Taken from Jeffrey Archer's fifth collection of short stories, Cat O' Nine Tales , comes this irresistible, witty and ingenious short read.

Gian Lorenzo Venici and Paolo Castelli both excelled from their earliest days at school right through to the prime of their careers: Gian in academia and eventually as the most highly regarded art dealer in Italy; Paolo as a football star captain for Roma. After a career-finishing injury, Paolo announces his unlikely engagement to Angelina Porcelli - a lady 'only Rubens' would have found beautiful, and heiress to the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy. The pre-nup clearly stated that Paolo would get nothing thing were they to divorce - Gian can only conclude that Paolo's love for her is as genuine as Angelina's emerging love of great art. So when Angelina shows interest in the private collection of one of Gian's wealthy clients, he is more than happy to help negotiate . . .