Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, The - Stieg Larsson [274]
“No, Jeremy. You’re not in trouble.”
“That’s good,” he said as he poured himself some coffee. “You have a way of popping up when I least expect it.”
“I’ve been busy lately. I just wanted to get an update on what’s been happening.”
“I believe you were suspected of killing three people, you got shot in the head, and you were charged with a whole assortment of crimes. I was pretty worried for a while. I thought you were still in prison. Did you break out?”
“No. I was acquitted of all the charges and released. How much have you heard?”
He hesitated a moment. “Well, when I heard that you were in trouble, I hired a translation agency to comb the Swedish press and give me regular updates. I’m au fait with the details.”
“If you’re basing your knowledge on what you read in the papers, then you’re not au fait at all. But I dare say you discovered a number of secrets about me.”
He nodded.
“What’s going to happen now?” he said.
She gave him a surprised look. “Nothing. We keep on exactly as before. Our relationship has nothing to do with my problems in Sweden. Tell me what’s been happening since I’ve been away. Have you been doing alright?”
“I’m not drinking, if that’s what you mean.”
“No. Your private life doesn’t concern me so long as it doesn’t encroach on our business. I mean, am I richer or poorer than I was a year ago?”
He pulled out the visitor’s chair and sat down. Somehow it did not matter to him that she was sitting in his chair.
“You turned over $2.4 billion to me. We put $200 million into personal funds for you. You gave me the rest to play with.”
“And?”
“Your personal funds haven’t grown by much more than the amount of interest. I could increase the profit if—”
“I’m not interested in increasing the profit.”
“O.K. You’ve spent a negligible amount. The principal expenses have been the apartment I bought for you and the fund you started for that lawyer Palmgren. Otherwise you’ve just had normal expenses. The interest rate has been favourable. You’re running about even.”
“Good.”
“The rest I invested. Last year we didn’t make very much. I was a little rusty and spent the time learning the market again. We’ve had expenses. We didn’t really start generating income until this year. Since the start of the year we’ve taken about 7 million. Dollars, that is.”
“Of which 20 per cent goes to you.”
“Of which 20 per cent goes to me.”
“Are you satisfied with that?”
“I’ve made more than a million dollars in six months. Yes, I’m satisfied.”
“You know … you shouldn’t get too greedy. You can cut back on your hours when you’re satisfied. Just make sure you spend a few hours on my affairs every so often.”
“Ten million dollars,” he said.
“Excuse me?”
“When I get ten million together I’ll pack it in. It was good that you turned up in my life. We have a lot to discuss.”
“Fire away.”
He threw up his hands.
“This is so much money that it scares the shit out of me. I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t know the purpose of the company besides making more money. What’s all the money going to be used for?”
“I don’t know.”
“Me neither. But money can become an end in itself. It’s crazy. That’s why I’ve decided to call it quits when I’ve earned ten million for myself. I don’t want the responsibility any longer.”
“Fair enough.”
“But before I call it a day I want you to decide how this fortune is to be administered in the future. There has to be a purpose and guidelines and some kind of organization that can take over.”
“Mmm.”
“It’s impossible to conduct business this way. I’ve divided up the sum into long-term fixed investments – real estate, securities and so forth. There’s a complete list on the computer.”
“I’ve read it.”
“The other half I’ve put into speculation, but it’s so much money to keep track of that I can’t keep up. So I set up an investment company on Jersey. At present you have six employees in London. Two talented young brokers and some clerical staff.”
“Yellow Ballroom Ltd? I was wondering what that could be.”
“Our company. Here in Gibraltar I’ve hired a secretary and a promising young lawyer.