6 Blood, Stone & Partners

6 Blood Stone & Partners The building that housed her mother's accountancy firm always made Peanut feel tiny. It towered so high it felt like it might fall forwards and crush her at any second. "Your mam won't be long and then you two can head off home," said Nerys as she shuffled towards the building and triggered automatic sliding doors. "We can go up and wait in her office. I'll get that kettle on. Peanut's mum had worked at Blood, Stone & Partners for just over three years. Peanut could clearly remember the day that

6 血石合伙会计师事务所 妈妈供职的这家会计师事务所所在的大楼，总让花生觉得自己格外渺小 它高耸入云，感觉随时都会向前倒下来，把她压得粉碎 “你妈妈很快就忙完了，你们就能回家了，”内里斯一边说，一边慢悠悠走向大楼，触发了自动感应推拉门 “我们可以上去，在她办公室等。 我去烧壶水。 花生的妈妈已经在血石合伙会计师事务所工作三年出头了 花生还清楚地记得那一天

Mum had got the job, mainly because Dad had nipped to the shop to buy a bottle of champagne and some cream soda for the children: Peanut, Leo and their baby sister were never allowed to have fizzy drinks so this had been very exciting. Here's to my wife, the high-flying accountant!" Dad had shouted, beaming with pride as he and Mum clinked their glasses together. "I always knew you could do it." What a happy day that was. It seemed like a long time ago now.

妈妈得到这份工作那天，爸爸特意跑去商店买了一瓶香槟，还给孩子们买了奶油苏打水：花生、利奥还有他们的小妹妹从来都喝不到气泡饮料，所以这事可太让人兴奋了 敬我的妻子，前途无量的会计师！” 爸爸大声喊道，满脸骄傲地和妈妈碰了碰杯 “我一直都知道你可以的。” 那可真是开心的一天 现在回想起来，已经像是很久之前的事了

Peanut and Nerys walked out of the lift and headed down the long glass corridor towards Mum's office. Peanut counted sixteen doors on each side, each one leading to an identical cube-shaped room housing an identical desk, an identical chair and an identical computer screen. They were all empty. She wondered how each member of staff remembered which one was theirs. At the end of the corridor was a large wooden door with a gold plaque on it. TRACEY JONES DIRECTOR OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING Nerys knocked and then walked in without waiting for an answer. Peanut followed. In contrast to the glass labyrinth outside, Mum's office felt very old-fashioned. For a start, the walls, floor and ceiling were all covered with exactly the same type of wood. It immediately made Peanut feel drowsy, as if she were being given a great big oaky cuddle. It was also slightly disorientating, as it was quite easy to forget which way was up and which way was down. This wasn't helped by the fact that the room had no windows. What little light there was came from either

花生跟着内里斯走出电梯，沿着长长的玻璃走廊朝妈妈的办公室走去 花生数了数，走廊两侧各有十六扇门，每扇门后都是一模一样的方形房间，摆着一模一样的桌子、一模一样的椅子和一模一样的电脑屏幕 所有房间全都空着 她很好奇，这些员工怎么能分清哪一间才是自己的办公室呢 走廊尽头是一扇大大的木门，门上挂着一块金色名牌 特蕾西·琼斯 法务会计主管 内里斯敲了敲门，没等回应就走了进去 花生跟在后面走了进去 和外面玻璃迷宫似的走廊不同，妈妈的办公室风格非常复古 首先，墙面、地板和天花板全都是用一模一样的木料铺成的 花生一进去就忍不住发困，感觉像是被大大的橡木拥抱了一样 这里也有点让人晕方向，很容易就分不清上下 没有窗户的布局更是加重了这种眩晕感 这里仅有的一点光线要么来自

the massive circular iron chandelier that held ten fake candles and looked like it had been stolen from the set of Game of Thrones, or the eighty-inch flat screen embedded into one of the walls. The TV only ever seemed to show one channel: BBN (Big Business News). As far as Peanut could tell, it exclusively featured very grey people, in very grey suits, talking endlessly about the never-ending river of seemingly random numbers that flowed along the bottom of the screen. What a waste, thought Peanut. If I worked here I'd watch Marvel films all day long. Mum was sitting in a dark-green leather swivel chair behind her desk, a massive mahogany monstrosity with edges inlaid with a mother-of-pearl Celtic knot design. She was furiously tapping away at a laptop. Without looking up, she said, "Hello, darling. I'm nearly finished. Have a seat and Nerys will get you a cup of tea. We'll talk about your detention later. Peanut sat down in an armchair next to another much smaller desk in the corner of the room. Nerys approached the wall next to Peanut and pushed one of the panels. To Peanut's delight, it opened up to reveal a small but immaculate kitchen. Nerys went in and filled up the kettle. The desk Peanut was sitting next to was much messier than Mum's. Pens and pencils were strewn across it and several ledgers were lying open with corners of pages folded

那盏巨大的圆形铁艺吊灯，上面装着十根假蜡烛，看起来就像是从《权力的游戏》片场偷来的，要么就是来自嵌在墙面里的八十英寸平板电视 这台电视好像永远只播一个频道：BBN（大企业新闻台） 在花生看来，这个频道永远都是一群穿灰西装的灰扑扑的人，没完没了地聊着屏幕底部不断滚动、看起来毫无规律的一串数字 太浪费了，花生心想 要是我在这儿上班，我就整天看漫威电影 妈妈坐在办公桌后那把深绿色的皮质转椅上，这张办公桌是厚重的桃花心木做的，边缘嵌着珍珠母贝做的凯尔特结纹样，看着笨重极了 她正对着笔记本电脑飞快地敲着键盘 她头也没抬，说道：“你好呀，亲爱的。 我马上就忙完了 你先坐吧，内里斯会给你倒杯茶 我们等会儿再说你留堂的事 花生在房间角落另一张小得多的桌子旁的扶手椅上坐下了 内里斯走到花生旁边的墙边，按了其中一块墙板 让花生开心的是，墙板打开后露出了一间小巧却干净整洁的小厨房 内里斯走进去把水壶灌满了水 花生身旁这张桌子比妈妈的办公桌乱多了 钢笔铅笔扔得到处都是，好几本账本摊开着，不少页角都折

over. At the front, there was what looked like a black plastic Toblerone bar with the words "Nerys Jenkins, PA to DFA" printed on it. Peanut picked up a pencil and started doodling absent-mindedly on one of the pads. Then she noticed Nerys's computer. The screen was covered with yellow Post- it notes, each one completely filled with writing and little tick boxes. A wave of sadness hit Peanut. The sight of those small yellow squares of paper made her miss Dad terribly.

了起来 桌子靠前的位置放着一块黑色塑料，形状看着像三角巧克力，上面印着字：“内里斯·詹金斯 法务会计主管私人助理” 花生拿起一支铅笔，漫不经心地在其中一个记事本上乱画 接着她注意到了内里斯的电脑 电脑屏幕上贴满了黄色便利贴，每张都写满了字，还画着小小的勾选框 一阵难过突然涌上花生的心头 看到这些小小的黄色纸片，她无比想念爸爸