to find that it elicited a hostile pang in her.