‘I had a blow out just before the Nouvelle Chicane and here is on my daddy’s yacht.’
‘Your daddy’s yacht?!’
‘Yes.’
‘The Nouvelle Chicane?! Now, I’m not that much of a geek that I know the name of every corner in Formula One, but I do know that the Nouvelle Chicane is on the Monaco Grand Prix circuit so now begs the question what the hell were you doing driving on the circuit?!’
‘My dad organised it for us through the team he sponsors.’
‘Right, okay. I’m really struggling to come to terms with this. I did as you asked, I googled your dad and you, and I can clearly see that your father is wealthy, and you being the sole heiress makes you, well, wealthy.’
‘Yes, it does. Look, David, it would be much better if we talked about this face to face.’
‘I’d like to talk about it now. So the old Mini you drive, is that just for show for me?’
‘No, that’s mine. I did some work for my father last summer, just admin work, and he gave me a salary. I bought the Mini out of that money.’
‘Right, but you could afford a, for example, Ferrari?’
‘Yes. I could buy a Ferrari on one of dad’s credit cards and I doubt he would notice, but I never would without his permission because I would feel like I’m cheating and stealing from him. It would be like you going into your mum’s purse and taking ten pounds out without telling her. You just wouldn’t do it would you?’
‘No, I wouldn’t, you’re right. So how big is the yacht?’
‘Very. Google it. It’s called Samurai.’
‘I will, later. Can we go for a cruise on it one day?’
‘Of course. What are you doing next weekend?’
‘Well to be honest, I’ve got us tickets for the theatre.’
‘We’ll fly out to wherever the yacht will be instead on Friday and spend a couple of days on it. How does that sound?’
‘I don’t know Sally. This is all a bit too much for me to take in at the moment.’
‘I really, really like you David. We’ve had a fantastic time together and I don’t want it to end…’
‘Me too Sally, me too.’
‘So, why don’t we both sleep on it? We can both get used to the idea and talk about it tomorrow. How does that sound?’
‘It sounds good, apart from you’ve got nothing to get used to, I have.’
‘I have to get used to the fact that I’ve lied terribly to you when I should I have told you the truth. And I have to get used to the feeling of how I feel now when I have the horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that I might lose you.’
‘You’re not going to lose me, but you’d better have some good explanations. Where and when do you want to meet?’
‘Say seven at my apartment?’
‘Where’s your apartment?’
‘The apartment we always go to.’
‘That’s your relation’s apartment?!’
‘In a way, yes. My dad bought it for me.’
‘Right, okay. So that duplex penthouse apartment on the thirtieth floor in one of the richest areas of the city is your apartment?’
‘Yes.’
‘This is bewildering. I’ll be there at seven.’
‘Okay. I’m sorry David. I never, ever would have wanted you to find out like this.’
‘Yeah, I bet. See you tomorrow.’
Sally tried to reply but he had already gone before she could get the words out. In a fit of anger she flung her phone against one of the cabin walls, quickly followed by a lamp and a china cup. With a loud curse she threw herself onto the bed and had what could only be described as a tantrum.
Lying on her front, her legs and arms pounded into the mattress and pillows, all the while she was cursing and getting herself into such a state that by the time she had exhausted herself there were tears rolling down her cheeks.
Furious with herself, she jumped up off the bed and threw the saucer that belonged with the cup against another wall. She then opened the wardrobe door with such force that it shook, and grabbed a small bag into which she started to place a few items of clothing. With another curse, and this time a vase was thrown but it did not break which made her even madder, she walked quickly to her father’s cabin, took a deep breath and tapped quietly on the door.
‘Erm, yes, who is it? Please wait a moment.’ Sally listened and she could hear some scurrying going on in the cabin and then from inside the cabin he started to say as he opened the door, ‘I thought I told you I did not want disturbing… Oh! Sally, it’s you. Sorry. Please, come in.’ He could tell by the look on her face she was clearly not happy about something. ‘What’s wrong? Who has upset you?’
‘Me. I’ve upset me.’
‘Oh. Okay. What’s happened?’
‘David, my boyfriend. You were right. I should have told him the truth from the outset!’
‘What? Why? Has he found out? How?’
‘He saw me on the television before, in England…’
‘On the television? How?’
‘On the grid. We’d lost you. You weren’t there.’ Sally then proceeded to tell her father what had happened, how she had lied about where she was supposed to be this weekend, and how rightly upset David was. ‘So, I want to go back to England now and see him.’
‘Do you not think it would be better to let him sleep on it and get used to the idea before you see him tomorrow?’
‘I don’t know dad, I don’t know what is best to do.’
There was a moments silence and it was then that Sally noticed a distinct smell of perfume on the air. For a few more moments she tried to remember where she had smelled that perfume before and then it came to her, Adrienne. ‘Daddy, is Adrienne here?’
‘What? What on Earth makes you think that?
‘That’s a pretty distinctive perfume she wears.’ Inside the cabin’s luxurious bathroom Adrienne winced.
‘Yes, she is.’
‘Right, well, I’ll leave you to it. Sorry for disturbing you.’ Standing up Sally asked, ‘Can I take the helicopter? Where’s the jet?’
