Page 32 of Meeting the Billionaire Boss

‘Hey guys, what’s happening?’ It’s Edward’s friend and business partner, Lucas, and he’s grinning like the cat that got the cream.

‘Daddy got us books,’ Joe says.

‘Hey champ.’ Lucas holds out his arms and Joe goes to him, wrapping his arms around Lucas’s neck.

‘Hi, Uncle Lucas.’

While the men talk, I wander off and browse the stalls, buying myself a moment to breathe and think as much as because I want to see what’s on offer. As well as the book stall, there’s a stall selling cakes, one selling jams, honey and pickles and another selling local craft gin and fruit wine. Some of it sounds delicious and what’s even more impressive is that it’s all organic. I buy a few things and put them into the tote bag I brought. I’m looking at some olive oil containing herbs when something catches my eye across the hall.

A woman has arrived and she’s attracting quite a bit of attention. I have no idea who she is but suspect she could be a local celebrity or even a national one. The thing with ignoring social media is that I’m often oblivious to who’sup and comingthese days. As she sashays across the hall like she owns it then stands next to Edward and Lucas., I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s like an exotic bird or perhaps more like a predatory big cat as she lays a proprietorial hand on Edward’s arm. It suggests familiarity, ownership, confidence. My stomach lurches and I turn away, reprimanding myself for not being prepared for something like this. Edward is bound to have a plethora of female admirers and plenty of interest from them too. After all, he’s one of the country’s most eligible bachelors.

‘Ava!’ Joe runs to me, and I scoop him up and hold him close. ‘Don’t like that lady,’ he says into my neck.

I swallow down my reply that I don’t like her either, trying not to stare at how territorial she is as she slides an arm around Edward’s back, her long, red nails like talons, then laughs loudly. If I had any doubts about my place in Edward’s life, I’m being reminded of it now.

Chapter32

Edward

Being polite is in my DNA. It’s how I was raised and a rule of business, but it’s still hard not to pull away when I feel Flo Montague’s arm snake its way around my back. Joe has run over to Ava, his juvenile intuition telling him that Flo isn’t genuine. I wish I could follow my son and be with Ava too, but this is a village event and social manners dictate that I have to besociable.

Florence - or Flo as she calls herself now – is a social media influencer. Born to one of England’s wealthy families, she sailed through school without needing to obtain excellent qualifications and set herself up as an Instagram star. All sorts of companies send her things so she’ll post about them on her grid and she does so with aplomb. I’ve nothing against Flo or what she does but she made it clear some time ago that she’d set her sights on me and has done her best over the years to seduce me. Unfortunately for her, I have zero romantic interest in her and wish she wouldn’t be so tactile. But I also know there are cameras following her every move and so I don’t spurn her publicly or show my distaste for her attention. The main reason I grit my teeth though is because her father and grandfather are on the Board of Directors at Cavendish Construction and being rude to her would not endear me to them. It does occur to me now though that a bride would also come in useful as a way to keep Flo away. A cunning move to get the message across that I’m not interested in her while not disturbing the status quo with her family.

‘So, darling, what are the plans for this evening?’ she asks.

‘There’s plenty arranged,’ I reply, slipping a finger beneath my collar to ease the building pressure there.

‘And I’m happy to entertain you,’ Lucas grins at Flo but she stares at him as if he has two heads.

‘I want Edward to entertain me.’ She presses herself against my side and I try not to squirm. The problem with Flo is that she only wants me because she can’t have me. Lucas would shag her up against the wall outside right now if she was up for it but she’s not interested. That would be too easy. She wants me because I’m a challenge. I have no doubt that if she got me, she’d soon lose interest.

‘I uhhh… need to go and see to Joe,’ I say, glancing over at Ava who’s cuddling my son as she talks calmly to him. I wonder what she’s saying and if he needed reassurance. Something inside me cries out that I want her reassurance too.

‘Let’s get some photos done first then you can go to him.’ Flo removes her arm from my back and takes my hand then leads me outside. I glance back one more time to check on Joe and I catch Ava watching me, something in her eyes that looks like hurt.

Outside, very reluctantly, I pose for the minimum amount of photos and selfies that I can stand, then Flo has some photos done with locals who clearly know her from social media. She’s gracious enough with them but I can tell that her smile isn’t genuine. The way her eyes flit over them as if they’re beneath her makes something rise inside me and a bitter taste fills my mouth. Flo is a product of society and culture and so it’s not entirely her fault that she’s the way she is but she does have to take some of the blame. She sails around, vacantly creating this façade of a perfect life and a perfect world, but the reality is that she’s fake from her frozen forehead to her lips and her teeth, as well as to other body parts I’d prefer not to think about. I knew her before she got all the cosmetic work done and she was a pretty young woman back then. Now, she looks like a doll, and while some men like that, it’s not my thing at all. My fear for Flo is that she’ll keep having work done to appear young, not realising that overdoing it with cosmetic surgery merely leads to people looking strange instead of ageing normally.

While Flo is distracted by a teenaged girl asking for career advice, I seize my chance and slip back inside the hall to seek out Ava and Joe. I find them sitting in a quiet corner, one of the books Joe wanted open on his lap as Ava reads to him. For a long time, I’ve felt stiff and brittle, as if I’ll crack if I don’t keep myself rigid inside. But seeing them like this, something inside me gives a little, kind of like a coil loosening. Ava takes such good care of Joe and again, it occurs to me that if anything ever happened to me, I’d want someone there to care for him. To love him like I do.

Could that person be right in front of me now?

Chapter33

Ava

Edward is back and relief rushes through me like warm spiced wine as I meet his gaze. Joe didn’t like that woman at all and I needed to distract him so we found a quiet spot to read one of his new books. When Edward went outside with her, I felt queasy and I had to force myself to shake it off. I have no right to want Edward to avoid women like that, women who make me feel like there’s something wrong with me. Like I’m inadequate in some way. It was like the popular girls at school who looked down their noses at me and made me feel like I wasn’t worthy of their friendship. With my second-hand uniform and cheap shoes, my old bag and lack of makeup, I was anathema to them. Instead of taking pity on me, they bullied me and their mocking still rings in my ears some days. It’s hard to put that type of hurt behind you but I’ve done my best to move on because I know that living in the past is a waste of today. The thing I have struggled most to deal with is the hurt and betrayal of my father leaving, but even that is something I strive to push aside. I refuse to let it affect the woman I am now and the woman I want to be.

Edward crouches down in front of us and says, ‘You both OK?’

I nod but Joe replies, ‘Don’t like that lady, Daddy.’

Edward crinkles his nose. ‘I know, Joe, but she’s helping with the event. She brings a lot of publicity to things, which is obviously important in today’s culture,’ he says to me. ‘She’s an influencer.’

‘Oh.’ No wonder I don’t know her.

‘She’s like an 18thcousin of the King once removed or something like that. Apparently has a link to Edward III via his son, John of Gaunt. Although it was the reality TV dating show that catapulted her to stardom and since then she’s done several more similar shows. To be honest, the royal connections are so distant that it’s the reality TV show that’s given her celebrity status.’

I have no idea who he’s talking about, but I incline my head as if I do. What I do understand though is that this woman has a sense of entitlement. Hence the confidence that I could never emulate.

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