Page 92 of The Facilitator 1

“You lefther!”

“I can’t father children, Lauren. There is one thing I will not tolerate, and that’s betrayal. I loved her; I struggled doing something I didn’t want to do, for her. I stayed quiet and put up with her controlling father, only forher.”

He paused, taking a sip of hiscoffee.

“You want to know why Addison plays the nice girl? Because now, I own her father. I own all hisbusinesses.”

“How?”

“Over a period of years, I bought them all, and he didn’t have a fucking clue who owned the company he was selling outto.”

I wasn’t sure what to say at first. “I’m sorry you can’t father a child, I bet thathurts.”

“It did, although I came to terms with that a long time ago. It’s why I never settled down again. I didn’t want to fall in love with someone and not be able to have the ultimate gift, my ownchild.”

I could see the pain in his face. I placed my hand on hisarm.

“That was all a long time ago, don’t feel sorry for me. I knew I couldn’t have children after a car accident. I ignored it, hoping maybe medical advancement would help me. I should have told Addison, I didn’t. At some point it would have come out, after years of trying, I guessed we would have visited adoctor.”

“What happened when you lefther?”

“Her father threatened to ruin me, he tried real hard and nearly did. She begged for forgiveness, and when she lost her child, she blamedme.”

“She blamedyou?”

“Yes, the stress she’d been put under. But then it came to light, the father of her child, who wanted nothing more to do with her, was her cousin,Daniel.”

“Her…”

“Yes, her cousin. So, the Addison you met? Don’t be fooled by her for one minute. She’s a money-grabbing whore, who’ll do whatever she needs to do to get what she wants. She’s jealous of everyone, which is why I tried not to acknowledge you at lunch. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I wanted to shield you from herpoison.”

“But you seemed so friendlytogether.”

“Yes, I know what her father is up to if I string her along a little. I throw her a bone and she gives me information. It’s how it’s worked since we divorced, ten years ago now. She wants a rich man, and when she’s bored and without one, she tells me that she loves me. I don’t fall forit.”

“How often do you seeher?”

“Once or twice a year, this is the first time she’s been to the U.K. though. Sometimes it’s hard to avoid her. Vivienne, Gabriella’s mother, and her aunt, likes to torment her, so she’s occasionally invited to family events,” he said with alaugh.

“What is your relationship withGabriella?”

He smiled before he answered. I heard him take a deep breath and exhale slowly. “She loved me, she didn’t tell me that in the beginning, but she was there for me when Addison and I split. She was there all the way through the worst times of my life, when I wanted to end it all. She was the one who picked me up and dusted me off. We’re great friends, Lauren. She’s someone who will always be in mylife.”

“Loved?”

“Yeah, she’s in love with Alex and his move is causing herpain.”

“Why is heleaving?”

“Because I want him to run my U.S. operations, so I don’t have to spend so much time abroad. Of all the people on my team, he’s the one I trust the most. I want her to go with him. She doesn’t want to leaveme.”

“I thought you liked flying back andforth.”

“I did, I do, but there’s something wanting me to stay put for a while. Most of my businesses are back home, Lauren. I need someone there on a permanentbasis.”

The fact he’d saidsomethingled me to assume he meant the merger or perhaps another larger businessdeal.

“I’m glad you told me all that. Thankyou.”

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