A very Corporate Affair Book 1 (The Corporate Series)

by Latham, D

  "Elle, please, be reasonable," he said, in a pleading voice.

  "You're homosexual? What was I? Your beard? Your fag bangle? The cover story for your mother?" I began to recover from the initial shock, and my anger was growing.

  "I'm not homosexual," he bleated, "it's only Darius, no other man. We've done it since we were kids."

  "Why? Wasn't I enough for you?"

  "I don't know why, we both just feel the need every now and then, and of course you're enough for me. It's a totally different thing. You and I make love. Darius and I just blow off some steam."

  "Does Arabella know?"

  "No. Nobody else knows. It would ruin us both if it got out. Elle, please, it's not important, you're what's important to me."

  "How can you possibly say that? You just got fucked by a bloke. Do you seriously expect me to forgive and forget? It disgusts me. You used me to cover up the fact that you're gay, and I ain't playing your game." I moved to the drawer and began shoving my things into the weekend bag. I just wanted to escape, cry, and go home.

  "Name your price," he said suddenly. I spun round.

  "My price for what?"

  "To keep this secret, this can't get out. Tell me how much you want."

  I stared at him, incredulous, "I'm a fucking lawyer gayboy, I'm not gonna start blackmailing you. Keep your money, and spend it on the poor sap you end up with, cos it won't be me." I drew myself up to full height, looked him in the eye, and said; "the price of my silence is yours. Unless we are in a professional setting, you don't speak to me, look at me, or contact me. If we are at work, you will be polite. You are gonna open those gates and let me go home, and I will never breathe a word of this to a living soul. Deal?"

  He stared at me, tears forming in his eyes, "you really weren't with me for my money were you?"

  "No Oscar, I wasn't. Not interested in your silly title either. Sorry to blow apart your misconceptions of the working classes," I said spitefully as I pulled on my jeans.

  "A woman who was with me for all the right reasons," he said. A tear made its way out of his eye and travelled down his face. I ignored him, and pulled a jumper over my head. I zipped up my bag and grabbed my handbag.

  "Open the gates for me please," was the last thing I said before I left the room. He followed me down the stairs.

  "Elle, please don't go, please stay and talk about this," he pleaded. I ignored him. I had the overwhelming need to get away from him, and everything he stood for. "Elle, I love you, you know that."

  I reached the large front door, unbolted it, and stomped down the steps to the drive. "At least borrow my car," Oscar said. I spun around.

  "I can't drive, don't you know anything about me? No you don't, because you are so self absorbed thinking you were catch of the century that you forgot that real people have alternatives. I don't need anything from you Oscar, goodbye." I strode down the drive, not looking back. He didn't follow me.

  Chapter 15

  I swiped my tears away, angry at myself, at Oscar, and at Darius. I walked for about fifteen minutes at a fast pace before I reached the open gates. Then I was back in the world.

  It had all felt like a bad dream, and I half expected to wake up any moment in Oscar's large bed, with him snugged into my side, warm and sleepy. Instead, I was trudging through deepest Sussex at half one in the morning. I wished James wasn't in America, I wanted to hear his voice. He would have been able to google-find a taxi. I pulled my mobile out of my handbag, it only had a bit of charge left in it. I contemplated calling my mum, but quickly dismissed the idea, knowing that she wouldn't know what to do, and it would only drain my phone.

  I had no idea how to get to the nearest town, so I carried on walking down the country lane, trying to use the GPS on my phone to pull up a map. Even then, it wasn't helpful. There didn't appear to be any towns in the vicinity. In desperation, I called Roger. Thankfully he answered within three rings, and I explained that I didn't know where I was, but had left Conniscliffe and turned right. I probably sounded as panicky as I felt.

  "I'll track your mobile and pinpoint you. Won't be long, just stay where you are," he said reassuringly. I stopped walking, and sat down on top of my weekend bag at the side of the road to wait, replaying the scene I'd walked in on, over and over in my head.

