Page 109 of Crocodile Tears

“Ten thousand?”

Tyler grinned. “I’m a gambling man, Alex. You don’t get where I am without putting your money on the occasional risky bet along the way. But maybe the stakes are too high – want to make it five thousand?”

“No – let’s make it twenty,” Alex said boldly.

Tyler chuckled. “I knew I liked you.”

They shook hands, and he lined up the shot and tapped the ball. They watched as it trickled slowly towards the hole and then circled it – once, twice… before sitting on the edge, unmoving.

“Bloody ball!” Tyler laughed, reaching into his pocket to remove hiswallet. “Ah, well – you win some, you lose some.” Sighing regretfully, he stacked a cash card with £20,000 and handed it over.

It was refreshing to meet a businessman so unlike his father. It didn’t hurt that Tyler was also extremely attractive. Alex wondered who shared his private life. He wasn’t married, but Alex didn’t get a gay vibe from him. Maybe he was bisexual – that would give them something else in common.

“As for your father’s complaint about me bad-mouthing Lytton AV,” Tyler said as they continued playing. “Well, it’s true that some of our ad campaigns have been a little on the nose, but I’m a competitor, and I play to win. I’ve never said anything about Lytton AV that isn’t true, but he seems to think that some kind of gentlemen’s agreement should exist between us because of our shared history. I disagree, but then I’m not exactly a gentleman.” He gave a sly grin.

Alex had never met anyone as refreshingly honest, direct, and irreverent as George Tyler, and he liked it. The older man raised an eyebrow, and Alex burst out laughing. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Tyler joined in.

“You know, I really do like you, Alexander,” he said, and his expression changed in an instant, becoming brisk. “So, now I’ve established you’re someone I can do business with – it’s time for you to show me what you came here for. Let’s see these designs of yours.”

Alex was startled by the sudden change of subject. “What about the golf?”

“Sod the golf – we have business to discuss.”

Tyler threw his club at his caddie and strode back towards the house. Alex ran after him, feeling even more nervous now than when he’d arrived. He believed in his designs, but he liked this man and wanted to impress him; it would break his heart if Tyler rejected them.

Tyler led him into his study, a massive room with screens covering every wall. He clicked his fingers impatiently, and Alex scrabbled to open his nanopad and ping over the designs. They appeared instantly on the screens.

“Talk me through your ideas,” Tyler ordered, striding around the room.

Alex’s nerves disappeared the instant he opened his mouth; he loved talking about his designs.

“It’s a new idea – I know it’ll be expensive to develop and produce initially, because it’s such a departure, but I’m convinced it’s what people want. As you know, the basic design of ducks hasn’t changed in years. They’re watertight and functional. The engines have improved enormously, so they don’t conk out, leaving you stranded in the water anymore, but they still sit on it like… well, ducks.”

Tyler put his head on one side thoughtfully as he examined the drawings. “Solange calls your designs ‘flying ducks’ – but they don’t fly, do they?”

“No!” Alex laughed. “They skim above the surface of the water, unlike a conventional duck which chugs through it. My design is faster and sleeker. Ducks can be beautiful as well as efficient – they don’t have to look so ugly.”

“Interesting. We investigated hovercraft tech a while ago, but we couldn’t make it work effectively on our existing roads as well as on water. What makes you think this is any better?”

“I’m good.” Alex grinned.

“And modest.” Tyler laughed.

He moved energetically between the screens, firing off questions, all of which Alex managed to answer.

“Your designs are excellent,” Tyler proclaimed finally. “Much better than I expected, to be honest. When Solange first suggested meeting you, I did wonder if it’d be a waste of time. I thought that maybe you were a spoilt little rich kid, playing at all this.”

“I’m not.”

“Why did you take a business degree and not art or design?”

“Because my father made me. I used my time at Oxford to study what I was really interested in, though.”

“I like that. I like that you’re engaged and passionate, but these are a risk.” Tyler flicked his hand at the screens. “They’ll be expensive to produce, initially, and they might not sell.”

“But you like to take risks, sir,” Alex pointed out, with a wink.

Tyler laughed. “That’s true. So, your father wasn’t interested in your designs?”

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