He could clearly see the look of hurt in her eyes. ‘Sally, I’m sorry. Your mother has been gone from me, from us, for a long time now. I mourn her and I miss her and I always will, but she would not want to see me alone.’
‘Yes, I know. I told you that once, not so long ago in fact. It’s fine. Can I take the helicopter and jet?’
It was obvious to him that it was far from fine. He decided to leave it for now though. ‘Yes, take whatever you need. Go. Now. Go and see him and make this better if you like him as much as I think you do. I’ll phone ahead and make sure everyone is ready for you.’
‘Thank you daddy.’
She kissed him lightly on the cheek and left the cabin, walking with her head down to the rear of the yacht. Waiting while the helicopter was prepared she realised she had not told Michelle. Just at the moment when she was going to return to the living area of the yacht the pilot informed her that he was ready to depart so she decided to call her later.
Quickly the helicopter lifted off from the yacht and headed south-west along the coast for the short journey to Nice. They landed next to the jet and Sally transferred across. Due to the short time frame, it was not quite ready to take off which annoyed Sally even more. Cursing again, she stared out of the window and considered how someone so wealthy could have so many dramas. She then thought that even with an endless supply of money life was far from perfect.
Soon the pilot announced from the cockpit that they were ready to depart and for the rest of the flight Sally stared out of the window, staring at the clouds below the plane and the occasional flash of land below them.
From where they had taken off all excited a few days ago, Sally now departed the plane in a thoroughly fed up state, and was surprised when both her Mini and the Rolls-Royce were waiting for her. Beside the Rolls stood Alfred who walked over to greet her. ‘Miss Gallagher. I trust you had a good flight?’
‘Yes, it was fine thank you.’
‘Your father called and gave me a short synopsis of the situation. Considering that your boyfriend now knows the truth I was in a quandary as to which transport you would wish to use to go and see him.’
‘I think me rolling up in a Rolls would be a bit too much for him to handle. I’ll take the Mini. Thank you for thinking of me Alfred.’
‘It’s a pleasure ma’am. I’ll take the Rolls-Royce back to the house then. Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with. Here’s the key.’
‘I will. Thank you.’
*
From the private airfield it was not a long drive to David’s house, but Sally still took her time. She tried to gather her thoughts but all too soon she was pulling onto his street and arriving outside his house. For a few moments she composed herself and then walked along the short garden path to knock on the front door. His mother answered. ‘Sally! I thought you were away this weekend? This is a lovely surprise.’
‘Yeah, I wasn’t really enjoying myself much so I came home early.’
‘Ahhh, young love! He’s in his room. He’s been moping about all day like a grumpy young teenager. Please, come in.’ Sally stepped into the house and his mum called up the stairs. ‘David? David! You’ve got a surprise visitor!’
‘I’ve got flu. I don’t want to see anyone,’ he shouted back.
‘No you’ve not got flu! Don’t be rude and come down this instance!’
Distantly Sally heard him swear to which his mum rolled her eyes. Sally then heard his door being loudly opened. ‘Gorrrddd mum! This had better be impor…’ He had reached the top of the stairs and as he looked down his jaw opened, closed and then opened again. ‘You’d better come up.’
His mum rolled his eyes again and apologised for his attitude to Sally. She stepped away from the bottom of the stairs and beckoned Sally up. Seemingly reluctantly Sally proceeded up the stairs into David’s room. He was slumped on his bed watching the television which was showing a re-run of the Grand Prix, but he wasn’t watching it. Instead he was staring out of the window looking quite glum.
‘You okay?’ Sally asked.
‘To be honest Sally, no, not really. Why didn’t you tell me the truth?’
Hesitantly she approached his bed and sat on it when he did not protest. He did protest though when she tried to take his hand by pulling his away and folding his arms. ‘You have to understand it from my point of view. I’ve had dates with guys before where I’ve told them about my real status in life and it is heartbreaking for me when I see their faces light up as they think they could be on for an easy ride through life courtesy of my father’s damned hard work. As I look at them I can see the cogs whirling and spinning in their heads. I knew from that moment on that they would only be interested in my money, not interested in me. Do you understand?’
‘Yeah, of course I do. But it wouldn’t have been like that with me. I don’t care about money so long as we’re happy.’
‘That’s a good thing to say, but I don’t think for one minute we would be as close as we are now if you’d known about this.’
‘Does your dad know about me?’
‘He knows I have a boyfriend.’
‘Does he not think it strange that we haven’t been introduced?’
‘No. He knew the approach I was taking and I’ll just add he was heartily against the idea.’
‘And Michelle and Simon? Have they been laughing behind my back on the dates we’ve had together? Are they in on this?’
‘Of course Michelle knows, I’ve known her for years. I don’t know if Simon knows. Depends if Michelle told him but I asked her not to tell him.’
‘And how the hell did you get back here so quick?!’
‘I was wondering how long it would take you to ask that question. My dad’s jet was at Nice so I used the yacht’s helicopter to fly to Nice…’
‘The yacht has a helicopter?!’
‘Yep.’
