Only the Strongest Survive (35 page)

George’s
friend came into the office the same afternoon. “I’d like to
increase my capital by 100 percent in a year.”

“Slow down there,” Emely said. “The greedier
you get, the higher the risk.”

His eyes became wide. “What risk? George
never mentioned a risk.”

Emely walked to the coffee machine. “Would
you like a coffee?”

“Yes, why not, thank you.”

“
Good. Let me
tell you this. If you want a 10 to 15 percent increase in a year,
the risk is small. We’ll specify in the contract a portfolio of
investments the highest proportion of which will consist of secure
papers. Do you understand?”

“Not really. Portfolio?”

“
It means
specific shares of individual securities. For example, your
portfolio will contain 15 percent government bonds, 10 percent
speculations in foreign exchange, 30 percent of bonds in large
corporations, and the rest in shares.”

“I see, it’s getting clearer now.”

Emely smiled.
“So, a larger proportion of money that you want to invest in
high-risk securities means a higher risk that your capital could
even decrease by the end of the year.”

“
But also a
greater possibility of increasing greatly,” the young man
said.

“Yes, that possibility does exist.”

“Now I really don’t know what to do.”

Emely said,
“This is what we’ll do. The contract will specify a portfolio that
doesn’t involve a very high risk and the profits will be between 20
and 30 percent a year. What do you think?”

“
But George
talked about a 100 percent increase.”

“
He
exaggerated a bit. But think about this—which bank can give you 20
to 30 percent interest?”

He kept
thinking hard and his bottom lip bled from being bitten. The
thought of entrusting his money to this woman didn’t seem the best
idea. But on the other hand, as things stood he’d have to keep
saving for at least another two years before he could buy a better
car. He tried to calculate how much sooner he could do this if his
money was invested by Emely’s company and realized that he would
avoid a year of arduous saving.

“
I know
you’re confused,” Emely said. “Perhaps you should sleep on
it.”

“
No, I’ve
decided,” he said quickly. “Let’s sign the contract now.” He pulled
a bunch of banknotes from his pocket.

“Whoa, put that money away,” Emely said to
him. “You’ll have to go to the bank and transfer it to my company
account. That’s not a problem, is it?”

He smiled too.

This young
man was Emely’s company’s first client, but at that time she wasn’t
aware that she would have other clients. Every end of the month, he
received a statement. He was pleased with his monthly profits and
the final value of all the papers kept growing even more than Emely
had promised, which pleased him tremendously. He could barely wait
for the mail delivery on those days. And then he bragged about how
smart he was to have invested his money in a stockbroking
company.

Soon, another
client appeared. He was an older man, and at first Emely thought he
was an inspector. In fact, he was the young man’s neighbor, who put
on his best clothes when he came to invest his hard-earned savings.
His voice was shaking when he said, “I heard you do
portfolios.”

“
Excuse me?”
Emely said.

“Well, I’d like to invest some money, but the
bank interest rates seem too low.”

“
I see,”
Emely said, relieved that he wasn’t a market inspector. Not being
fully familiar with all the legislation applying to investments,
she feared any type of inspection. “How much would you like to
invest?”

“Three thousand dollars.”

It’s better than nothing,
she
thought. She explained to him everything about investing in
securities, as she did to George’s friend.

“I’ve been saving this money for ten years. I
hope you don’t lose it.” He looked at her reproachfully. “If you
do, I’ll find you. You won’t be able to get away from me.”

Emely didn’t
know what to say. For the first time she became aware that if she
was going to do business for other people, she’d have to be a great
deal more careful than when it was her own money. She could see in
his eyes that he had had to give up many things in order to save
those three thousand dollars. His suit was at least thirty years
old.

“
Don’t worry.
I suggest you take a 15 percent annual growth. That way the risk is
very low.”

“
OK,” he
said, and signed the contract.

*

In about a week another client came, and then
another and another, until Emely was forced to employ someone whose
only responsibility was to take care of contracts.

*

She’s so smart,
George thought as
he drank his beer.
But I’m not
good enough for her.

“
It’s time
you found
someone more serious,” Alex
told him.

“
What?”
George refocused his thoughts on his colleague.

“
I mean a
steady girlfriend. You’re nearly thirty. How long are you going to
wait?”

He was asked
such questions a lot and they were beginning to get on his nerves.
George wanted Emely; other women were of no interest to
him.

“
I’ll find
one sometime,” he would say. But he had to admit to himself that he
was getting worried about his future. He was obsessed with Emely
and aware of this.
But on the
other hand, I never go anywhere, so how can I meet
anyone?

He was used
to being alone and this didn
’t bother him
most of the time. Only sometimes in the evening, he felt
lonely.

*

Robert Miles
was listening to Lara Paris, who was happily relating this story,
but his thoughts were elsewhere. His readership was falling. While
at first
, people would almost fight for
every issue of the weekly with his articles in it, the current
surveys showed only 70 percent still read them.

When he went
back to the office, his boss cornered him. “Listen, Miles, it’s
time you finished the stories about Emely Donnovan. People are fed
up with reading about her.”

But Miles
didn
’t want to end it yet.
These ungrateful people! When it was
announced that she had disappeared, she became a star overnight.
But now hardly anyone talks about her.

