The King of Shanghai (13 page)

“Is that all?” Amanda asked.

“No. We want you to be the partner who sits on the board and the executive committee and is the official point of contact for all things PÖ.”

“Gladly.”

“And we want Chi-Tze to be our eyes and ears and brain in the business.”

“What does that mean?” Chi-Tze asked.

“Are you prepared to move to Shanghai?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’ll be our in-house manager. Use whatever title you want. All that matters is that you run day-to-day operations with Gillian.”

“Do you really want that spelled out in the offer sheet?” Amanda asked.

“Yes.”

“They won’t like that,” Chi-Tze said.

“I don’t care. It’s our money, and we have a responsibility to make sure that it and the business are managed in a way that makes us comfortable.”

“I would hate to see you lose the deal because of me,” Chi-Tze said.

“Look, we’re a relatively new company and we’re small, but the one thing we’ll always do is cover each other’s backs. There are more important things than closing a deal.”

Chi-Tze glanced at Amanda, who was staring at Ava. “Thank you for your trust,” she said.

“We’re a team. Thanks aren’t necessary.”

( 15 )

It was nine thirty by the time they sat down for dinner.

As soon as they got back to the Peninsula, Amanda and Chi-Tze had taken over a small boardroom in the hotel’s business centre to begin drafting the offer. “Call me if you need me or when you’re done,” Ava said. Then she went to her room to get her own thoughts organized and to call May Ling.

May answered almost immediately. “How did it go?”

“Well, we’re all still talking and the Pos have agreed to consider an offer. They want it in writing, and the girls are drafting it now.”

“That’s fantastic.”

“Don’t say that until you see it. I wasn’t exactly hard-nosed.”

“I’ve just spent two hours on the phone with Beijing, and we’re scheduled to be back at it in a few minutes. After listening to Suki and the guy there negotiate, I can only say that I have a different view of
hard-nosed
than I did before. They beat the hell out of each other, and then they gladly agreed to do it again.”

“Is it going well?”

“We’re close to a deal in principle. It may take a trip to Beijing to finalize it, but that’s a small matter. We still need to do our due diligence, but Suki already knows a lot about the internal workings of that company, and after listening to her grill the guy, I’ll be shocked if there are any surprises.”

“What is it going to cost us?”

“Close to eighty million U.S.”

“About double what we gave Suki for the shares in her company.”

“He has substantially more assets in terms of warehouses and trucks.”

“That eats up our initial investment fund and then some.”

“Yes, so thank goodness for Xu. And by the way, his money is already in our bank account.”

“On this end we’re going to be out of pocket ten million.”

“Do we really have to front that ten million so soon?”

“After this morning, we need to demonstrate our confidence in the Pos. We were going to put up the money eventually, so why not do it now and get credit for it?”

“I see the sense in that, as long as we have our controls in place.”

“We will or there’s no deal.”

“How about operationally?”

“I like Amanda’s idea of putting Chi-Tze into the business full-time. Clark will obviously be the creative boss, and it makes sense to leave Gillian in charge of day-to-day operations such as procurement and production, but I don’t believe they have enough expertise in actual brand building. Chi-Tze can fill that void.”

“Will the Pos be okay with that?”

“I don’t know. I’m more concerned about our best interests.”

“And you’re not worried that it might be too much for Chi-Tze to take on?”

“No. I know she’s young, but she’s certainly smart enough, and she’s conscientious. Mind you, you never really know if someone is ready to take on a responsibility until you actually give it to them. But Amanda thinks Chi-Tze can handle it, and I trust her judgement.”

May laughed, catching Ava by surprise. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

“I was just thinking how crazy the past twenty-four hours have been.”

“Isn’t that the truth.”

“I find it exhilarating.”

“I felt that way when I left the Po factory, though I didn’t let the girls know.”

“Yes, don’t ruin your image.”

“Image?”

“The girls think you’re the coolest thing around — the unflappable Ava Lee.”

“I wish.”

“Anyway, that’s what they think, and I don’t think you should try to dissuade them of that idea. It’s good when there’s that much respect for the boss.”

“I hardly think of myself as that.”

“Well, you’d better start, because that’s what you and I are now. If we close these deals we will have five companies under our control.”

