I know that I had approached the meeting with Angela's lawyer thinking that the whole idea of doing business with a guy who was fucking my girlfriend would be a bit weird ... but it turned out to be even more weird than I was expecting.
I had formed a mental image of what Richard Gravin would be from some of the things that Angela told me and the guy in that image was definitely not the guy who sat behind the desk. I was expecting a man with some gravitas, a head of white hair, a deep suntan from years spent on the golf course, maybe a little overweight but a presence that could sweep Angela off her feet.
What I got was a fussy, balding little man who wore thick glasses, had lily-white skin, a definite paunch and a meek manner that had me thinking that he would run away screaming if I even spoke to him. Angela introduced him and then sat back with a faint smile on her lips as she saw me struggling to come to terms with the little man behind the desk.
I explained what I wanted to do and he listened to me without saying a word. I handed him the documents that the Old Man and sent and Richard perused each one of them carefully ... twice ... before placing them in a neat pile to his right.
When he had finished reading them he picked up his phone and dialled a number, "Hello Nigel, I've just been reading some interesting documents"
'Damn,' I thought, 'he's talking to Nigel Blackall ... The Old Man!'
"Don't look so surprised Mr Barrington," Richard said when he ended the call, "Nigel and I go back many years and I'm impressed, he speaks very highly of you ... which is very reassuring considering our other involvement."
I looked across at Angela and I'm sure both she and the little man behind the desk thought my thoughts were focused on that 'other involvement' but what I was actually thinking about was Angela's part in recommending that I come to see Richard and where that line of thought might take me.
"I'll take the necessary steps to register your company Mr. Barrington. Your registered office for business purposes will be here, there's nothing unusual about that, and I suggest that you actually attend the physical office that Nigel has set up for you from time to time.
"I know that these days everyone sees their mobile phone as their office, but you never know when you might need people to believe that you do have a physical address. Is there anything that you want to do in your company's name in the next few days?"
"I was hoping to purchase a car and register it in the company name sometime next week but I can't think of anything I really need apart from that."
"Hmmm," the little man frowned, "I think that you will find that Nigel has taken care of that and a vehicle should be delivered to you in the next day or so. He'll also have a laptop provisioned for you with all the software you will need along with a mobile phone that will come with some extra features.
"He has also asked me to give you these," he took a small pack of what looked like business cards out of his desk draw and slid them across to me. I glanced at them and they were what I expected, a small phone number in the top right-hand corner and a large four-digit number printed on it.
"Nigel also asked me to tell you that you're back in the system."
"Forgive me for being rude but, how many of these companies have you set up for Nigel?" I could have couched my question differently and just asked him straight out how long he had worked with Nigel but I chose a slightly less confrontational approach and got the answer I really wanted.
He peered at me over his glasses, "I'm not at liberty to say Mr Barrington but you can be assured that Nigel and his department deal with me because I understand their needs and I am most discreet."
So, Angela recommended that I see her lawyer who just happened to be a very good friend of The Old Man and they went back a long way ... where was that all going and why were they playing silly games with me? Why had the Old Man chosen to set up a company in my name instead of having it set up in a fake name?
"Ahh ... are still with us Mr. Barrington?" I smiled and mentally shelved my thoughts about Angela and the others.
"Sorry Mr Gravin, I was just thinking about the business."
"Hmm, I'll be in touch with you by Wednesday to let you know when you can officially start operating as a business. But now I would like to talk about another matter with you.
"I believe that you and Angela will be having dinner with my wife and me on Sunday night and Pip wondered if you had the time to spare to have lunch with her tomorrow. I am sure that you will understand that she would like to meet you before Sunday, just to get to know you."
The man was basically discussing the possibility of me fucking his wife and yet his tone, his demeanour, didn't change. It was as if fucking his wife was an extension of setting up my company.
I looked across at Angela and she smiled and gave a slight nod. "I would be delighted to have lunch with Mrs Gravin. I don't have her phone number so perhaps she can text me the time and location?"
It all sounded so polite and civilised and ... totally weird to me. I was going to have lunch with this guy's wife and end up having sex with her and it was all going to be done in the most civilised manner ... but then why not?
While it might involve sex and passion it really did come down to a basic business transaction. Angela and I had a product that was for sale; the Gravins wanted to buy the product and when the purchase was made it was a win / win for both the producers and the consumers. All so very neat and tidy ... just like the man behind the desk.
With all business concluded we stood up to leave, I shook hands with Richard and once my back was turned, Angela kissed him. I heard her murmur, "One day you really must have me on your desk ... it is so crying out to be used for our pleasure." I didn't hear Richard's reply but Angela's wicked little laugh suggested that he might be going to take her up on that suggestion quite soon.
"What was that all about, 'being in the system' and those cards he gave you?" she asked as we walked back to the elevators.
