Fatal Error Read Free Page A

be right to try to get him to change his mind. We can’t give up without a fight.’
    ‘No, we can’t. But if it does all fall apart, you should be proud of what you’ve achieved. Guy would never have got this far without you. He has his own problems with his father to sort out. You were caught in the middle. It wasn’t your fault.’
    She was right. I knew she was right. And it was exactly what I needed to hear at that moment.
    ‘I’ve been talking to the others,’ she said, ‘and nobody wants to hang around here if you and Guy leave.’
    ‘There’s no need for that. You’ve all put money in. If you stick around you’ll still be able to make something of the site.’
    ‘But if we leave, Tony’s screwed, isn’t he?’

    ‘I don’t know.’
    ‘Think about it. No technical support, no writers, just a bunch of computers, some crappy old desks and a website that will be out of date within a week.’
    I thought about it. She had a point.
    I looked around me at the bodies beavering away. ‘Will they really do that?’
    Ingrid nodded. ‘Yep. I think we should tell Tony, don’t you?’
    I smiled. Tony was a stubborn bastard, but it was worth a try. Well worth a try. I picked up the phone and called him at his flat in Knightsbridge to ask for a meeting. He was quite businesslike. He agreed to see Ingrid and me at nine o’clock the following evening.
    Owen Jourdan strolled in at about midday, clutching a big cup of coffee. I was surprised to see him: if his brother had gone AWOL then I thought he would have too. Owen and Guy had an odd relationship that I had learned to understand over the years. In the normal course of things they hardly spoke to each other, but if one of them got into trouble the other was there for him. Always.
    Owen stalked over to his computer and turned it on, ignoring everyone around him as usual. I went over to his desk, pulled up a chair and sat down. He didn’t say anything, but stared at his computer screen powering up, and sipped his coffee.
    Although Owen was Guy’s younger brother, he looked nothing like him. It was as though some freak hormonal imbalance had stimulated the growth of some parts of his body while ignoring others. He was well over six feet tall and must have weighed close to seventeen stone. He was bulky without being fat, with an oversized head that gave the impression of immense stupidity. His tiny eyes were deeply set beneath full eyebrows. His mop of short white-dyed hairwas uncombed and he looked as if he had just crawled out of bed. He was wearing what he always wore, long shorts and a ninetyminutes.com baseball cap. It was September and the weather was getting cooler. Owen would soon have to get himself a new pair of trousers.
    ‘How’s Guy?’ I asked.
    ‘Pissed,’ he answered.
    ‘By pissed, do you mean pissed off, or pissed drunk?’
    ‘Probably both.’ His voice was high, almost squeaky. Guy and Owen’s mother was American and they had both spent a fair bit of time living there, but Owen’s accent was much more pronounced than his brother’s.
    ‘And how are you?’
    ‘Me?’ For the first time Owen turned towards me, his tiny eyes showing a sudden interest in my face. ‘What do you care about me?’
    ‘He’s your brother. You’ve worked as hard as any of us in starting this company. It’s your father who’s shutting it down.’
    Owen turned away from me, and began tapping passwords into his computer. He ignored me for a whole minute before he finally spoke. ‘I guess I’m pretty pissed too.’
    ‘Guy seems to have given up,’ I said. ‘But the others haven’t. Ingrid says they’re all willing to resign with him. Your father will have to back down, won’t he?’
    Owen didn’t answer, but tapped away.
    ‘Won’t he?’ I repeated in exasperation.
    ‘Dad won’t give up,’ said Owen.
    ‘But why not? You’re his sons. This is his chance to support both of you.’
    ‘Because he’s a total asshole,’ said Owen. His high-pitched