Ava paused. The thoughts that had been rumbling around in her head during her walk in the French Concession, and later in the taxi, returned. “I can’t help finding it strange. For ten years it was just Uncle and me, and for a lot of that time, especially when I was on a job, it was me alone. I’ve developed a mindset and habits that reflect that experience. It’s going to take me some time to get used to all this interdependency.”

“Nonsense.”

“Anyway, be patient.”

“
Momentai
,” May said, and then quickly added, “Ava, I have to go — Suki is waving at me. I’ll be back at the hotel sometime in the early evening. Save dinner for me.”

Ava yawned. She was exhausted and feeling the effects of residual jet lag and the previous night’s disturbed sleep. It was late afternoon. She wondered if the Bund was negotiable for a run, but a quick glance out the window told her it wasn’t. She turned on the television, skipped past news shows, and found herself looking at a young Chow Yun-fat in the movie
Hard Boiled
, John Woo’s last Hong Kong gangster/cop film before he went to Hollywood. Ava had seen it before and thought it was one of Woo’s best. Chow and Tony Leung were both sexy and moody in it, though Ava thought the female lead, Teresa Mo, was a bit plain for either of them; but then, women were usually incidental in Woo’s films.

She went to the room bar, found a bottle of white burgundy, fluffed her pillows, and lay down on the bed to enjoy some wine and watch the film. She didn’t make it past the first few minutes, waking to the hotel phone ringing and a different film on the screen.

“Ava, this is Amanda.”

“Hi,” Ava mumbled.

“It’s nine o’clock.”

“God, I fell asleep.”

“We’re downstairs waiting for you. We have a table at Sir Elly’s Restaurant, on the thirteenth floor.”

“See you there,” Ava said, and then groaned. She showered quickly, brushed her teeth and hair, and threw on a pink shirt and black skirt. As she was walking towards the elevator, her cellphone rang. Before she could retrieve it from her bag, the elevator doors opened. She stepped inside, and as the doors closed the incoming call was cut off. She checked for missed calls and saw a vaguely familiar Hong Kong number.
Well, whoever it is
, she thought,
they’ll call back.

Sir Elly’s may not have had the dramatic setting of Whampoa, but it was spectacular in its own way. The room was long, with a high arched ceiling, and terminated by a massive, speckled black marble fireplace. Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out onto the Bund, the Huangpu River, and Pudong. May Ling waved to Ava from a window table.

May, Amanda, and Chi-Tze stood as she approached. They were all smiling. Ava saw an open bottle of champagne on the table.

“We’re having a little celebration,” May said, extending her arms for a hug. “Our man in Beijing finally agreed to Suki’s basic terms. She and I are flying there tomorrow to continue the due diligence, shake hands, and put together an offer sheet.”

“Wonderful,” Ava said.

“And the offer letter is done for the Pos. I think it expresses exactly what you want,” Amanda said.

“I’ll read it later. Right now, I’m famished.”

“Champagne okay for you?” May asked, pointing the bottle towards Ava’s empty glass.

“Please.”

“Here’s the menu,” Amanda said, passing Ava a thick red leather tome. “The chef is quite famous. His name is David Chauveau. He’s French, of course.”

“You’ve all decided?” Ava asked, scanning the menu. “Let’s order.”

Ava was awed by the quality of the food. They had all ordered kumamoto oysters, which were served in shot glasses with arugula gelée, fennel, lemongrass, and pickled Granny Smith apples. For her main course May had chosen pork belly coated in masala spices and mango chutney. Both Amanda and Chi-Tze opted for wagyu beef tenderloin. Ava had grilled octopus and crispy pig ear. The pig ear was particularly spectacular, its light, crunchy exterior giving way to a luscious fatty interior.

They chatted as they ate, May entertaining them with stories about Suki’s negotiating style, which was highly emotional — and obviously effective. “And that damn woman,” May said. “We had no sooner reached the agreement with Beijing than she started to talk about a company in Guangzhou!”

When the table had been cleared, Amanda reached down into her briefcase and pulled out four sets of paper, three pages each, neatly stapled. “Shall we go over this now?” she asked.

