Chapter 45: Confirmation

4 December 2025

Bob lifted his glass of lemonade. “To the Richmond Project,” he saluted.

“The Richmond Project,” the men at the table responded enthusiastically. The lunchtime crowd was bustling at Fortnum’s in the Royal Exchange. Barely a stone’s throw from the bank, it was a favourite haunt among the men for good food and a proper drink.

“Cheers,” Bob stated with a smile before he took a sip.

Most of the men had ordered Model Ts for lunch. It was enough to take the edge off on a December afternoon but light enough that they could get away with knocking one back during banking hours.

Bob wasn’t having any of that, though. He had bigger things in mind, so he wanted to keep his head.

That wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying the fruits of his efforts. At this table sat nearly two-thirds of the executives of the Bank of London. They were men of accomplishment and wealth. They commanded over two billion pounds of real estate, securities, and credit facilities.

And they were thoroughly corrupted and conditioned now. They would play their role.

He sipped at his drink and considered the coming days. Once his great rival, Marcus Stone was now poised to serve as his lieutenant. Officers like Gordon Drummond and Curtis Warrington had always been followers. And they would follow him tomorrow.

There remained two wild cards.

Arthur Vance had not responded as strongly to the training as the others. As a result, he might not be able to count on his active support. Instead, Bob was hoping Mr Vance would at least remain on the sidelines when Bob was supported by so many others.

The last board member of significance was Angelica O’Brien. She had been travelling in Spain and Portugal on a business trip and had not been in the office all week. She was expected to arrive at Heathrow on Friday morning and to travel directly to the office.

Bob would arrange for a car to meet Ms O’Brien. She would be properly briefed on the way in.

“Marcus, will you take care of the bill? I have some people to see this afternoon.”

The younger man nodded and smiled. “It would be my pleasure, Bob. Anything to help you out.”

“Good man. I’m pleased that we are seeing things the same way these days.” Bob enjoyed one last sip of his lemonade before making his way out. There was another gathering he was even more interested in joining.

***

Ginny was holding court at Caravan. The women made a point of knowing where their bosses went to lunch and used that insight to find decent places near the office where they could have some time away from them. The Bloomberg Arcade offered several options, including the multinational menu at Caravan.

One of the best parts of being Bob’s first slave was the position of authority to which she had been elevated. Ginny had always endeavoured to be liked by her fellow PAs. But she could tell that some of the ladies were less genuine with their kindness than others.

She saw the side-eyes they gave her, and she heard the catty comments that were whispered loudly enough to ensure she caught them.

But now, there was a genuine connection between them. Every woman was united by a common adoration for their master.

And if they all had to grovel to her to put in a good word with Bob, all the fucking better.

“To the Richmond Project,” Ginny toasted, raising a glass of Prosecco.

The ladies clinked their glasses and echoed her salute. Then they happily drank to the future. Soon Bob would be leading a programme destined to find him a parade of slaves, while Jenny led a team of researchers whose sole objective was to develop new ways of putting the secrets of the virus to use.

Ginny made her way around the table to spend time with each of her colleagues. She respectfully started with Elaine, who had suddenly taken Ginny under her wing. The older woman was actually quite kind underneath her starchy exterior. She was also a lonely bird, which might have explained some of her past behaviours.

Elaine had been married previously. Her husband couldn’t stand how Elaine would prioritise her job, what with the late-night calls and the frequent lack of dinner on the table. Mr Vance entrusted Elaine with a lot of autonomy, and Elaine had rewarded his confidence by demonstrating that he could rely upon her.

She discovered that her husband had lost his commitment to their marriage when she spotted him snogging some blonde tart in the bar at the Royal Exchange. The rumours were horrible, and Ginny now felt guilty for taking too much enjoyment from the gossip.

“Ginny, love, I’m so proud of you for how you’re coming into your own. Bob was very wise to invest his trust in you. You’re becoming a proper leader.”

Ginny gave Elaine a hug. “Thank you, dear. That means a lot coming from you.”

“Stick with me, love. This old bag can show you some things about leading from the shadows, too.”

“Don’t be daft, Elaine. You’re not old at all,” called out Siobhan, another of the older PAs.

“Nah,” added Meghan, a pretty brunette with a background in accounting. “You and Maggie Thatcher weren’t actually sisters, right?”

“Oh, piss off, Meg,” Kaitlyn chimed in. “Lady Elaine is barely old enough to have been your nanny.”

“More like me mum’s nanny,” Meghan called back to a roar of delight from the ladies.

As the group happily fell into playful banter, Ginny headed back to the bar to order another round. She passed through the tables and looked around at the clientele.

One couple at a high table caught her attention. The man was nondescript - a decently dressed bloke with shaggy hair and a goatee. The woman, though, stood out to her as if Ginny had developed an internal radar.

She was an attractive tawny-skinned girl with curly brown hair. She was leaning against the man, not allowing a millimetre between them if she could help it. And her eyes… they were glowing green.

Ginny slipped closer while she moved to the bar, hoping she could eavesdrop a bit without being too obvious.

They were wrapping up their lunch, and he had settled the bill. He stood first and snapped his fingers.

“Come along, Chloe. Time to go.”

“Yes, Sir,” she said enthusiastically before practically jumping off the chair and dashing to his side again.

The two of them exited the restaurant and headed out into the City.

As soon as Ginny got back to the table and distributed the fresh round of drinks, she pulled out her mobile to send a message to Bob.

Master, I am almost certain that I just saw another master in the City.