7 Mr Stone

7 Mr Stone

7 斯通先生

The sound of Mum's office door slamming woke Peanut from her daydream with a jolt. A very handsome, very short man wearing a black suit, a black shirt, black shoes and a black tie covered with very, very, very dark grey polka dots strode confidently into the room. When he spoke, his voice was much higher than Peanut had expected it to be. "Tracey darling, how are you getting on with that report summarising your investigation into the possible VAT carousel fraud involving Globetown Limited? I need to get Blood's eyes on it first thing in the morning. Since starting at St Hubert's, Peanut was getting used to hearing sentences that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, but this one was on another level. What in the name of Mary Poppins is "carousel fraud'? she thought. Maybe somebody was attempting to con fairground-goers by passing off a roundabout as a merry-go-round. "Nearly there, Milton," said Mum In a strange voice that Peanut didn't recognise. "I just need to give it a final read-through overnight.

妈妈办公室摔门的声音猛地把花生从白日梦里惊醒。 一个十分英俊、身材矮小的男人，穿着黑西装、黑衬衫、黑皮鞋，打着一条印满了极深灰色圆点的黑领带，自信满满地大步走进房间。 他开口说话时，声音比花生预想的要高得多。 “特雷西亲爱的，你那份汇总调查环球镇有限公司疑似增值税旋转木马骗税的报告，进展怎么样了？ 我明早第一件事就要让布拉德过目这份报告。 自从来到圣休伯特，花生已经习惯了听这些完全不知所云的句子，但这句话的离谱程度更上一层楼。 以玛丽·波平斯之名，“旋转木马骗税”到底是什么东西呀？ 她暗暗想道。 说不定是有人想骗游乐场游客，把旋转圆台冒充成旋转木马骗钱呢。 “差不多快好了，米尔顿，”妈妈用一种花生很陌生的奇怪语气说道。 “我只需要今晚再通读最后一遍就行了。

Ah. And who might this be?" The man turned to face Peanut, and the perfumed pomade in his slicked-back hair reflected the flickering light from the Game of Thrones chandelier. He looked her up and down with his pale grey eyes. "Oh. This is my daughter, Pea—Er, Pernilla. Pernilla, this is Milton Stone. My boss." Peanut knew all about Milton Stone. She knew that he had been at university with Mum twenty years earlier. She knew they had studied maths together. She also suspected that he had plans for a romantic relationship with Mum now that Dad was out of the picture. Why else would he have called her "darling'? The thought of that happening made her feel physically sick. "Pernilla? Great name." His high voice was as oily as his hair. And I see you've been doodling on one of our legal pads. Budding artist, eh?" "Sort of," grunted Peanut. She was still reeling from him calling her mum darling and the whole Pernilla thing. I'll just run and get the printouts of the report," said Mum, as she hurried out of the room towards one of the glass cubes down the corridor. Stone glanced at Nerys, who was busy scribbling something on yet another Post-it note, and then turned back to Peanut. He snatched the legal pad from her, tore off the piece of paper that she had drawn on, screwed it up and threw it in the bin.

哦。 那这位小朋友是谁呀？” 男人转身面向花生，他向后梳得服帖的头发上抹的香发油，在《权力的游戏》吊灯的闪烁灯光下泛着光。 他用浅灰色的眼睛把花生上下打量了一番。 “哦。 这是我女儿，花——呃，佩妮拉。 佩妮拉，这是米尔顿·斯通。 我的老板。” 花生对米尔顿·斯通的事可是一清二楚。 她知道二十年前他和妈妈一起念大学。 她知道他俩当年一起学数学。 她还猜想，自从爸爸离开家之后，他想和妈妈谈恋爱。 不然他为什么要叫妈妈“亲爱的”呢？ 一想到这件事，她就感觉浑身不舒服。 “佩妮拉？ 好名字。” 他尖尖的嗓音和他的头发一样油乎乎的。 我还看到你在我们的法律便签本上乱涂乱画呢。 未来的小画家对不对？” “算是吧。”花生咕哝道。 他叫妈妈亲爱的，还一口一个佩妮拉，她到现在还没缓过劲来。 “我这就去拿打印好的报告，”妈妈说着，快步走出房间，朝走廊那头的玻璃隔间走去。 斯通瞥了一眼正忙着在另一张便利贴上写东西的内里斯，接着转回头看向花生。 他一把抢过她手里的便签本，撕下她画画的那页，揉成一团扔进了垃圾桶。

"Little girl, please refrain from wasting the pages of my legal pads by populating them with your scribblings," he snarled. "Paper doesn't grow on trees, you know! And my team needs these pads for real work. Mum returned to the room, and Stone's manner changed instantly. "Charming child, Tracey. Utterly charming. And what vivid red hair. Very striking. Mum looked surprised. "Er, what a nice thing to say. Say thank you to Mr Stone, Pea—Er, Pernilla. Peanut was silent, partly because she was reeling from the second Pernilla. "Pernilla! What do you say...?" hissed Mum. "Thanks," she muttered. "Not at all." Stone grinned. "Not at all. Tracey, I'll look forward to seeing that report on my desk at nine a.m. tomorrow morning. Thanks awfully, darling. And with that he left the office and marched off down the glass corridor. Peanut stared after him. Actually, paper does grow on trees," she whispered.

“小姑娘，别在我的便签本上乱涂乱画浪费纸，”他恶狠狠地吼道。 “你知道吗，纸可不是长在树上的！ 我的团队要用这些本子干正经工作。 妈妈回到房间，斯通的态度立刻变了样。 “特雷西，这孩子真可爱。 太招人喜欢了。 还有这一头红头发多漂亮。 真引人注目。 妈妈一脸惊讶。 “呃，谢谢你这么说。 跟斯通先生说谢谢呀，花——呃，佩妮拉。 花生一声不吭，一半是因为他第二次叫她佩妮拉，她还没缓过来。 “佩妮拉！ 你快说话呀……？”妈妈小声催促道。 “谢谢。”她小声嘟囔着。 “不客气。” 斯通咧开嘴笑了。 “不用客气。 特雷西，我盼着明天早上九点看到你把报告放我桌上。 太谢谢你了，亲爱的。 说完他就离开办公室，大步沿着玻璃走廊走了。 花生盯着他的背影。 “其实啊，纸就是长在树上的。”她小声说道。