Fractured Tree

Justin Wheatley

Description

A riveting financial thriller about temptation, choices, and the ruthless pursuit of profit and power in the City of London and the oil and gas fields of America.In 2014, environmentalists want to ban fracking, which has powered America to become the top oil producer in the world. Saudi Arabia is worried that too much supply will depress oil prices. One man has a plan that will make him billions.Into this world, twenty-four-year-old Sebastian has the seemingly good fortune to be offered a dream job working for Edouard de Tocqueville, one of the most powerful bankers in the City of London. But, dazzled by the opportunity laid out before him, Sebastian fails to see the devastating consequences of his actions...

Sujets

• Thriller

Informations

• Publié par: Distributed by eBookpartnership
• Date de parution: 23 juin 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781915036384
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Fractured Tree
J USTIN W HEATLEY
First published in 2022 by Justin Wheatley
Copyright © Justin Wheatley, 2022
The moral right of Justin Wheatley to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 9781915036384
Also available as a hardback
ISBN 9781915036377
Also available as an ebook
ISBN 9781915036384
Cover design by Dominic Forbes
Project management by whitefox
To Charlotte
CONTENT
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
1. Sebastian
2. Kate Goes Green
3. The Weekend
4. A Man Hears What He Wants to Hear
5. The Dynasty
6. The Coming Man
7. The Private Secretary
8. Consolidated Gas and Mines
9. The Protest
10. Angel
11. Amber Farm
12. The Report
13. A Well-Woven Web
14. Les Amants
15. A Man is What He Hides
16. Money Costs Too Much
17. The Proposal
18. The Gathering Storm
19. And Others Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them
20. The Trap Sprung
21. Pawn to F4
22. Impossible Pressure
23. Despair
24. The Reckoning
25. The Web
26. Pride – The Original Sin
27. King’s Gambit
28. Black Widow
29. Reversal
30. The Tree
31. Is There Justice?
32. Madison
33. Moral Dilemma
34. Prodigal Son
35. Checkmate
36. The One That Got Away
37. After The Storm
Epilogue
1. SEBASTIAN
Thursday 18th September 2014
‘What is the nature of good and evil?’
Asked with quiet precision, the question had hung in the air.
Sebastian thought back to what he had said in reply. So much had changed so quickly since then. Would he now answer it in the same way? How had he even got himself into this terrible situation? He remembered where it had all started.
Friday 6th June 2014
His father, Ben, coming back from his trip to London, noisily announced his return to the empty hallway.
‘Hallo, hallo. I’m back. I’m back.’
He came straight into the living room, where Sebastian was lounging watching television. He was still wearing his overcoat and smiling broadly. To Sebastian, he seemed to be in unusually high spirits.
‘Hallo, hallo!’ he proclaimed again. Sebastian was taken aback. His father was not normally so ebullient.
‘Er… hi, Dad. You must’ve had a good lunch.’
‘Yes, indeed I did. I had a very good lunch! You, on the other hand, look bored. Are you?’ his father inquired.
‘To death,’ Sebastian confirmed.
‘Well, that’s not right for a twenty-four-year-old Oxford undergraduate. You’ve spent the last year backpacking around Asia with Kate, but now you’re just lying on your back. What are you going to do with yourself? Eh?’
Sebastian rolled his eyes a little. He knew his dad was right, but he didn’t seem to realise how momentous this period was for him. His father was a scientist. He worked for a gas and mining company as their director of research, but he had always known what he wanted to do. Sebastian had no idea what to do with his life beyond making lots of money, and it was dawning on him that a degree in English, even from Balliol, was not an instant ticket to success. His girlfriend, Kate, didn’t know what to do either, but at least she had taken up a role as an assistant nursery schoolteacher while she thought about it.
‘Yes, Dad, I’m working on it, but it’s not easy.’
‘Isn’t it? Mm.’ Ben pursed his lips to hide his smile and then announced his news. ‘Well, I got you a job interview today.’
‘What? Really? Where? Who with?’
‘Steady on, it’s only an interview,’ his father laughed.
‘But this is great… er…’ Sebastian suddenly had a feeling that he might not like what was on offer. ‘What sort of job, Dad?’
‘It’s a job in the City. Big bucks, like you said you wanted to make.’
‘Ah! Mm. Kate won’t like that.’
‘Are you two married already?’
‘Might as well be, and you know how keen she is about being ethical in business. Her dad has told her so many stories about corrupt practices in the City, she’s always suspicious of easy money.’
‘Yes, I know, and, in many ways, I share her views, but this is a starting role: an opportunity to be a junior tick in a small company. I doubt it’ll pay you very much. But that’s not the point. First jobs don’t last long as a rule. They’re a stepping-stone. Some people need two or three to find the right place for themselves, but everyone has to start somewhere.’
