Cockatoo Pt. 17

Something in my voice must have alerted Alex because she went very still, and fixed her eyes on mine.

'James, is there something you're holding back?'

Areeya caught the tone in Alex's voice and turned to stare at me too. Two pairs of eyes were now focused in on me like laser beams.

Here goes nothing, I thought.

'There was something else that Kritsada and I discussed.'

Alex rocked back in her chair, her eyes glinting now as a falcon's must when it sights its prey.

'Fuck, what have you done, James?'

'Look, it's nothing bad, and really it's very good, at least I'm sure it is.'

I was starting to lose control of this and would have to get it back on track. Areeya was looking worried and Alex was relentless.

'James, tell us now, what have you done?'

'I have been thinking for a while that I need to make more of a contribution here. I can't scrounge off the two of you forever. I haven't paid for anything since I've been here and if I am to stay here, I need to make much more of a contribution.'

Areeya jumped in, 'James, it's not a problem, you are going to make a contribution. You're going to update our IT for us and then there's the new club, you're really going to help there.'

'I know, Areeya, and both of you have been so generous to me so far, but I need something more for myself. I need to make a commitment. I guess I mean to say I need to have more of a personal stake in my new life.'

Alex's eyes were still locked on mine. 'Yeah, but what does that have to do with Kritsada?'

I took a deep breath and said, 'I have bought Kritsada out of his share in the club. I'm your new partner in the business.'

There was a stunned silence. For a moment neither of them looked as if they had fully understood what I had said.

'I needed to make a commitment to my new life and this is it. I asked Kritsada if I could buy his share in the club. We agreed a price and shook hands on the deal.'

Areeya was the first to speak, 'And my father agreed to this?'

'Oh yes. In fact, he said there was something else that he could use the money for right now.'

'How much did you agree to pay my father?'

'The $100,000 you told me he had staked you plus something extra to compensate him. He seemed satisfied with the arrangement.'

Alex spoke for the first time, 'Where's the money coming from for this?' Her tone was calm and measured. I doubted that was a good sign.

'From the sale of my house in the UK, and some savings I have built up. I have enough to cover the capital sum and some leftover to pay my way around here.'

Areeya jumped in, 'Are you sure you know what you're doing, James? My father can afford to lose the money if this all goes wrong, but can you?'

'Areeya, that's more of an incentive for me to make sure this doesn't go wrong. I need something to make my life here worthwhile. This is a risk I am willing to take.'

Areeya was about to say something, but Alex held her hand up to stop her. 'How much extra did you pay Kritsada?'

'10% on top as compensation.'

'Yes, that sounds like my father.' Areeya looked upset. 'He will always try to milk the goat twice.'

'What else?' Alex was still speaking calmly, usually a sign she was angry.

'Nothing, why?'

This wasn't the time, I thought, to mention my agreement to work for Kritsada as a consultant.

'Kritsada always wants something else, you know that as well as we do.'

'No, nothing else, just the 10% on top, that's all.'

Alex narrowed her eyes at my answer. I don't think she believed me for a moment, but she didn't follow it up.

Instead, she said, 'So you didn't think it was important enough to ask us before you went ahead and did this?'

I could tell from the tone of her voice, she was now boiling inside. This is what she was mad about.

'What would you have said, if I had asked?'

She shrugged her shoulders, 'We'll never know now, will we? You decided to take that option away from us.'

Areeya looked from Alex to me.

'I apologise for not consulting you before I did it. I was so keen to become part of all this, I acted without thinking it through, I'm sorry. Is it a big problem for you to have me instead of Kritsada as a partner?'

Areeya turned to look at Alex, 'Alex, does it really matter where the money comes from? Not having my father involved does have it's advantages.'

'No, Areeya, you're right, it doesn't matter where the money comes from. After all, it does mean we can exert some real pressure on our business partner if we need to.'

There was an edge to those words, but at that moment, Areeya proposed a toast to our new partnership, and we touched glasses and drank to our future success.

As Alex lifted her glass to her lips, I saw the look in her eyes and I knew I was going to pay a heavy price at some point for what I had done.