by Anna Hartman
As the band announced the final song for the evening Brockley appeared and politely asked if Zach would let him dance with Rosalind. Zach who was physically about the same size as Brockley somehow shrunk next to his commanding presence and reluctantly let her go.
“You seem to be having fun with your boyfriend” Brockley started the conversation casually
“Mmm, yes. I really enjoy dancing” She didn't know why she didn’t correct him that Zach Copper was not her boyfriend.
Brockley was a great dancer, he lead her effortlessly through the room and Rosalind felt her body relax into his and as he pulled her closer. She felt that rare jolt in the pit of her stomach that she experienced when she was physically very attracted to somebody, it had happened only twice before in her entire lifetime. Rosalind closed her eyes and inhaled the intoxicating smell of Brockley, letting him and the music take control of her body. In fact she was a little surprised her knees still carried her.
When the song came to an end Brockley politely walked her back to the bar were a pissed off looking Zach was staring them them.
“Thank you Miss Langley, I look forward to our meeting next week”
“You are welcome, I look forward to it too” She had not planned to make it so obvious that she was interested, but it felt like her loins had taken control of her head and doing the talking.
“Are you going on a date with him?” The jealous Zach asked
“Well, not that it’s any of your business, but no, It’s strictly a business meeting”
“Are you going to sell to him? You know he is ruthless?”
“Zach, I’d rather not discuss my family’s private business with you tonight”
Zach turned his back to her and ordered another drink.
“Zach, the party is nearly over I need to go and say goodbye to our guests, I’ll see you around”
Without waiting for a response Rosalind walked out of the ballroom and into the the hall were guests were getting their coats and waiting for rides home.
After the last guest had left and the Maison Grandell staff were gathering their things and it was clear that the evening had been a great success. if anybody had raised an eyebrow about the sponsorship of the event, at least they had done it discreetly and only sung praises to Rosalind and Lady Langley for this wonderful party.
By the time the the house was finally empty it was past 2am and Rosalind and her mother kicked off their shoes and had a cup of tea at the family’s private lounge.
“That was a great party Rosalind, well done. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed myself this much since your father died”
“Thanks mum, I had fun too and I think the evening was a success. I found that the sponsorship meant we could relax and enjoy the party whilst somebody else made sure everything runs smoothly”
“True, so maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all. So what do you think of Brockley Graham?”
“Well, socially I thought he was very entertaining and good company but I think he is a shark and I am very wary of him in business sense.”
“Hmm, I don’t know. When I met him he seemed truly caring. I was so out of it at the time he could have really taken advantage of me and get me to agree on a deal, but he didn’t, There was absolutely no pressure from him. Instead he was very courteous and gave me space, not like the others”
“I think it’s just a trick, mother”
“Let’s talk about business another time, I’m too tired and perhaps a little tipsy. So is there a romance blossoming with you and young Zach Cooper?”
“No, I’ve known him all my life and I’m really not interested in him. It was just fun to dance and laugh with somebody I know so well but haven’t seen much of recently.”
“I suppose he also stands no chance compared to the charming Mr Graham?”
“Mother!”
“I saw how dreamy you looked when you danced with him. I may be over the hill and recently widowed, but I still remember what it feels like” Lady Langley winked. She really was more lively tonight she had been for ages.
“You are not over the hill but I think I need to go to bed now. Good night mother, I’m glad your migraine cleared”
“Me too, goodnight my love”
CHAPTER 2
The following Monday Brockley Graham’s assistant called Rosalind to arrange a meeting. They suggested the Langley house as the meeting place, but Rosalind didn’t want him in her home and also she wanted to make sure her mother wouldn’t be present, so she said she had some business in London and would be there most of the week anyway. In the end the meeting was set for Thursday and would be held in Brockley's office in the city.
Rosalind spent ages figuring out what to wear. She wanted to look businesslike and serious but still sexy. In the end she decided on the classic look of a black pencil skirt, with a matching jacket, a crisp white cotton shirt and high heeled Louboutin court shoes. Instead of a hand bag she took her father’s old briefcase, which was a little masculine and quite battered, but looked great in contrast to the feminine outfit she was wearing. Minimum jewellery, her hair in a loose low ponytail, and killer red lipstick and she was ready.
She signed in at the reception and took the fast lift to the 27th floor.
BG Hotel’s headquarters were very modern, light and airy, with minimalistic expensive Danish designer furniture and smartly dressed people milling around looking busy.
She was asked to wait at the reception by the blond receptionist and she fully expected Brockley to send his secretary to fetch her, but to her surprise he turned up himself.
Wearing tailored charcoal grey suit he looked every bit of the sexy and successful businessman that he was.
“Miss Langley how great to meet you again.” Smiling, he stretched his arm out to greet Rosalind, his piercing blue eyes seeming to look straight through her .
“Nice to see you too. You have very impressive offices Mr Graham”
“Brockley please, and thank you. We moved here from a Marylebone last year as the staff outgrew the old office. The view is inspiring, isn’t it? Come this way to the boardroom”
They walked across the lobby through the big double doors that led to the boardroom.