“
Perhaps I
should write something fictional about her,” Miles
said.

The editor
leaned on the doorframe and thought for a while. “I don’t know if
it will help. And her relatives could sue us. The fact is, her
story is already forgotten and people are expecting something
new.”

“People are always expecting something new.
I’m going crazy thinking about something new to write.”

The editor
gave him a strange look and said, “It’s your job, Miles, and you’ve
been doing it very well until now. I’ll give you a chance to write
just one more article about Emely Donnovan, and then the story is
finished.”

“Only one?” Miles said with despair. “But
I’ve only started writing about her.”

“
Listen,
you’ve been writing about this woman for three months. I admit the
articles were popular in the beginning, but that’s in the past now.
Understood? It’s time for something new.”

Miles stared
into empty space, feeling anger brewing inside him. At such moments
he wished he had a lot of money so he could start his own
paper.
Then I could write what
I want to write,
he thought, while out
loud he said, “OK, OK, I’ll write the last article about
her.”

*

That evening
w
hen Miles was sitting in front of the
television, he had an idea.
Of
course, how come I didn’t thing about this earlier?
He jumped out of his armchair and poured himself
a drink.
I’ve got to write
something shocking about her.

Chapter
16

_______________________

Emely had a
feeling that only an hour and a half had passed when the alarm went
off.
Oh no. He’s changed his
mind. Damn it, I knew he’d never let me go.

Her heartbeat
doubled. Within a flash she pulled back the cover and got out of
bed. She noticed Kitty slowly approaching the door, growling
slightly.
Hmm, she’s never
growled before.

Emely
picked up the dog and tried to calm her by
stroking her neck. Emely heard the door being opened and closed
noisily.
He must have
forgotten something.

She could
hear footsteps on the stairs
, which meant
he had searched the ground floor and was on his way upstairs. He
stayed there for a while. For nearly fifteen minutes he kept
slamming doors and then descended the stairs to the
basement.

Maybe it’s the police,
she
thought.
Didn’t he say they’d
come in the morning? Who knows, maybe he changed his mind on the
way and called them so that I don’t have to wait all night. My kind
John.

The metal
handle on the door moved. The door shook, but the lock
didn
’t yield. At that moment all the air
left Emely’s lungs. She put her hands on her mouth and nearly
screamed.
What if it’s
Ronald?

She turned off the light, but immediately
realized she had made a mistake and put it on again. If it was
Ronald, he must have seen the light escaping through the gap under
the door.

She put Kitty
on the floor and the dog started barking ferociously.

Emely
whispered, “Oh no, stop!”

She picked
her up again and began looking for an object with which she could
defend herself, realizing in horror that there was nothing apart
from the chair. With her hand on her mouth she stared at the door,
praying it would not
open. Both she and
Kitty were shaking.

The footsteps
moved away from her room. Emely stood motionless, trying to
decipher the sounds coming from upstairs. She prayed that it would
be anyone but Ronald.
He’s
looking for the keys.

Soon he was
in front of her door again.
A short
silence was followed by a loud bang, which made Emely jump back.
She looked around the room for anything she could use. Whoever it
was, was hitting the door more and more violently and she was
horrified to see the blade of an ax that had found its way through
the wood.

She
couldn
’t keep quiet any longer. Standing
by the wall and trembling in fear, she screamed, “Who are you? What
do you want from me?”

But there was no reply.

He was again attacking the door. That was her
answer.

“Help!” she shouted, even though she knew
there was no point.

The blade of
the ax was advancing through the thick door. She begged
God to help her, covering her ears against the
loud noise—she could not bear to hear it. Finally the door was
smashed. And then she saw him.

Chapter
17

_______________________

Blake
Crouse
sat behind his desk, tired from a
difficult day. He felt he had aged ten years since taking over the
leadership of the Donnovan Corporation.
These damn meetings and negotiations all day long. I
can’t take it anymore.

He wanted a
vacation, somewhere by the sea so that he could walk along the
beach and forget all the problems, but he knew it was impossible.
Even as it was, he couldn
’t accomplish
everything he had to do in a day.

He picked up
his
appointment calendar, prepared for
him for the next day by Maria. His first meeting was at seven in
the morning.
Damn it, let it
all go to hell. Oh, the mess you dragged me into, Emely.

His eyes were
closing when the phone rang.
How many times have I told Maria to lower the volume on
this thing.
“Hello!” he nearly shouted
into the phone.

“
It’s
Alexandra
. I’d like to talk to
you.”

She’s all I need.
Their
relationship had deteriorated during the last few weeks. “Yes, no
problem, but not today. My head is about to burst.” He got a glass
of water and emptied it in a single gulp.

“
No, this is
crucial. It can’t wait till tomorrow. We’ve got to meet
now.”

“What could be so important that it can’t
wait until tomorrow?”

“
I’ll tell
you. I’ll be in your office in a few minutes.”

“
Hang on …”
He wanted to say to her to tell him over the phone, but the line
was dead already. “Oh, let her go to hell.”

He had heard that for a while now she had
been spreading rumors about his inability to manage the company. He
knew she wanted his position, wanted to be the next CEO.