Page 50 of Meeting the Billionaire Boss

‘Hmmm.’ Mum nods but her lips are pressed together and I know she’s reserving judgement until we’ve seen the inside.

Daniel is at school and it’s a good thing or he’d have been horrified at some of the properties we’ve viewed.

The agent turns back to us at the front door and holds up the key. ‘Perhaps I should let you go and take a look. The property has been vacant for some time and if you go in alone, you can have a good browse around and get a feel for the place. It has plenty of potential.’

‘Oh… OK.’ I accept the key and push it into the lock then stand back to let Mum in before me.

The hallway smells musty and the floor is bare apart from a thick covering of dust. The staircase is to the right, the lounge to the left and the kitchen is straight ahead. We glance into the lounge that seems to be stuck in the 1970s with bold yellow and brown wallpaper and an orange carpet that has brighter patches where the furniture must have been.

I try to do what I’ve seen on the property programmes we’ve watched recently and to imagine the house as a blank canvas. But it’s tough. The smell and the colours are making my head hurt. We go back to the hall and then to the kitchen. This house is small but I’d grown used to Edward’s grand mansion and so anything would seem small in comparison.

Don’t think about him!

I take a deep, ragged breath then regret it as the smell of the house fills my nostrils. Coughing, I follow Mum to the kitchen and notice that the back door is open. The previous viewer must have left it unlocked unless it was the estate agent trying to air the place.

As I peer outside, I notice that there’s someone in the garden. A tall man in a black suit, gazing at something beyond the fence at the end. He must be checking the property out too. But there is something familiar about the set of his shoulders in the dark jacket, the cut of his hair, the…

He turns around and I scream.

‘Ava? What is it?’ Mum asks.

My hand is over my mouth and I’m shaking my head.

‘It can’t be,’ I mutter against my palm.

Mum places a hand on my shoulder and looks out of the door.

‘Who’s that?’ She frowns then pulls her glasses from her bag and puts them on. ‘Isn’t that your boss? I mean,formerboss? Edward Cavendish?’

My head bobs as he walks slowly up the garden and my heart is beating so hard I feel like I’m going to pass out.

‘Go and say hello.’ Mum nudges me so I glance at her.

‘Why are you so calm?’

She smiles and then I realise. She knew he would be here. In this run-down property where he is incongruous in his expensive suit with his crisp white shirt and shiny shoes. Edward would never buy a place like this. So what’s he doing here?

‘Go on, love.’ She pats my back. ‘I’ll wait out the front with the estate agent. I can’t stay in here because the smell is awful.’

‘OK.’ I nod. ‘Mum?’

‘Yes, love.’

‘I’m scared.’

‘Don’t be scared, Ava. Grab hold of happiness with both hands. That man has things he needs to say so give him a chance. That’s all he wants.’

‘You’ve spoken to him?’

‘Mum’s the word.’ She winks at me then walks back through the house and I’m left alone, standing in the doorway, on pause between my past and my future, wondering what to do next.

Chapter53

Ava

Thirty minutes later, we’re settled in a small pub a short drive away from the property. Mum is in the bar, having lunch with Jeff — who drove us here — and Edward and I are alone. We have glasses of rich, ruby wine and he has offered me lunch too, but I can barely swallow the wine let alone eat.

‘It’s good to see you,’ he says, running his finger along the base of his glass.

---