As they took their seats, Brockley didn’t waste time getting down to business.
“Miss Langley, as I mentioned, before you father passed away we had quite a few conversations about the future of Langley house. Lord Langley was very aware that the ever rising costs for its upkeep were not feasible to take on with his income, so something had to be done to make the house pay for itself”
“So you offered to buy it for pittance?”
At that very moment Brockley’s secretary turned up with coffee and water. So he just waited silently until she had gone before responding
“No, that’s not at all what I offered. As I said on Saturday, I liked and respected your father and he was no fool. I offered to lease the house for 30 years, refurbish it to make it into a luxury hotel, take over all the maintenance and upkeep and give the family a full access to one of the suites whenever they wanted”
“So my mother and I would be living in a hotel?”
“No, the plan was to either refurbish the groundskeeper's cottage and make it into a family home or you could choose to live anywhere you like with the money you would be earning from the lease”
“Why would you be so generous?”
“Well it’s not generosity, it is business. Langley house would make a great profit as a hotel and be the jewel in the crown of my hotel portfolio. It would be a very high profile project and good PR”
“There must be more to this, it seems too good to be true.”
“Miss Langley, I liked your father very much. He was a fine gentleman and this would have been a great deal for both of us. I am not in the business of doing people over”
Rosalind didn’t say anything but the look on her face revealed her thoughts. Brockley Graham was famous for his ruthless business deals. He went af
ter what he wanted and usually got it.
“So I can check this with my father’s solicitor?”
“Well unfortunately your father wanted to keep this deal private as long as possible, so nobody else was involved in the negotiations?”
“I see, how convenient. I apologise for sounding rude Mr Graham, but why would my father agree to all of that without involvement from his business manager or solicitor or telling his family?”
“I would love to have an answer to that, but all I can say is that I expect for some reason he felt it was important to reach an agreement before involving anybody else. Maybe he worried somebody would intervene?”
“I don’t think so. Mr Graham, I appreciate your offer but Langley house is not for sale”
“I know, that’s why I’m not planning to buy it, just to lease it. You do understand that the upkeep of a house like that is nearly half a million pounds a year and that’s just to cover the basics, if you wanted to make any improvements we are talking several millions. I know you have options, but all the other developers want to buy the land and the house from you as cheaply as possible. I think it is indecent and wrong and breaking the house into flats would completely ruin it. I don’t want to push you into anything Ms Langley, so please think about our conversation and by all means speak to other people and see what they offer. But I have to give you a deadline, if Langley house will not be available I need to make a move on my plan b or c and I can’t keep them hanging for much longer. Please give me your response by the 21st, that’s almost 3 weeks. If you then say no, I promise I will leave you alone”
Rosalind swallowed; she had to play carefully not to ruin this deal in case she needed to take him up on his offer at some point. So she used all her willpower to put on her most polite voice and smiled:
“Thank you for your offer Mr Graham. I’ll get back to you by the 21st” She got up and shook his hand.
Brockley walked her to the lobby and shook her hand.
“Send my best wishes to Lady Langley, I really enjoyed the party on Saturday and by the way you are a fantastic dancer Miss Langley” he said with a sexy smile.
“Thank you.” Rosalind could feel her knees going weak and hoped he didn’t notice.
As Rosalind walked out the building she couldn’t believe the situation was really this bad. She had 3 weeks to decide what would be the future of the house that had been in the family for generations.
She decided to pay a surprise visit to her godfather, her father’s business manager Edward Smith whose office was nearby.
Edward Smith looked surprised and not particularly pleased when his receptionist announced Rosalind’s arrival. But very quickly he fixed a welcoming smile, that didn’t quite reach his eyes and walked her into his office.
“What a pleasant surprise darling Rosalind, what can I do for you?”
“I was nearby and thought I’d pop in to see if you had some time uncle Edward.”
“Of course. I hear Saturday’s event was very successful. I am sorry Anthea and I couldn’t make it. I assume you want to talk to me about your future, maybe make some decisions about the house?”
“Yes, but before that I wanted to know if you knew what my father was planning to do? He must have realised how bad the situation was?”
“Well, I think he was preoccupied by his health for the last few years, but yes he did talk about selling up and moving into a flat in London”
“My father? A flat in London?”
“Yes, I think that’s what your mother wanted.”
It didn’t sound plausible. Lord Langley had loved Langley house and the countryside. They used to have a flat in London but her parents had sold it a few years back.
“So had he spoken to anybody about selling the house? Were there any offers on the table?”
Edward Smith looked uncomfortable, she had caught him by surprise.
“Well, there was an offer from Flatex Ltd that he was quite keen on, and a few others he wanted to explore but I think they are all expired by now, after all it has been 8 months since his death”
“Would you mind re-contacting these parties and arrange a meeting, we need to make some quick decisions”
“Sure Rosalind, I’ll fix something up for the next week or so. Will you be attending yourself or shall I act on your behalf?”