“I think my head is clear enough,” May said.

They read silently. Ava noticed Chi-Tze and Amanda exchanging glances as they tried to gauge the other women’s reactions. Keeping her face expressionless, she said to May, “Well, what do you think?”

“Although it says that Three Sisters will play an active role in the business, it doesn’t mention that Chi-Tze will have a permanent senior position.”

“Why doesn’t it?” Ava asked the two younger women.

“I thought it was a bit presumptuous,” Chi-Tze said.

“Don’t you feel up to the job?” May asked.

“It’s what I’m trained to do.”

“You’re not answering the question,” Ava said. “We know you have the education. The point is, do you feel strong enough to take this on? I’ve obviously made the assumption that you are, but if you feel otherwise, now is the time to say. We don’t want to throw you into a situation that you can’t handle.”

“I can do this.”

“Are you sure?” May asked.

“Yes. I know I will have to manage Clark as well as the nuts and bolts of assembling a business, and I know that Gillian will be watching me like a hawk, but I’m up for it. I’m up for all of it and I won’t let you down.”

“Then rewrite the letter to reflect the fact that you will be working there full-time and making decisions for us in relation to the PÖ company,” Ava said.

“We will,” Amanda said. “Do you have a particular title you want us to use?”

“Senior vice-president of marketing and branding,” Ava said. “That’s the only change I can see that we need. So when that’s done, send it to Gillian.”

“And if they accept our terms?”

“Then Chi-Tze had better start looking for a place to live in Shanghai. And she should talk to Clark about what kind of space he’ll need to operate in.”

“What about papering it?”

“We’ll use our Hong Kong lawyers,” May said.

Ava’s phone rang, catching her by surprise; she thought she had turned it off. She looked at the incoming number. It was the same as before, but this time it dawned on her who was calling.

“Sonny?” she said.

“Hi, Ava. Are you still in Shanghai?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” she said, standing and moving away from the table.

“Are you somewhere you can talk?”

“Yes. What’s going on?”

“Carlo called me earlier tonight.”

“Carlo?” Ava repeated.

“He sounded nervous.”

Ava knew Carlo very well. He had worked for Uncle for years, usually in tandem with a partner, Andy. The two men had done jobs with Ava and had always been efficient and loyal. Without their help the year before, she doubted she would have been able to extract her brother’s business partner from Macau. “Did he want anything in particular?”

“He wanted to know where you are.”

“Did you tell him?”

“No. Then he asked me to ask you to call him.”

“Why would I call Carlo?”

“I have no idea, but he was insistent.”

“What’s he doing these days, anyway?” Ava asked.

“He’s gone to work for Sammy Wing in Wanchai. Do you remember Sammy?”

“Yes, he helped us track down Jackie Leung when that creep contracted to have me killed.”

“That’s him. He and Uncle became close after that, and when Uncle died, Wing offered jobs to Carlo, Andy, and me. Carlo was the only one who took him up on it.”

“What does Carlo do for him?”

“I don’t know and I don’t ask.”

“Yes, it’s better that way,” Ava said. Uncle had wanted Sonny to stay as far away from his old Triad roots as possible.

“Anyway, now I’ve passed on his message like I said I would.”

“Do you have a number for him?”

“Yes, but Ava, don’t feel that you have to call him. You don’t owe him anything. He was paid well enough for what he did over the years.”

“Actually, Sonny, I owe him quite a bit.”

“You sure?”

“Give me the number.”

“After you talk to him, let me know if there’s anything strange going on,” Sonny said. Ava heard the menace in his voice and couldn’t help but smile. At well over six feet and more than 250 pounds, Sonny was the fastest, most vicious man she had ever encountered, one of the few men she doubted she could best physically. Not that she’d ever had to worry about that — he was completely loyal; she knew there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.

“I’m quite sure it’s nothing out of the ordinary,” she said.

“Still . . . ”

“I know, Sonny. Thanks for the concern.”

“Is there any chance you’ll be coming to Hong Kong this trip?”

“I don’t know.”

“You would let me know?”

“Sonny, if I do go to Hong Kong, you’ll be the first person I call.”

“I thought so, but I just like to hear it. I’ve missed you.”

“Me too.”