Read False Nine for Free Online Page A

interpret for me at this press conference.’
    ‘Are you sure? I will give you a very great deal of pleasure.’
    ‘I think there has been a mistake. I have a girlfriend back in London. She trusts me – more or less - not to misbehave when I am away from home. You understand?’ I wasn’t sure that this was actually the case; Louise and I had never discussed the issue of my fidelity or hers, but I wanted to get past this embarrassing situation with the least offence possible.
    Dong nodded. ‘Pity,’ she said. ‘I find you very attractive. For a blackie. I never had one before. They say once you’ve had black, you never go back, yes?’
    ‘Well, you’ll just have to wait a while longer for that pleasure. With me it’s all strictly business, all right? No hanky-panky.’
    ‘What is hanky-panky?’
    ‘Never mind. You just see what’s happened to my money, all right? And please don’t ever refer to me again as a blackie. I don’t know where you obtained your degree in English literature but this is a very offensive way of describing someone who is black.’
    ‘I apologise. I meant no offence. Frankly I thought it was a term of affection. Like Frenchy. Or Jerry. Do Germans mind being called Jerries?’
    ‘That’s different. Blackie isn’t as bad as some other words perhaps, but it’s still racist.’
    ‘But surely you know by now that all Chinese people are racist by nature.’
    ‘I’m beginning to.’
    ‘Perhaps I should tell you that most nightclubs in Shanghai are a no-go area for blacks. The doormen assume they are all drug dealers and forbid them entry.’
    ‘That won’t be a problem for me, Dong. I don’t much like nightclubs.’
    ‘The players do.’
    ‘They won’t be going to nightclubs either, Dong. I tend to believe that sportsmen should treat their bodies with respect. This means no smoking and no drinking.’
    Dong laughed. ‘But everyone smokes in China. Especially sportsmen.’
    ‘So I noticed.’
    I didn’t say much more until we got to the hotel but once there things swiftly went from bad to worse. The Chairman’s Suite I’d had the time before was no longer available. They offered me a standard room with an en-suite bathroom which was a long way from the Presidential Suite with its own kitchen, dining room and the best view in Shanghai. When I rang down to reception they told me this was the only room they had; then they asked me how long I would be staying as the room was booked for only two nights. Even more perplexing was the discovery that I was paying my own hotel bill. By now I was beginning to feel as if I’d made a serious mistake, but it was only when I spoke to Dong and asked her to have Mr Jia call me that I began to think that something was seriously wrong.
    ‘I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘Mr Jia is out of town. His secretary says he was called away unexpectedly on business last night, to Hong Kong. And that he won’t be back for two whole days.’
    ‘So, he won’t be at the press conference in…’ I glanced at my wristwatch. ‘In fifty minutes’ time?’
    ‘He has sent you a text to apologise,’ said Dong.
    ‘A text. Oh well, that makes everything just fine.’ I looked at my phone. ‘Now if I can only get some reception then I’ll be able to read it.’
    ‘But she did assure me that the money is being paid in to your account today.’
    ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’
    ‘We should go to Gemini now,’ she said.
    ‘Gemini?’
    ‘This is what the Hyatt hotel calls one of its many conference rooms.’
    ‘Seems appropriate.’
    ‘How is that?’
    ‘Gemini has two faces, doesn’t it? Never mind.’
    ‘It’s on the second floor. All the Shanghai press and television have been invited. Already this is a big story. Apparently the previous manager did not know he was to be fired. Outside Gemini you will meet other people from the club, I think. They will introduce themselves. One of our top television people, Yuan Ming, will be there to