When the message landed, I was in the sandwich bar next to the office queuing to get a coffee and a pain au chocolat and idly fiddling with my BlackBerry. It was sent by a member of the compliance team at the company where I am a non-executive director and began innocently enough: "Hello Lucy." Yet as I read on, I came across a sentence that not only spoiled my day but has also had a seriously dampening effect on the four weeks that have passed since then. The Financial Services Authority, it said, had asked to interview me on such and such a date for 90 minutes.
我在办公室旁边的三明治店排队买咖啡和巧克力面包,同时随手摆弄着自己的黑莓(BlackBerry),这时收到了一条讯息。它来自于我担任非执行董事的那家公司的合规团队,一开头挺正常:“你好,露西。”但接下去读到的一句话,不但毁掉了我那一整天,而且在其后的4周时间里,让我非常沮丧。他们告诉我:英国金融服务管理局(FSA)要在某月某日子约见我,进行90分钟的面谈。