  I'd had no inkling of Oscar and Darius' homosexuality, there had been nothing suspicious, and if Darius' wife didn't know, they must have been discreet all these years. I sucked in a deep, cleansing breath of cool night air, and shivered slightly. I had left my jacket behind at the castle, and was only wearing a thin jumper. I thanked my lucky stars for being given a driver, as in an hour or so's time, I would be back in my flat, in my own bed, and I could lick my wounds and recover from the disappointment. I sat there for about twenty minutes, listening to the night sounds of the countryside. An owl hooted, and unnamed animals rustled through the undergrowth at the side of the road.

  Eventually, I heard a car approach. I kept my phone in my hand, just in case it wasn't Roger, but relaxed when I saw it was the Mercedes. It pulled up alongside me, and the window slid down.

  "Are you alright?" said a Russian voice, as I stared into a pair of piercing sapphire eyes.

  "Ivan? What are you doing here? I thought Roger was coming to get me," I said, embarrassed that Ivan had arrived instead. I had hoped he wouldn't find out about me phoning his driver in desperation.

  "He told my bodyguard that you called, and he needed a GPS pinpoint, so I decided to come and get you, and reassure myself that you were in one piece. Jump in." I threw my bag on the back seat, and got in the passenger side. Ivan pulled away. "What did Oscar do to make you walk out in the middle of the night?"

  "Nothing that I wish to divulge. Suffice to say I won't be seeing, or speaking to Oscar, or his friends, ever again."

  Ivan paused, before replying;"I knew something would happen. He lives in a different world from the rest of us, with different rules. You are far too good for him."

  We drove along in silence, before I spoke, "they weren't horrible to me, well his mother was at first, but we got over that. I just really want to go home, and forget about it all. I can get a taxi if you know a cab firm round here."

  "Elle, it's nearly two in the morning, stay at mine tonight, I promise you'll be safe. You can meet my girls, sleep it off, and if you want to go home in the morning, Roger will take you. Women shouldn't travel alone in taxis at night, it's not safe." Meet my girls? Wtf?

  I stayed silent. I was going to be staying at his house next week anyway, so it was no big deal to sleep there that night. I was intrigued as to who his girls, plural, were, so decided to go with the flow. I reasoned that he had come to my rescue, so it wouldn't be fair to get shirty with him. I relaxed, and watched him drive confidently and smoothly through the narrow lanes.

  Eventually we stopped in front of a pair of large, wooden gates. He picked up a remote control from the dashboard, and pressed a button. The gates swung open, and we headed onwards. After a few minutes Ivan's mansion came into view, lit up by designer up lighters, it could have been described as a McMansion by a more envious individual. I thought it was beautiful. It was modern, new, but in the style of a Georgian country house. I loved it.

  He stopped the car by the front door, and I got out. He grabbed my bag from the back seat, and we headed in. As soon as his key turned in the front door, I became aware of the yapping. We were greeted by two spaniels, one looking like a miniature red setter, the other, white and brown. They had the prettiest faces, and big brown eyes.

  "These are my girls, the red one is Bella, the Blenheim, Tania. Do you like dogs?" Both dogs were clearly ecstatic over Ivan's return, and greeted him with enthusiastic licks.

  "I love dogs. What breed are they?" I said, wondering if this was what he meant by his girls.

  "Cavalier King Charles spaniels. The laziest, jolliest girls I ever met," he said, as he rubbed their ears affectionately, "alright girls, I'm home now, go find your toys." The tw
o dogs came over to me, sniffed my hand, and raced off, presumably in search of their playthings.

  I was quite surprised by the dogs. Ivan hadn't struck me as a homely type of person, let alone an animal lover. "Who looks after them when you're in London?" I asked.

  "They come with me. I have a housekeeper in each place who babysits when I'm working," he replied, smiling as they returned bearing squeaky bones. "Would you like a drink?"

  "I would love a cup of tea please," I said. I had never got that glass of water back at the castle, and I needed something hot and comforting. He took me through to a vast, surprisingly conservatively decorated kitchen, and filled the kettle. I looked around as I perched on a stool at the island unit to wait for my tea. The kitchen was made of wood, painted white, with granite work tops and carved edging. A squashy sofa sat at one end, and a pale wood table and chairs was placed at the other. It was a curious mixture of homely and expensive, like something a nouveau riche, Chigwell housewife would choose.

