‘We’re in the way here, though.’ Leo glanced up at the minibus, where Belinda Chalmers and two other teachers were keeping the children inside quiet and in their seats. ‘Would you like to sit in my car?’
Andrew’s gaze followed Leo’s pointing finger. Whether by chance or design, Leo had picked the right thing. Andrew loved cars and his face lit up when he saw Leo’s.
‘I’m not sure how I’m going to get out of that parking spot. You want to come and give the hands-free parking a shot with me?’
Andrew nodded, and Leo bent forward slowly. The boy let him pick him up and carry him over to the passenger door of the car.
Alex followed him, brushing the dirt off his parka, and she reached into the pocket and found his car keys, unlocking the doors. Leo got in carefully, with Andrew still in his arms, sliding over into the driver’s seat before depositing Andrew back in the front passenger seat.
‘All right. We’ll just buckle you up.’ He pulled the seat belt across the boy, taking the opportunity to surreptitiously check on his ankle in the process. Then he closed the car door.
‘Smooth operator.’ Belinda Chalmers had got out of the minibus and stood next to Alex, watching as the car slid slowly out of its parking space, Andrew staring open-mouthed as Leo rather ostentatiously took his hands off the steering wheel.
Alex had been trying not to think about just how smooth. The charm that had convinced Andrew to accept his help was exactly the same as the charm which got him up to goodness knew what after dark.
‘Has someone telephoned Andrew’s mother? It looks like a sprain, but there’s the possibility it may be a fracture.’
‘She’s on her way. I’ll get the other children inside if you want to stay here.’
‘Yes. Thanks.’ Now that the side door of the minibus could be slid open, Alex would rather get the children into the gym and start the training session. Leo didn’t appear to need her any more.
But there were three sports teachers, all qualified to supervise that, and Andrew was hurt and her responsibility until his mother got here. Her issues with Leo were completely incidental right now. Alex opened the door of Leo’s car and slid into the back seat.
‘How are you doing, Andrew?’
‘Fine.’ The boy was engrossed with the dashboard, and it was Leo who turned and grinned at her.
‘What about letting Alex take a look at your ankle now, eh, Andrew? Must be hurting a bit.’ Leo caught Andrew’s hand, guiding it away from the control for the fog lamps just before he managed to switch them on.
‘You can, if you want.’ Andrew innocently chose Leo over Alex. Why not? Everyone else seemed to fall for his charm.
‘Okay then. Thanks.’ Leo leaned over, inspecting the ankle carefully, watching Andrew’s face for any signs of pain as he gently rotated it. ‘Well, that doesn’t look too bad. Few days’ rest and you’ll be right as rain. I’ve got something to put on it to make it a bit more comfortable, though. Just until your mum gets here to take you home.’
Leo was saying all the right things. Reassuring Andrew that he wasn’t badly hurt and that he’d be going home. The boy nodded and Leo got out of the car, bumping around in the boot.
‘Want to see how this works?’ He’d had the sense to just bring what he needed, not letting Andrew see his medical bag. Andrew nodded, and Leo bent his own hand, putting it inside the inflatable ankle splint.
By the time Andrew’s mother hurried towards them, accompanied by Belinda Chalmers, Leo had coaxed Andrew into allowing him to put the splint around his ankle. He got out of the car, motioning for Andrew’s mother to take his place in the driver’s seat.
‘Andrew... Are you all right?’
‘Yes. Are we going home, Mum?’
‘Let me speak to the doctor first...’ Marion looked uncertainly up at Leo. She must have been told that Andrew was with a doctor, and was clearly surprised at how relaxed her son was with him.
‘No! We’re going home!’ Andrew’s face reddened.
Marion’s face contorted into an expression of helplessness. ‘Andrew...wait just a minute...please, love...’
‘Hey, there.’ Leo stepped in again. Always there, always charming everyone into doing exactly what he wanted them to. Alex was beginning to tire of watching it. ‘Give me a minute to talk to your mum, eh? It’s okay, we’re not going to do anything you don’t want to.’
He waited for Andrew’s nod and then turned to Marion. ‘It looks like it’s just a sprain. But I’d like to get it X-rayed, just in case.’
Marion’s face took on a pinched look. Clearly she wasn’t looking forward to waiting with Andrew at the hospital, but she knew that it would have to be done. ‘Yes. Thank you.’
‘My surgery has a walk-in centre next door, and we make use of it for our patients. We can take him there, get him seen straight away and then I’ll bring you back here.’
Marion pressed her lips together. ‘That must be a private clinic. We don’t have any insurance...’
‘It won’t cost anything. We have an arrangement with them.’
‘Are you sure?’ Marion looked uncertainly at Alex.
‘If that’s okay with Leo, then I think that would be better for Andrew.’ It was a good offer, and Marion should take it.
‘I really appreciate it. Thank you, doctor.’
‘Call me Leo.’ He cut through Marion’s flustered gratitude and turned to Andrew. ‘Right then. Here’s the deal...’
She wanted desperately to go with them, just to be there for Andrew and Marion whether they needed her or not. But it appeared that Leo was the only person that either Andrew or his mother needed.
