Page 24 of Unbind

I wonder if she’d ever let herself enjoy it.

She takes in the kitchen, which is my favourite room in the house. It’s at its best in summer, when the light streams in from the windows at each end. My architects knocked through a couple of rooms to create this incredible space that runs east-west and is illuminated every morning and evening. The white marble counters lighten it up, but I couldn’t resist when my interior designer suggested the pop of colour my duck-egg blue lacquered cabinets bring.

The blue juxtaposed with the rosy gleam of the copper pans hanging overhead brings warmth at this time of year to what could easily be a cavernous space, and the smell is enough to welcome the weariest of guests. Kamyl, my chef, has put together a quick Provençal fish stew at my request. It should be light enough to ensure Natalie gets a good night’s sleep, but I’ve asked him to include plenty of pulses to keep her blood glucose stable.

We sit at the island—it’s a little less formal than the dining area—and allow Kamyl to heap steaming stew into our bowls. The saffron gives it a golden hue.

‘Thanks, mate,’ I tell him, and he gives me a friendly nod of acknowledgment before making himself scarce.

‘This looks amazing,’ Natalie says faintly, picking up herfork. I suspect her natural manners are warring with her contempt of me.

‘Good,’ I say. ‘Dig in.’

We eat silently for a couple of minutes. The stew is perfect—warming and fragrant, thanks to all the freshly chopped herbs Kamyl scattered on top. It seems to me Natalie has something on her mind, so I’ll give her space and wait for her to spit it out.

Eventually, she does. ‘Your home is absolutely beautiful.’

‘Thank you.’

‘It’s not what I was expecting.’

’What did you expect—gold taps?’

‘More like chrome and glass everywhere.’ She doesn’t crack a smile.

‘Coming from my background,’ I say carefully, ‘aesthetics are important to me. And I don’t mean appearances—I mean the positive effect beautiful surroundings have on my soul.’

‘Yeah.’ She slices off a piece of fish with the edge of her fork. ‘I get that.’

I know she does, because I’ve read that dossier. Still, her admission that she is, on some level, able to appreciate and enjoy the delights of my home makes me happy.

Her concession gives me the confidence to ask my next question without too much concern that she’ll run for the door.

‘So. Do you remember anything Gen said in the meeting?’

‘A little.’ Her brow furrows. ‘Something about you taking a stake in Alchemy?’

‘Exactly.’ I take a sip of my sparkling water before continuing. ‘Now that Wolff Holdings is public, it’s coming in for a little investor pressure to divest its share of theAlchemy JV. The ethical investors—church funds, etcetera—don’t like it.’

She rolls her eyes. ‘Right. Because what consenting adults do in their own free time is so unethical.’

‘My thoughts exactly. But it is what it is. So Anton approached me to see if I’d be interested, and I am. Very.’ I pause. ‘Do you know anything about my business holdings?’

I swear I can hear the machinations of her internal struggle. I’m sure she doesn’t want to admit to knowing a single thing about me.

‘You own some luxury brands,’ she concedes eventually.

‘Exactly. But I’ve been focusing more recently on service industries at the very high end, hence my interest in Alchemy.’

‘Service industry,’ she repeats, a droll little smile on her lips. ‘I suppose you could call it that.’

I study her. ‘You don’t approve of it.’

‘Of course I approve of it!’ she says incredulously. ‘I love what they’ve built. It’s fantastic.’

‘But you don’t partake.’

‘That is precisely none of your business, but no. I don’t.’

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