  Ivan placed two steaming mugs of tea on the island, and sat down opposite me. "You look like you just got out of bed," he said, throwing a pointed look at my wild hair.

  "That's because I have. I was fast asleep about two hours ago. I'm really sorry about disturbing your Saturday night, I didn't think Roger would tell you." I stared into my tea, embarrassed about needing to be rescued.

  "What exactly would you have done if I hadn't been around?"

  "I don't know, walked probably, or called my flatmate in the states to see if he could google a cab."

  "In Sussex in the middle of the night?"

  "Well, I don't know. I'm a city girl. I'm not used to there being no street names, and no passing taxis. I would have carried on walking northeast until I got to civilisation." I began to get annoyed. I had already had one argument that night, and I really didn't want another. "I can call a cab now if you would prefer me to go," I snapped.

  "Don't be silly. Mrs Ballard, my housekeeper, already has the guest room ready for you, and your clothes are hung up. Roger's busy driving my date home, so I'm afraid I don't even have a spare chauffeur to lend you."

  "You were on a date? I'm so sorry for interrupting you." I was mortified. Ivan saw me blush.

  "Nobody of consequence. If I'm truthful, I was pleased to have an excuse to shake her off. Now, shall I show you to your room? You look exhausted." He stood up, and placed our cups in the sink. I followed him upstairs, which was formed around a gallery overlooking the entrance hall. He stopped at a door, pushed it open, and gestured for me to go in.

  The room was lovely. A large bed was placed centrally against the far wall, with cream coverings, and a deeper cream headboard. The furnishings would be described as modern traditional, made of pale oak, and consisted of fitted drawers and some shelves with candles and vases on them. Ivan pointed to two doors and explained that one was the bathroom, the other, the dressing room.

  He stood rather awkwardly in the room, "do you think you will make it up with Oscar?"

  "No. Definitely not." I said. I half expected him to make a move on me. Instead, he just nodded and bade me goodnight as he walked out of the room.

  I shed my clothes, and turned out the light before crawling into the large, soft bed. That was when it hit me that I had actually left Oscar, failed at our relationship to the point of him cheating with someone else, and had been mocked for being common. The

  floodgates opened, and all the fear, humiliation and regret came out in a large sob. Once it was out, I couldn't stop the tears streaming down my face. I lay in the dark, feeling sorry for myself as teardrops pooled in my ears. I vaguely heard a scratching sound at the door, then felt the bed dip slightly. A soft, warm little tongue lapped the tears off my face, while another licked my hand. As I finally drifted off, I was aware of two little bodies pressing tightly against me, the doggy equivalent of holding me tight.

  I was woken the next morning by Ivan bringing me a cup of tea. He walked in with his hand shielding his eyes until he ascertained that I was decent. As I woke up, two pairs of chocolate button eyes blinked sleepily at me. Ivan laughed as Tania burrowed back into the bedclothes, covering her eyes with her paw.

  "Come on lazy girls, we are wasting the day," he announced. Bella just yawned and stretched, before bouncing over the bed to say good morning to Ivan.

  "What time is it?" I asked, wondering if I could snuggle in and go back to sleep.

  "Nine o'clock, way past their breakfast time." Both dogs immediately pricked up their ears. "I made us bacon sandwiches, so come straight downstairs." He left me to it, and went back to the kitchen, closely followed by the two dogs. I pulled on my jeans and top from the previous night, and headed down.

  The smell of bacon made my mouth water. I was ravenous, probably due to all the walking I'd done. Ivan had placed a plate of sandwiches, and a latte on the table, and was cutting up sausages for the dogs while eating his butty.

  "Morning Elle, feel better?" Ivan enquired as he blew on a piece of sausage to cool it, before feeding it to a hungry looking Bella.

  "Yes thanks. I'm starving though. Did you make this?" I said, indicating the plate of neatly cut sandwiches, containing perfectly crisp bacon.

