Page 16 of Meeting the Billionaire Boss

She’s taken Joe to get a drink and I’m waiting for them when a hand touches my elbow.

‘Hello, Edward.’

Turning, I find Hattie Fitzroy at my side.

‘Hattie!’ We kiss cheeks then she places her hands on my arms and leans back as she looks at me.

‘You look good, darling.’

‘Thanks.’ I smile but she’s shaking her head.

‘We haven’t seen you in far too long.’

‘I know.’ I look away for a moment, hoping we’re not going to gothere.‘I’m sorry.’

‘No. Don’t you be sorry. You’ve been to hell and back the past few years.’

Hattie and Lucille were friendly and through our wives, Tony and I became friendly too. Not great mates or anything, but we got on well enough when the four of us socialised together. Tony owns a luxury architectural design company which is how we’ve worked together. Hattie is pleasant enough, occasionally a bit overbearing, but she’s a horse breeder and she’s used to negotiating deals with all sorts of people so she’s accustomed to speaking her mind and not taking any bullshit.

‘Well… it was rough there for a while.’

Hattie nods, her blond bob shining in the late September sunshine. ‘And how are you now?’

‘Surviving.’ These questions are always tough. What am I meant to say? I lost my wife in more ways than one? I was filled with self-loathing for quite some time? Self-loathing that hasn’t entirely left me? I wish I could turn back the clock and…And what? What would I do differently? Not be such a naive fucking bastard is what.

‘What is it?’ Hattie touches my arm.

‘Sorry?’

‘Your face then… it was like a cloud passed over the sun.’ She knits her brows. ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’

‘I’m fine.’ It’s hard not to clench my jaw when people ask me questions like this and I long for the joy of simply being with Joe and Ava again. The joy of being able to forget for a while.

‘Where’s Joe?’ Hattie looks around.

‘Gone to get a drink.’ I gesture at where Joe is standing with Ava while she adjusts the straw in his cup.

‘Who’s that he’s with?’ Hattie raises her fair brows and her lips curl upwards.

‘That’s Ava,’ I say, not offering an explanation because I don’t trust myself to speak yet.

‘Well, isn’t she just…’ Hattie tilts her head as she stares at Ava. I shift from one foot to the other, wishing she wouldn’t scrutinise Ava like that. ‘Quite… petite. But curvy. Not at all like Lucille with her endless legs and flawless beauty.’

She turns back to me and scans my face and I feel a spark of anger in my gut. Who the hell is she to judge Ava for being who she is? Just because Hattie is wearing a designer dress and wedges doesn’t mean Ava needs to do the same. But as I look at Ava now, I can see how plain her outfit is, how she would appear to someone like Hattie.

‘It’s nice that she dressed casually for today. Especially with all that sliding down the helter skelter.’ So she saw that then? Saw Ava with me. Was she judging us?

‘Ava’s the nanny,’ I say now, but it’s not that I mean to explain that she’s notwithme, more that I want Hattie to understand why Ava is dressed that way and not more flamboyantly.

‘Of course she is.’ Hattie gives a relieved laugh. ‘I can see it now.’

‘Cynthia will be back after her holiday. Ava is covering for her while she’s away and Joe really likes her.’ After today and the fun we’ve had, so do I, but I don’t add this. Banging on about how much I like the nanny will not go down well with Hattie, a woman who once adored my wife. A woman who sees the divide between classes as clearly as a brick wall.

‘Well you have fun with her but don’t hurt her, will you?’ Hattie winks at me and I want to growl with fury.

‘It’s not like that!’ I snap and Hattie looks at me as if I’ve grown another head.

‘I’m sure it’s not, darling.’

---