‘And your dad has a jet that you can use whenever you want to?!’
‘Within reason, yes. He wouldn’t, as an example, be very happy if I decided to take it for a shopping spree to New York, he’d expect me to fly commercial.’
‘First class commercial though I bet?’
Nodding in agreement, with a smile on her lips, Sally decided to try a different tack. ‘David, look at me.’ She made an attempt to take his hand again and this time it was accepted. Reluctantly his blue eyes met her green. ‘I love you…’
‘Pardon?!’
‘I love you, and I don’t want this to destroy the great relationship we have.’
‘You love me?’
‘Yes. A lot.’
‘Well, well, I’ve wanted to say that to you for a long time, I just didn’t know how.’
‘Try it. It’s quite easy. First I. Then love. Then you.’
Playfully he punched her arm. ‘I love you Sally and I have done for ages.’
‘See? Wasn’t difficult was it?’
‘No, I suppose not. And I suppose having the daughter of a billionaire in love with you does have its advantages!’
‘David!’ She started to beat his arm. ‘You’re not meant to think about it in that way!’
Quick as a flash he caught her hand and with a show of strength he flipped her on her back and straddled her across her waist, firmly holding her wrists. They stared into each other’s eyes, Sally struggling under him. Slowly he leaned forward and kissed her lips, gently running his tongue across her full, luscious lips. ‘You’re not meant to think about it in that way.’
‘Sally, I’ll love you whether you are rich or pauper, peasant or Queen.’
‘Good...’
And he did not let her finish. He kissed her again, this one lingering, his tongue flicking against hers. Slowly he pulled away and rolled off to lie down next to her where he wrapped his arms around her, running his fingers through her long copper hair. ‘What is your natural hair colour?’
‘You’ll find out, one day very soon…’
There they lay on David’s bed until later that evening, talking, with David learning more truth about his girlfriend, the young woman he loved.
Chapter 37
Michelle was surprised when she discovered that Sally had flown back to England without her, but after speaking to Mr. Gallagher she totally understood why she had wanted to. After relaxing on the yacht, she flew back to England on her own the next day to a reunion with Simon after which she settled back down into the routine of her life, predominantly preparing for her exams, but also spending as much time as she could spare with Simon.
Peter had been surprised over the last few months about how well his drugs career was blossoming under the tutelage of Reg. He had quickly moved his way more into the inner-sanctum of Reg’s business taking less responsibility for the selling of the drugs and more responsibility for supplying the drugs.
In a show of trust, Reg had offered him the opportunity to accompany him to Colombia to meet one of Reg’s suppliers of the drugs, a trip which showed Peter the dangers of the industry he was becoming more involved in, but also the benefits.
Reg had numerous fronts dotted all over the country, legitimate businesses that he used to launder the drug money. It was a risky business and he had come close to being jailed numerous times during the years, but all the times this had occurred the prosecutors’ cases collapsed as evidence was destroyed or witnesses suddenly lost either the will to testify in court or were involved in unfortunate accidents.
He lived in a large detached house out in the countryside that was fortified and had some of the most up-to-date security devices. In order for the police to raid his house they would need a full-scale assault team and with Reg’s contacts in the police and courts this would allow him ample time to ensure that any evidence was destroyed before they arrived. He had Porsches, he had Ferraris, he had a summer villa in Spain, and a winter chalet in the Alps of northern Italy and he was a powerful
man.
With a word to one of his loyal followers people in his way would disappear, judges would suddenly find pearl necklaces being delivered to their wives and sergeants in the police force would suddenly find that they can afford to send their children to that expensive private school.
It was this kind of power and wealth that Peter craved and he made it quite clear to Reg that he was the man to take over the business when Reg decided it was time to retire to his villa in Spain. This approach appealed to Reg too. With no son and his two daughters too precious to him to get involved in such a dangerous way of life, Reg was now thinking about succession, who could take over the business after he had stepped down.
He did not want the business to be closed down, he had worked all his life setting it up, so that is why Peter found himself being introduced to drug cartels in Colombia, drug lords in Mexico. With knowing nods between them, the drug barons quickly realised that Peter was going to be the man over the next few years who they would be dealing with so they treated him like a king.
They respected his sensible stance when he refused their offer of as much cocaine and heroin as he could consume, but they did quickly realise he was a man for the ladies. On one visit, for two weeks Peter had sex with some of the most beautiful South American women he had ever seen. He sampled everything they could offer him. From pubescent virgins who they had stolen off the streets of Bogota for their client’s pleasure, to fifty-five year old women who taught and showed him sexual activities that he would not have thought possible even in his wildest sexual fantasies.
And Peter lapped it all up. He loved it. He loved dealing with these people, negotiating the deals and ensuring that a steady supply of the drugs was being sent to England and between them they created more and more elaborate ploys to evade detection by customs and the police forces.
All the time that this was happening, Reg watched and analysed his apprentice, correcting and intervening when appropriate but usually being impressed with the way Peter conducted himself during these key meetings. Quickly Peter was too busy to go out on the streets and as his value to Reg increased so did his monetary value to Reg so he compensated Peter accordingly.
Everything to Nothing Page 37