Page 2 of Meeting the Billionaire Boss

‘I place the paperwork on the desk, pick up a pen and sign on the dotted line. Never have I been more curious or more anxious about committing to something in my life. But if Nala’s telling the truth and it means I can help my family, then I’m prepared to find out more.

Chapter2

Ava

On the tube ride home, I hold the paper handles of the delicatessen bag tight. Perhaps it was foolish to splash out but after reading the full details of the job and deciding then and there to accept it, I felt the need to celebrate. In the bag are some of my mum’s favourite things as well as some salmon for dinner and a delicious looking cheeseboard. I even splashed out on a bottle of elderflower cordial for us and a cloudy lemonade for Daniel. Mum will be worried when she sees the bag, but we never shop at expensive delis and it’s a special occasion.

A woman in the seat opposite me glances at the bag then lower, and I see a tiny line appear between her brows. I follow her eyes and shame rushes through me as I spot what caught her attention. My toe is peeping through the hole at the front of my black court shoe like it’s trying to escape. I stuffed a piece of cereal box there this morning and coloured it in with a black marker from Daniel’s pencil case, but it must have moved and now my toe is there with its chipped varnish, peeping out like an anxious mouse. I adjust my legs, so my other foot is in front of the hole. When I look up, the woman catches my eye and offers a sympathetic smile but I look away. Sympathy is hard to take when things have been so tough. Sympathy doesn’t change anything at all. Only action can make a difference, make things better.

And I have taken positive action today. The knowledge that I won’t have to wear broken shoes or worry about debt-collection threats again makes me want to dance around the carriage, swinging from the poles and singing like they do in musicals. After I signed the NDA, Nala put the job contract in front of me and the first thing I noticed was the amount the successful candidate would be paid. An amount I could never have dreamt of earning from one job. An amount that will pay off debts and give me money to put aside for Daniel’s future and to get us a better home. I read the contract through carefully, trying to absorb the details but I couldn’t get the amount out of my head. Nala did say that there was a caveat, that even if I accepted the job, the employer would need to do a background check on me first to ensure that I was suitable — even though I had all that done before the agency signed me — but I simply nodded along with a goofy grin on my face. If they, whoevertheyare, because that information wasn’t on the contract, are prepared to pay methatamount of money for four months of my time, then I can’t turn it down. It’s a lifechanging sum and one I can’t turn my nose up at.

So I signed. And now I need to wait and see if the employer is happy with what they find out. Nala seemed pretty certain that it would be fine and told me she’s not putting anyone else forward for the job right now because she wants me to have it. Before I left her office, I gave her a hug because she has just given me the chance of a lifetime.

At my stop, I exit the train in a rush of warm air that smells of oil and chips, and head for home, my toe sticking out ahead of me like it’s showing me the way.

Chapter3

Edward

‘Eat up then we can go out in the garden.’

My four-year-old son, Joe, peers up at me from his plate of scrambled eggs.

‘Can we play football, Daddy?’

‘Of course we can.’ I reach out and fluff his soft, blond hair and my heart squeezes. Everything in his world is about to change and he has no idea.

‘Will you be in goal?’ He chases a piece of egg around his plate with his small fork and I resist the temptation to help him. Sometimes it’s frustrating because it takes Joe five times as long to do things as it would take if I helped, but he needs to be able to do things himself. In fact, he insists a lot of the time and if I don’t let him do it… well… that’s when I’m glad that Cynthia is there. Actually, I’m always glad that Cynthia is there, and I don’t know how we’re going to manage when she’s away. Joe will miss her, and I certainly will. She’s a reassuring presence, a stable pillar in our lives and the fact that she’s going to be gone for four months makes me feel rather queasy.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I pull it out and swipe the screen.

‘No phone, Daddy.’ Joe shakes his head, his brown eyes wide.

I sense someone looking at the back of my head and I turn to find Cynthia has stopped loading the dishwasher to watch me. Even though we have a housekeeper, Cynthia still helps out with some of the domestic chores, especially when it involves clearing up after Joe.

My phones vibrates again and I hold it up. ‘I have to take this. I won’t be long.’

‘It’s Saturday, Edward.’ Cynthia’s tone holds a warning. She might be an employee but she doesn’t hold back when it comes to my parenting. But then she’s been around for a long time. Since I was a baby, in fact, and so she feels confident enough to speak her mind. Most of the time, I’m happy with this because it’s good to have someone who’s not afraid of me, someone who’ll tell me the truth, but at times like this, when something’s happening at work and I’m needed, it grates on my nerves.

‘I’ll be back before you finish your eggs,’ I tell Joe, averting my eyes from his disappointed little face, then I leave the room and head for my study, ignoring Cynthia’s sigh of dismay.

Closing the study door behind me, I take a deep breath and become Edward Cavendish interim CEO, leaving everything else behind me as I prepare to deal with business. As a father, I might have areas where I’m weak and uncertain, but as a businessman, I’m in my element because it’s where I’m in control.

Chapter4

Ava

My cheap new suitcase and rucksack stand in the hallway in front of the door with its frosted glass pane. There is a smell of damp in the hallway despite the citrus reed diffuser that sits on the narrow table beneath an oval mirror that once belonged to my maternal grandmother. My maternal grandparents are long gone, and I never met my paternal ones because my father’s mother passed away when he was just eighteen and he didn’t know his father.

I can barely believe that I am leaving today despite repeatedly reading the text message I received this morning instructing me to be ready to be collected at noon. A car is on the way to pick me up and that again made me think of Hollywood movies. In the space of less than two weeks, my whole life has started to change.

Daniel has followed me around like a shadow since I told him that I’d be going away for a while. There’s a fifteen-year age gap between us and Daniel was a surprise baby conceived after one of my father’s fleeting visits. We’ve always been close and I do more with him than Mum because her health issues prevent her from being more active, and that makes me worry. How will they manage while I’m away? We have no relatives around us and while the neighbours in the flats either side of ours are nice enough, they’re not family.

‘It’ll be OK, love,’ Mum smiles at me from the kitchen doorway. She has a tea towel in her hands and I can’t help noticing how white her knuckles are as she grips it tight. Her pain must be bad today. The side-effects of the cancer treatment she received four years ago have lingered and the lymphoedema and fibromyalgia leave her exhausted.

‘I hope so.’ She opens her arms and I step into her embrace. She feels so small these days, like everything she’s been through has shrunk her. ‘You promise you’ll eat properly?’

‘I promise,’ she murmurs into my hair.

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