But the unfinished manuscript that had landed on their desk three weeks earlier had bucked that harmonious trend, causing the business partners to come to loggerheads for the first time Roland could remember. He had read the manuscript with unmitigated alarm, felt sickened by it and been utterly amazed when Andrew’s response to it had been the exact opposite. While Seaward wanted no part in the book or its author, Laverack was all for getting him signed up as soon as possible, in the belief that this was a sure-fire hit that could transform the agency’s fortunes. It was certainly true that they hadn’t had a big success in a while, and money was tighter than it used to be.

Their strongly differing viewpoints on the matter had grown into something of a bone of contention between the two men. Finally, that morning in Roland’s office, the building tension had flared up into a full-blown argument.

‘I wish you’d see sense on this, Roland,’ Laverack had told him. ‘It’s not every day that a well-known public figure comes forward with something this sensational. You don’t need me to remind you how slow things have been of late.’

‘No, I don’t, though I suppose you’ll keep reminding me anyway,’ Seaward snapped back. ‘And you’re perfectly right, God knows the agency could do with a boost. And it will come. I believe that.’

‘This is it, right here,’ Laverack countered. ‘Our big opportunity. How can you be so obtuse? Are you seriously intent on letting this slip through our hands? If we don’t get him signed immediately, I can think of at least twenty of our competitors who’ll snap this book up without thinking twice, and laugh all the way to the bank.’

‘I resent being called obtuse, Andrew.’

‘Meanwhile, how much longer do you think we’re going to survive, eking out a percentage from a load of dusty old memoirs nobody wants to read? There’s a market out there for something new and exciting, and it’s about time we started catering for it.’

‘If this kind of sick trash is what today’s readers hanker for, then God help them. Let them go and read it courtesy of someone else. It’s not what this agency is about.’

‘It’s about making money, Roland,’ Laverack replied hotly. ‘It always was. And guess what, these days everyone else is doing it except us.’

‘Oh, I’d love to make a ton of money, believe me. But not on these terms, Andrew. It’s not our style. More than that, it’s simply too hot for us to handle.’

‘What are you talking about? Controversy sells!’