co-worker while travelling on business in 1998. In 2006, Alex started an affair with a client, Carolyn. Penny came very close to divorcing Alex after the affair with his secretary, and has considered leaving him on other occasions. In the summer of 2009, Penny went out to work (for the first time ever) as a redundancy counsellor: a move that upset Alex as he worried that having a working wife might draw people to conclude that he had himself lost his job. In 2013 Penny's work in the charity sector led to her being headhunted into a career as a company non-executive director. Fast-tracked in the corporate world due to her gender, her professional success has already begun to undermine Alex's standing and self-worth. Christopher Masterley (born 11 September 1989) is Alex's son. At first, Christopher was very much his father's son, and shares his concern for status and his nose for business. Alex mostly sees Christopher as a symbol of his success, and often makes him a victim of his quest for status. Though initially educated at a top public school, Christopher was withdrawn during the City slump in 2004, when Alex was out of work, and faced the humiliation of leaving the school with a black plastic bag containing his things, a fate city stockbrokers often face, and which was set up by his own father. In 2009 Christopher went to college to study art, much to Alex's chagrin. Christopher is currently unemployed and back living with his parents. Clive Reed is Alex's co-worker, and even Alex's boss from June 2004 to October 2005 (afterwards he got side-lined by Rupert but refused to resign, thus forced to accept a demotion). Until recently he lived with his longterm girlfriend and subsequent wife Bridget. Although a fellow Oxford graduate, Clive is Alex's inferior in every way. He is less socially skilled, and frequently commits embarrassing gaffes in public. He is less professionally skilled, and often makes bad financial investments or fails to manage his subordinates. Alex enjoys Clive's company because it provides many opportunities to show his superiority. Clive is also a dreadful wimp, and readily retreats from any situation of conflict or difficulty. In spite of this, Clive is something of a womaniser, and has enjoyed a moderate amount of success. In particular, Clive had a long and guilt-ridden affair with an American colleague Ruth while he was engaged