“I want to be there. In fact I’m in charge. My mother doesn’t want to know.”
“Very well, please excuse me Rosalind, I have a lunchtime appointment that I need to rush to, I’ll take you out to lunch next time and we should meet socially too, I want to know all about your plans to be the next Coco Chanel.”
“I’d like that. Thank you Uncle Edward”
Rosalind walked out of the office feeling ill at ease but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She jumped on the tube to get to Soho where she was meeting her best friend from school for lunch. Abigail had been her roommate throughout boarding school and now worked in PR.
She got to the restaurant first and as she sat there sipping her glass of water, Abigail turned up, all high heels, blazing red hair and some avant garde fashion that would look odd on anybody else but somehow made Abigail look chic.”
“Daaaarling, so lovely to see you, how are you ?” Rosalind stood up and was enveloped in a big bear hug by her friend
“Lovely to see you too, I’m ok, as good as can be I suppose.”
She told her friend about her meeting with Brockley Graham and said that it looked likely that Langley house would be sold soon.
“Well, when it is you’ll come to live with me. My flat has a spare bedroom and I’ve been thinking about getting a lodger but just can’t face the selection process. I would love to live with you again”
“That sounds great but right now I can’t even afford to pay rent, however should my situation change I’ll jump at the chance “
“That’s settled then! I won’t let the room out but keep it for you, and anyway if you ever fancy coming down to London for a few days please come and stay.”
The lunch with Abi cheered her up immensely. It was always wonderful to spend time with people who knew you so well you didn’t have to explain anything and loved you for who you were.
On the train back home from Paddington she felt happier and lighter she’d felt in months and for once dared to dream a little bit of what her life could be like. Returning to New York, building a career in fashion and making something of herself. Yes she loved Langley house but she had never planned to live there as a grown up, so that part of her dream wasn’t affected by all these financial voes.
It had started raining as she got off the train but she still walked back to Langley House, she didn’t want to spend money on a taxi or call her mother to pick her up. Lady Langley couldn’t believe her daughter had walked the mile home in her heels in this weather and she quickly made her a cup of tea and then started to cook some soup for supper.
Rosalind gave her mother a quick update of her meeting with Brockley and mentioned that Mr Smith was arranging meetings with other interested parties. Sylvia Langley showed mild interest and said that Rosalind should seek expert advice but otherwise she trusted her to make the right decision.
“Mum, whatever we decide to do will affect you. It’s the rest of your life we are talking about. Surely you are interested in where you’ll live.”
“Darling, I just want a small house somewhere in the country and enough money so I can live a simple life and not worry about it.”
Rosalind rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything, to herself she thought that her mother’s idea of simple life was probably what most people would think was a life of privilege and luxury. Lady Sylvia Langley had never had to work to support herself, she had been raised to be the perfect hostess and marry well. In her early twenties, between the finishing school and marriage, she had spent a year in Paris modeling and learning to cook. That was the only time she had ever lived in a tiny flat without domestic staff.
As soon as sh
e had finished her soup Rosalind excused herself, picked up the old briefcase she’d been carrying all day and climbed upstairs to her father’s study. As she opened the door, she stood at the doorway for short while and closed her eyes inhaling the familiar smell, old leather, cigar smoke and a hint of her father's cologne still lingered in the air. For a moment she could almost hear his voice.
Rosalind poured herself a cognac from the crystal decanter that was still on the sideboard and sat down on Lord Langley’s old leather office chair. She had already gone through all of her father's files and found nothing of use. But maybe, maybe she should go through everything one last time and then if she still could find no sign of her father’s plans for the house she would make her own decisions. She started methodically going through all his files again, scanning them for anything that may give away what her father would have wanted for Langley House and her mother’s upkeep. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, maybe a scribbled note, maybe some document draft outlining Lord Langley’s thoughts, but again she found nothing.
After an hour she took a break, switched on her laptop and emailed three of the property investors that had left her messages begging for a meeting. She suggested times for the following week for them to come and meet her. She would listen to them all, run their offers by Mr Smith and then she would picked the best and the fairest. By the end of the month she would know and could start making plans for her own life again.
Daddy, why didn’t you involve any of us in your decision making and business deals? Rosalind sighed sadly although she knew the answer. Her mother had never shown any interest in what she called the boring details and Rosalind herself had only been interested in fashion and having fun. She had always assumed that someday in the distant future, she would learn the ropes from her dad but until now it had felt boring and tedious.
Rosalind pulled out the offer and the notes she had made earlier during her meeting with Brockley Graham from the briefcase. As she pulled the papers out she accidentally dropped the briefcase and all its contents spilled out on the floor. As she started picking up the train tickets, her makeup bag and pens she noticed a corner of an envelope peeking out of one of the compartments. Quickly she pulled out the envelope and instantly recognised the handwriting as her father's. The envelope was addressed to her.