When Ron saw me, he acted as if nothing had happened, as if I had just gone to the break room once. My face was calm, too. I think we have an unspoken understanding of what happened yesterday. He was delighted to learn how much Frade was planning to bid. He even suggested that I should see Frade more often in private, to get more useful information.

I promised to help him as much as I could, and I took the opportunity to suggest that I look for a new bank to borrow money from. Ron trusts me enough to know that the bank I'm looking for is infallible. If...