Alex climbed out of the car, walking back to where she’d dropped her sports bag. The training session had already started and, although she’d organised this evening so that she’d be free to show Leo around, she might as well go along anyway. At least she wouldn’t have to deal with having to watch the Leo effect.
* * *
Leo had reckoned that Marion would like some time to talk alone with Andrew and he’d left them in his car together. Alex had got out of the car without so much as a word to say where she was going.
This evening she was different. She’d done all the right things, said all the right things, but the change was as marked as if the sun had suddenly gone behind a cloud. He wanted to know why. He didn’t have time right now to examine why he wanted to know; he just did.
‘Aren’t you coming with us?’ He caught her up at the door of the sports hall.
‘You don’t need me.’
He was tempted to tell her that he did need her, quite desperately. That worked with most people, without any need to elaborate on exactly why. But Alex was different from most people and he wouldn’t get away with it.
‘Don’t you want to come?’
She turned, and he caught a glimpse of scorn in her eyes. Not quite the emotion he wanted, but then any emotion was generally better than none.
‘Of course I do. But I should stay here and help with the training...’
She still had a bit to learn about being in charge. ‘You’re the Chief Executive of the charity, right?’
‘I wouldn’t put it quite like that. Sounds a bit stuffy...’
‘You’re the one who makes things happen, which makes you a Chief Executive, whether you like it or not. Which makes you responsible for leading the way, showing what your core values are.’
She stared at him for a moment and then the penny dropped. ‘And one of our core values is that we never leave anyone behind...’ Suddenly she thrust her bag into his arms and pushed open the door of the sports hall. ‘Wait for me. I’m just going to tell everyone that Andrew’s okay but that I’m going with him for his X-ray.’
* * *
As they walked behind Leo into the smart
reception area Marion caught Alex’s arm, whispering to her, ‘This place looks very posh... We don’t have health insurance—are you sure it’s free?’
‘Don’t worry. It’s okay.’ It didn’t look free to Alex either. But this was the part of Leo that she could trust.
He was carrying Andrew upright, rather than cradled like a sack of potatoes. Probably not quite as comfortable for the boy’s ankle, but it was protected by the splint and it changed the dynamic. Andrew wasn’t helpless in his arms; he could lean across the reception desk and see what was going on, and the receptionist responded by smiling and talking to him.
She filled out a form and held it out for Andrew to take. He grabbed it and Leo nodded to her, smiling. ‘I can take him straight through?’
‘Yes, room nine.’ The woman gave Leo a brilliant smile, which was over and above the requirements of her job, and undoubtedly just for him.
There was a brief interlude when Leo pretended to lose his way in the quiet, carpeted corridor, but Andrew put him right, pointing to the correct door. Inside, he waved Marion and Alex towards a couple of chairs and sat Andrew down on the examination couch, keeping the curtains that surrounded it open so that he could see his mother.
A woman in a brightly coloured top came in with a cup of tea for Marion and she took it awkwardly, still obviously worried about the cost of all this. Leo grinned at her. ‘My surgery’s just next door. We have an arrangement to use the clinic’s facilities.’
‘It’s so good of you. The hospital’s been wonderful with Andrew, but his usual doctor won’t be there at the moment and the Urgent Care Centre...’
Leo nodded. ‘I know. They do a great job, but sometimes you have to wait a bit. This is a lot easier for him.’
‘Yeah.’ Marion nodded.
It was a great deal easier. Andrew hardly seemed to notice Leo’s gentle and thorough examination, nor did he protest when he was left alone for the X-rays to be taken.
‘Looks fine to me...’ Leo had reviewed the X-rays and confirmed that there was no fracture. ‘I’m going to give you a support for your ankle, and I’d like you to wear it for a week or two until your ankle’s strong again. But after that you’ll be as right as rain. So I expect to see you at the training session in a couple of weeks, when I visit.’
‘Can I ring you up when you’re on the radio?’ Andrew seemed to have given up on the question about going home now that it seemed likely he was just about to do so.
‘Yes, if you want to. You have to have your mum do it, though. What do you want to talk about?’
‘Your car.’
‘Nah, no one’s interested in that. What about your training sessions with Alex?’
‘Maybe.’
Marion nodded. ‘We’ll call. I listened to the programme on Monday when we heard that Alex was going to be on.’
Leo turned. ‘What did you think?’
‘I thought it was great. It’s really good that you’re giving this some airtime. I wish we’d known sooner; I could have told more of my friends about it.’
Alex quirked her lips downwards. ‘It was all a bit last-minute. We weren’t the first choice.’
His gaze found hers, and suddenly it seemed as if he was talking only to her. The way he spoke to his listeners, as if each one was the only one. ‘Alex stood in for us when someone else let us down. She’s made everyone realise that we made a big mistake in not asking her first.’
She tore her gaze away from his, refusing to believe what he’d just said. It was just Leo making the best of things.
‘I think you’re being nice...’ And she didn’t particularly want him to be nice. She wanted the businesslike Leo who didn’t tear at her heart whenever he turned his blue eyes onto her.