  "Of course. No staff except security and driver at the weekend. I like to be able to relax at home. Sunday is reserved for my girls. We eat, walk, watch telly, and sleep." He blew on another piece of sausage, this time for Tania. She practically inhaled it. "Chew darling," he admonished. She wagged her tail, and gazed up at him expectantly, willing him to give her another piece of sausage.

  "Sounds lovely. I'll have a quick shower and get out of your way." I said, fascinated by his interaction with the dogs.

  "Why don't you stay and join us today? You'd have to come back tonight anyway to be ready for the morning. I can show you the facilities you can use next week, and the girls can show you round the woods." He cut off another two pieces of sausage, much to the delight of the two spaniels.

  "Actually, that would be lovely," I said. A walk in the woods, followed by some TV and some relaxation sounded wonderful, and after the tension of the last few days, was probably just what I needed.

  We finished our breakfast, slipping stray bacon to the ever hopeful mouths below the table, and I went back to the room to shower and change. It promised to be a gloriously hot day, so I threw on a pair of shorts, and a tight T-shirt, before heading back downstairs to the kitchen.

  Ivan looked astonishing in just shorts and a sleeveless, white T-shirt. He was slightly shorter than Oscar, but more muscular and defined. His legs were powerful, with large thighs and bulging calves. His shoulders and arms looked like they belonged in a diet coke break advert. In a suit, he was hot, in casual, he was a vision.

  He grabbed his phone, a key, and some dog treats, and we headed out of the back door. His garden was all perfectly designed around a large outdoor pool, and pool house. Skirting around it, we headed through a rose arch, and into the woods, the girls skipping happily ahead. We walked in silence for a while, and I felt my hands unclench, and my shoulders drop as I wandered through the dappled sunshine under the canopy of trees, smelling the forest scents, and listening to the birds singing.

  "It does that to everybody," Ivan said suddenly, "it makes people relax. Being close to nature has that effect. I can see the tension you're carrying disappear."

  "Am I that easy to read?" I laughed.

  "You were last night. You're not normally."

  "So you expected me to call for international rescue this weekend then? Have you had to scoop up other girls spat out of Conniscliffe before?" This time Ivan laughed.

  "No. I've never really known any of Oscar's girlfriends before, but yes, I expected you to need assistance. As I said last week, he's a complicated man with a lot of issues, one of them being his inability to relate to normal women. He either sees them as brood mares or toys for his pleasure, with nothing in between."

  I pondered his words, "I guess our public school system has a lo
t to answer for."

  "It does seem to produce a lot of screwed up men, with odd ideas," he agreed, "Russian men aren't known for their enlightened attitudes to the fairer sex, but I feel positively feminist around Oscar."

  "Were you educated here or in Moscow?"

  "Neither really. I was taught to read and write in Moscow, but that was about it. I came to the UK when I was fifteen, and educated myself. I read a lot."

  "Why did you end up here?"

  "I had to escape. The streets of Moscow are harsh when you're poor. My parents 'disappeared'," he made air quotes, "and I stowed away on trains and trucks till I got to the UK, where I claimed political asylum."

  "Did you ever find out what happened to your parents?"

  He paused, "yes, they were shot for being political agitators. Seventeen years ago, these things were still happening. Perestroika wasn't all rainbows and roses, as it was portrayed. I was lucky, I escaped." We walked in silence, watching the spaniels sniffing trees, and romping in the undergrowth. They seemed to have an endless capacity for fun, racing around each other in a game of tag.

  "So you came and conquered London?"

  Ivan smiled, "I suppose so. There's still a lot I'd like to conquer, although I could own the world, and still want the moon. It's like a sickness that I have. Do you regret losing Oscar? He would have been able to give you an amazing lifestyle."

  I shook my head. "No. I have a great lifestyle as it is. I don't need to marry a man to be secure. Apart from a couple of meals out, and a bunch of flowers, I didn't have anything from Oscar. It would make me feel like a charity case to have gifts showered on me, or worse, a bought woman. Nope, not my style."

  "He never took you shopping?" Ivan looked shocked. I shook my head.

  "No, never. Why would he do that?"

  "Every woman I ever met has demanded I take her shopping. I thought that's what women did. Considering Oscar has almost unlimited money, I would have thought a new wardrobe of clothes at the very least."