The Scarlatti Inheritance(35)

“Yes. You’ve always made that very clear.”

Elizabeth Scarlatti circled the desk and sat down in her chair. “I’ve never been wedded to the idea that nothing changes. Everything changes. And it’s possible you have talent. You are the son of Giovanni Scarlatti and, perhaps, I was a damned fool to change the surname. It seemed right at the time. He was a genius.… Go to work, Ulster. We’ll see what happens.”

Ulster Stewart Scarlett walked down Fifth Avenue. The sun was out and he left his topcoat open. He smiled to himself. Several passersby noticed the large, striking-looking man with the open coat in the February cold. He was arrogantly handsome, obviously successful. Some men were born to it.

Ulster Scarlett, seeing the looks of envy from the little people, agreed with the unspoken thoughts.

Heinrich Kroeger was on schedule.





CHAPTER 10


When Horace Boutier, president of Waterman Trust Company, received Chancellor’s request for an indoctrination program for his brother Ulster, Boutier knew immediately who to make responsible,

Third vice-president Jefferson Cartwright.

Cartwright had been called on previously for duty with Ulster Scarlett and with good reason. He was, perhaps, the only executive at Waterman Trust who did not instantly irritate Ulster Scarlett. In a large measure this was due to Cartwright’s unorthodox approach to his work. Quite unbankerlike.

For Jefferson Cartwright, a blondish, large, aging man, was a product of the playing fields of the University of Virginia and learned early in his career that the qualities that made him famous on the gridiron—and on the campus—served him extremely well in his chosen profession.

Briefly these were to learn the formations so thoroughly that one was always in the right position at the right time when on the field and always to press an advantage with the sheer bulk of one’s size.

Off the field was merely an extension of the playing principles. Learn the surface formulas, wasting as little time as possible on complexities beyond one’s grasp, and, again, impress everyone with the size—and attractiveness—of one’s physical being.

These principles—when combined with an easy, outgoing Southern charm—guaranteed Jefferson Cartwright’s sinecure at Waterman Trust. They even put his name on department letterheads.

For although Jefferson Cartwright’s knowledge of banking hardly approached an expert vocabulary, his ability to commit adultery with some of the wealthiest women in Manhattan, Long Island, and southern Connecticut brought many excellent accounts to Waterman. Yet the bank’s directors knew that their prime social stud was rarely a threat to any relatively secure marriage. Rather, he was a temporary divertissement, a charming, quick, and complete roll in the hay for the bored.

Most banking institutions had at least one Jefferson Cartwright on the executive payroll. However, such men often were overlooked when it came to club memberships and dinner parties.… One could never be sure.

It was the vague sense of ostracism that made Cartwright acceptable to Ulster Scarlett. Partly because he knew why it existed and it amused him, and partly because Cartwright—outside of a few mild lectures about the state of his accounts—never tried to tell him what to do with his money.

The bank’s directors knew this, too. It was right that someone should advise Ulster Scarlett—if only to impress Elizabeth—but as no one could change him, why waste a committed man?

At the first session, as Cartwright called it, the banker discovered that Ulster Stewart Scarlett didn’t know the difference between a debit and an asset. So a glossary of terms was prepared to give him a basic language to work with. From there another lexicon of stock market phraseology was written for him and in time he began to master it.

“Then, as I understand it, Mr. Cartwright, I have two separate incomes. Is that correct?”

“Indeed it is, Mr. Scarlett. The first trust fund, which is comprised of stocks—industrial and utility—is for your annual livin’ expenses. Houses, clothes, trips abroad, purchases of any sort.… Of course, you certainly could invest this money if you wished. You have durin’ the past several years if I’m not mistaken.” Jefferson Cartwright smiled indulgently remembering a few of Ulster’s extravagant withdrawals. “However, the second fund—the open-faced bonds and debentures—is designed for expansion. For reinvestment. Even speculation. That was your father’s wish. Of course there’s a degree of flexibility.”

“What do you mean flexibility?”

“It’s hardly conceivable, Mr. Scarlett, but should your livin’ expenses exceed the income from the first trust we could, with your power of attorney, transfer capital from the second fund to the first. Of course, this is hardly conceivable.”