Anyway I still don’t see the point of buying somewhere and then pulling it to bits

“Anyway, I still don’t see the point of buying somewhere and then pulling it to bits. Where does that leave everyone?”"With a lot of second-hand office furniture, I suppose,” I say. Natty frowns – which is a shame because I think it’s rather witty, actually – and looks as if she’s about to start a sentence with “but”. So I get in first and say, “Look, Nats, it’s not worth bothering about. It’s just the way things happen in the City.”Natty gives a sort of nod and turns back to the screens, and Findlay wanders back to his corner Unfortunately, I seem less able to take my own advice. Natty’s innocent questions have decided that they are, after all, worth bothering about; so for the rest of the morning they keep popping back unannounced into my thoughts.

“Yes, why?” I find myself wondering, when I ought to be pricing a deal. “Why would you take over somewhere and then do that to it?”By lunchtime, I have the answer; it’s all down to greed. “Think back to the parties you went to as a small child,” I tell Natty “Do I have to?” she asks. “I always got stuck sitting next to this cruel fat boy called Nigel Pre …”I cut in swiftly.

“Do you want to hear my theory or what?” I say, in a tone even I would have to describe as petulant Natty nods, and I go on. “Well, do you remember that somehow there was always one bun left at the end, and one child who was so determined to have it that they didn’t stop screaming and stamping their feet until they won? Only, once they’d got their sticky fingers on it, they’d peel off the icing or pick out the currants – and then leave the rest? Well, takeovers are like that. You buy the bun, but all you really want is the icing.”"Yes,” Natty says, her eyes shining “Nasty Nigel was always doing that. One year, he got the last piece of my birthday cake, removed the Smartie and spat on the rest so no one else could have it. Anyway, you won’t be surprised to hear he now works in mergers and acquisitions.”"He sounds perfect for it,” I reply “Mind you, at this rate he’ll soon do himself out of a job. There won’t be anywhere left to merge or acquire, and everyone in the City will be working for the same bank. That’s the problem with greed; it never knows whento stop.”On cue, Mrs Hughes arrives with her trolley and her carrot cake that’s so good you have to have seconds Natty raises her eyebrows.

“I thought we’d decided greed was a bad thing?” she says.”Only in the real world,” I say. “This is the City, remember? Motto: greed is good.” “Oh,” Natty replies. “In that case, I’ll have another slice, too, Mrs Hughes.”thetrader hotmail . We’re sold as a pair: If you want Tim, you get me too Our 16-year working partnership began when Tim was at VNU. My sister worked there, and one day she asked me if I knew anyone who needed a job I said: “Yes …