‘I’m never nice.’ He picked Andrew up, switching his attention back onto the boy. ‘Come on then. Time to go home.’
* * *
He’d been able to do little enough for Andrew, simply called in a few favours to make things easier for him. But when they’d got back to the school, and the boy had given him a high five before his mother took him off home, it had warmed Leo. It was sometimes the little things that were the most rewarding.
‘Thank you.’ He was alone with Alex now, walking towards the car park after managing to catch the last ten minutes of the training session.
‘You’re welcome. Must be very difficult when the kids get hurt like that. They’ve already had a lot of trauma to contend with.’
‘Yeah. Some of them take it in their stride, but others... Sometimes the ones you need to watch the most are the ones who just go quiet.’
‘That’s my experience too.’ He wondered whether he should mention that Alex seemed to have gone quiet on him, but wasn’t sure where to start.
He decided to try an experiment. ‘Did you see the report in the papers this morning?’
‘No.’
Gotcha. Her voice was bristling with discomfort, and she hadn’t even asked what report. Leo stopped to face her and she pretended not to notice and kept on walking.
‘Fast-track,’ he called after her and she turned slowly.
‘What?’
‘Fast-track. I ask you to come along to a drinks party, you say no and then I’m in the paper, leaving with Evangeline Perry...’
‘So what? You can walk down a set of steps with someone, can’t you? I do it all the time.’ She pressed her lips together, knowing she’d given herself away fully now.
‘I had my arm around her. That was because half a dozen paparazzi had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and were in her face.’ Leo usually left the press to come to whatever conclusions they liked, preferring to just rise above it all and get on with his job. But this time it mattered to him.
‘What you do is none of my business, Leo.’
‘No, I know it isn’t. But, despite that, I have an irrepressible urge to explain that I’ve known Evie for years, and she and I were just talking about some of the issues that you and I have been covering on my show...’
‘Oh, pull the other one, Leo...’ At last, an honest response. This, he could work with.
‘Evie’s sister used to run for the American national team. She contracted meningitis last year and that’s put a stop to her career for the time being. Arielle always said that she wanted to work with kids when she took a step back from competing, and this project’s been bubbling under for a while now...’
‘And you just happened to bump into her sister at this drinks do.’
‘No, I’d arranged to see Evie there—that was one of the reasons I asked you to come. She was there with her partner—he’s the guy behind us on the steps.’ He paused for a moment to see whether Alex was going to come up with something in reply, but she just stared at him dumbly.
‘Of course she lent a bit of much-needed glamour to what was otherwise quite a dry evening. But that was incidental...’
What was he saying? The one thing that never went down well with women was calling another woman glamorous. They wanted to know that they were the only person in the room.
‘Is she the same in real life?’
‘She’s a nice person.’
‘I meant is she as beautiful? I saw her last film...’
‘Evangeline’s a film star. It’s her job to be beautiful. She doesn’t get paid for being nice, but she’s that too. She’s promised to give me an interview for the show on Friday.’
‘Right. Good.’ Alex seemed lost for words, wrenching open the door of her car and throwing her sports bag onto the back seat.
‘Are you going to listen in?’
‘I’ll try.’ She got into the car and the engine growled into life. Then Alex reversed out of her parking space so quickly that she almost shunted into the back of his car. Leo grinned. She’d be listening.
CHAPTER SEVEN
LEO THE IMPOSSIBLE. Being with him was like standing in a hall of mirrors, unable to tell whether the man in front of her was the real Leo or just a reflection.
She guessed from the smug look that Leo had given her as she drove off that he knew she’d be listening on Friday, but she did it all the same. Evangeline spoke passionately about her sister’s illness and how it had prompted them both to think about setting up a scheme for young athletes with disabilities. Alex was sorry she’d misjudged her. But she knew she hadn’t misjudged Leo. Whether he was lost to her because of another woman or because he was a different person now didn’t really matter. He was lost to her and that was it.
If she’d remembered that, it would have made life a good bit easier. But instead she’d been jealous of Evangeline and, worst of all, Leo knew that now. Monday was going to be difficult.
* * *
She arrived at the radio station early. She’d thought about this and if there was going to be an atmosphere between her and Leo the listeners would know it. She had to clear the air. Half an hour alone in the restroom preparing herself only made her more nervous, and then Leo breezed in.
‘Ready to go?’ He smiled at her.
‘Leo... Leo, wait.’ Better get it over with now. ‘I’m sorry. About the picture in the paper and...’
He turned his bright blue eyes on her and she fell silent, feeling her cheeks flush.
‘The paparazzi jumped to the same conclusion and so did everyone who read the paper. Why not you?’
‘It was none of my business.’
‘I put myself out there, Alex. I have to accept that what I do is sometimes noticed. I care about what you think, which is why I bothered to explain myself.’
That... That sounded suspiciously like a compliment. ‘Are you being nice?’
His smile. That luminous look which seemed to hide no secrets. ‘Nah. I’m never nice.’ He looked at his watch. ‘We’ve got to get going now. Do you have ten minutes afterwards? I just need to discuss a few details for next week.’
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