"Is it that bad?" His stare carried alarm. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Sit tight on the offering. Don't say yes or no, just find a way to postpone it. And send that telex. I'll dictate it for you. After that, you can reach me at my hotel. Strand Palace."
"The Strand Palace? Michael, you?" He smiled. "Hardly up to your usual standards."
"I don't do as much freelance these days as I used to. So I have to learn to live closer to my means."
"I'll believe that when I see it," he said with a laugh. "You're not telling me the truth. About anything."
"You're right. And it's for your own good. You just stall on the offering and let me play this my way. If things aren't straightened out in a day, two tops, we're both in a lot of trouble."
"Two days?"
"It has to happen by then. Too much is going on."
"Now you're really starting to make me alarmed."
"You should be."