Sebastian saw that his lack of enthusiasm had deflated his father somewhat. But he also recognised the wisdom of his father’s words. He even remembered to say thank you.
Tuesday 10th June
Sebastian found himself in the reception of New Gate, a City stockbroking firm. The style was sleekly modern, with steel, wood and glass the dominant materials. On the walls, two large and vivid abstract paintings drew his eyes. Sitting alone in this alien space, he sensed his heart rate accelerate. He also felt uncomfortable in the charcoal-grey suit his mother and Kate had selected for him from the local menswear shop.
‘Classic style,’ his mother had declared. ‘It never goes out of fashion.’
‘I feel like a Victorian.’
‘Well, you wanted to be a City gent,’ Kate had said, ‘so now you have to dress like one.’
Suddenly, Duncan Scott-Williams, the CEO of New Gate, strode into view.
‘Ah! You must be Sebastian Shaw?’ Duncan smiled, flashing brilliant white teeth.
‘Er, yes. Yes, I am,’ responded Sebastian, taken aback and still seated whilst Duncan thrust his hand out to greet him. He saw Duncan’s face become suddenly stern.
‘Stand up in the presence of a senior person,’ he ordered. Sebastian leapt to attention. He had not expected Duncan to have so much authority and presence, nor that he would be so young, probably no more than thirty-three.
‘So-sorry, I was just, um, confused.’
‘Right, follow me,’ Duncan ordered as he headed off in the direction of a meeting room with Sebastian trailing him apprehensively, his heart pumping. Duncan held the door open and pointed at one of the sleek leather chairs surrounding a huge table.
‘Take a seat, young man.’
Sebastian did as instructed, watching to make sure that Duncan had sat down first before he dared to take the offered chair. He was mortified that the interview had started so badly, and his cheeks burnt with embarrassment.
‘Now, tell me about yourself.’
‘Um… well, there’s not too much to tell… Um, I’ve got a 2:1 in English, from Oxford.’
‘Balliol, I see,’ interjected Duncan. ‘Good.’
‘Thank you.’
‘Why didn’t you get a first, eh?’
Sebastian felt his cheeks redden further. He gulped. ‘Not many can get that honour… um…’
‘Bad form to get a first. Shows you’ve no imagination,’ Duncan informed him. ‘Do you like selling things?’
Sebastian had never really sold anything in his life.
‘Yes, I like selling,’ he lied.
‘Got to be quick on your feet to sell. Are you a quick thinker?’
‘I try to be.’ Sebastian felt a trap coming.
‘Any good at maths?’
‘So-so. I got a GCSE, grade A-star, but it’s not my thing really.’
‘A-star eh? Well, well.’ Duncan looked at Sebastian, then asked suddenly, ‘What’s one sixteenth expressed as a decimal?’
Sebastian’s mouth sagged as his brain struggled with this left-field question. Duncan smiled encouragingly.
‘Come on, it’s easy. Start with a half, then a quarter, then an eighth and you’ll get to the sixteenth.’
Sebastian started mumbling out loud: ‘Er, a half is 0.5, so a quarter is 0.25, so an eighth must be 0.125, so, um…’ There was a pause while his brain whirred.
‘Excellent! Almost there. Think of 0.125 as if it was a hundred and twenty-five.’
‘Ah… so it would be 62.5 or rather 0.625.’
‘Not quite.’
‘Oh, yes… 0.0625.’ His brow perspired from the effort.
‘Yes, yes. It’s those zeros that are so important, you see?’ Duncan beamed at him unexpectedly, so Sebastian beamed back, somewhat surprised that Duncan was being so nice.
‘So, you can do maths and we know you’re halfway to being Dickens. You say you’ve made sales, but I’m guessing you’ve no idea what you’re talking about. Nevertheless, we can teach you that. In fact, we’d rather have pristine material to work from – no ugly habits to correct.’
Sebastian nodded nervously.
‘Right. Well, at New Gate we’re different – very different. Most brokerage firms are more concerned about red tape and that kind of poppycock these days than they are in making money. We’re more like an old-fashioned stockbroker. We don’t take prisoners and we love free markets. If we see an opportunity, we grab it.’
Sebastian’s eyes widened as Duncan expounded his vision of his company’s values. He had assumed that all stockbrokers were out to make as much money as possible, but he had not expected such a brazen declaration.
‘We specialise in three sectors, Sebastian: oil, gas and mining. These are really big sectors and the people that operate there are tough bastards to a man. They have to be. You don’t drill for oil in Hyde Park, but in gale-force winds in the North Sea or in minus 30 degrees in the wastelands of Canada, or the steaming heat of Nigeria. They also have to be hard-nosed political operators. But all these companies want capital to dig for glory and so they come to the City to get it. That’s where we come in. They like doing business with us because we understand their mentality.’
Duncan talked and Sebastian listened without really understanding what was being said. Too many new concepts were being thrown at him at once.
‘Anyway, all that is for you once you’ve completed your apprenticeship.’ Sebastian looked up inquiringly. ‘Once you’ve done that, and