‘It’s good,’ I said. ‘How long before it breaks even?’

‘Depends. A year.’

‘You’ve got everything you need. On paper, a first-class security set-up, top staff…’

We were in his office, a medium-sized room with a good view over the city. He was on the Perrier still and I was on my second glass of white wine-well, I was being driven back, wasn’t I? There was a bookshelf, something you don’t see in every office, and the books looked read-a lot of stuff on gambling and business management, but also some dictionaries of quotations, biographies and novels.

‘You’re sharp. You’ve put your finger on it. This is all on paper and it’s not worth much unless the right people are running it, particularly the right man at the top.’

I drank some of the very good dry white and didn’t say anything.

‘I want you to head it all up. Hire the security staff, supervise the whole operation. You’ll be the number three man below me and my systems manager. Office just like this one. Secretary, the works. The job’s worth around two hundred grand a year-car, clothing allowance and rent of a flat in the package, expenses. A one-year contract. Option to renew. What d’you say?’

I’ll admit I thought about it. My Glebe house was crumbling around me for lack of maintenance, business wasn’t good and was unlikely to get better. I was healthy but a few old injuries were slowing me down a touch. The Hong Kong trip had given Glen and me a taste for travel. I wanted to see… But I only thought about it for a minute, maybe less. I finished my drink and put the glass on the low teak table beside the scale model of the casino.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘It’s an attractive proposition, but I just don’t have the temperament to work inside an organisation. I’m no good at routine. I don’t like doing the same thing twice even. I do it, of course, but I duck it as much as I can. Also, I’m a bit erratic. Your job would involve a hell of a lot of repetition and attention to detail.’