Page 46 of Too Busy for Love

‘The first thing I’d look at in a fine wine is the appearance. Its colour and opacity.’

‘OK. I think we can both agree you’ve done that with Abby. What comes next?’

‘Then I’d smell the wine, to get the top note aromas. Primary aromas from the grape varietal and secondary aromas from the maturing process – what kind of barrels it’s been aged in, for example.’

‘And if Abby were a wine, what aromas would you expect to smell?’

He looks over at Abby, who is still striding back and forth, talking animatedly into her phone.

‘Floral top notes, but there’s spice in there too, with an earthy undercurrent. Complex, but not unapproachably so.’

‘Now we’re getting somewhere. Tell me how you came to use those words.’

‘The floral top notes because she’s very feminine.’

‘That’s to be expected, given that she’s a woman.’

‘You know what I mean. She has a delicate and very feminine physique.’

‘You’re in danger of going purely on appearances again there, James.’

‘Ah, but then you pick up the spice. It’s the exotic, heady clash between the floral top notes and the fact that she works in a very unfeminine industry. It’s intriguing, unusual, and makes you want to find out more.’

‘And the earthy undercurrent?’

He laughs. ‘“Bollocks.” “Fucking Thanet Borough Council.” “Roast my arse.” Those aren’t the words of a fragile princess. She’s definitely got her feet on the ground. I’ve never met anybody like her. She’s utterly mesmerising.’

‘So I think we can agree there’s a lot more to her than just her “rump”, as you put it. Do you want me to have a chat with Raquel, to see if she can pair you up for a date night?’

‘Would you? That would be amazing.’

‘I can’t promise anything, but I’ll put a word in. Ah, it looks like the roasting is done.’

‘How did you get on?’ James asks Abby as she rejoins us, taking her place on the sun lounger once more.

‘It was as I predicted. What pisses me off is that it’s happened on the first one, which means it’s going to be much harder topersuade him to take the risk again. Thankfully, we’ve just sold the last plot on one of our developments in Ashford, so our cashflow position is strong and we can afford the hit. It’s just such a bloody waste of a fabulous opportunity.’

‘Can’t you appeal against the decision?’ James asks.

‘We were talking about that. We are going to appeal, but there’s no guarantee it will make a difference, and who knows how long it will take. In the meantime, we’ll mothball it and let nature take its course. The residents might not be so hoity-bloody-toity when it’s a graffiti-covered, crumbling eyesore.’

My curiosity gets the better of me. ‘Have you got any pictures?’ I ask her.

‘Oh yeah, loads. Hang on.’ She picks up her phone and launches an app, navigating through folders until she comes to the one she’s looking for. ‘Here you go.’ She holds the phone out to me. As I scroll through the pictures of the hotel, I can immediately see why she was attracted to it. It’s definitely seen better days but it’s still a beautiful example of the style. It’s a simple, streamlined building that reminds me a little of an old-fashioned cinema. The steel-framed windows either side of the magnificent front door are curved, drawing the eye as if beckoning you inside. If I close my eyes, I can almost picture it in a black and white movie, with a smartly uniformed doorman greeting guests as they step out of their opulent vintage limousines.

‘It’s gorgeous,’ I sigh.

‘That’s what I thought,’ Abby agrees. ‘Unfortunately, all the period features inside have been ripped out at some point in its history, so it’s indistinguishable from any other building once you go in. I was going to try to recreate some of the original charm though. Hand me back my phone and I’ll see if I can find the computer mock-ups of what I had planned.’

After a bit more searching, she finds what she’s looking for and hands the phone back to me. I’m aware of James watching over my shoulder as I scroll through the images of the lobby area, floor plans showing the old and new layouts, and a virtual tour through one of the apartments, with panoramic views out over the sea from the large windows.

‘The amount of work I put into those sodding windows,’ Abby sighs as we look at the screen together. ‘How to keep them looking correct but make them thermally efficient at the same time.’

‘I don’t understand how anyone could object to this,’ James murmurs. ‘I don’t even like Margate, but I’m looking for the “buy it now” button.’

‘There’s also a car park, which is a rarity for a building of this age,’ Abby tells him. ‘I suspect the council would have been more amenable if I’d come up with a plan to convert it into affordable housing, because that’s the buzzword these days, but it just doesn’t suit a building like this. Also, wealthier people spend more, which is good for the local economy.’

‘A rising tide lifts all boats,’ James observes.

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