by Meg MacRose
Only a few seconds later, another message pinged through.
Oh, I’m totally curious. I’ve never seen you like that with a woman EVER.
She was with a 21st party. Guy by the name of William Marsden was picking up the bill. Looks like it was a large invite list for the party.”
His phone pinged yet again. Alex scrolled through several photos that must have come from the security cameras at the Phoenix. The photos showed her as she looked straight ahead as she had arrived, in the cloakroom, and again when she left. The photos were all quite clear and tantalised him further. But none of the pictures gave him any clues as to how he could contact her.
His phone pinged again. Oh, and Alex, you owe me big time!
Nice one, Dan. Alex reread the message. William Marsden. The name wasn’t familiar.
With his thumb, he swiped across to bring the photos back up on his phone. Elizabeth really was a stunner. He knew why he wanted to see her again. The Elizabeth from twelve years ago, although quiet and reserved, had been a lot of fun to be around and interesting too. She’d not been like any of the girls who he’d met, and not like any that he’d met since. She had been incredible in bed, great to debate with, and interested in the world around her. But the Elizabeth of twelve hours ago? She was next level. He wanted to know more about her. Despite the clarity of the photos, they didn’t do justice to her, whatsoever. His memory served him better than the photo. He’d never forget the way that aqua coloured dress wrapped around her, and no underwear. Definitely no underwear.
Many women who he’d dated still held grudges because their one-night stands with him hadn’t progressed into a ring or living together. Yet, even though his breakup with Elizabeth was still in his mind, his worst moment ever, it was apparent she didn’t hold grudges.
Forever after relationships weren’t for him. The only person he knew who enjoyed the whole settle down with one woman was his best friend, Nick. But Nick and Lacey weren’t the norm, and they’d had their share of obstacles to overcome. He shook his head. No, love was not something that he believed in. People became either comfortable together and bored with each other, or they became obsessed with one another and obnoxious with it. Either way, love wasn’t part of his game plan. He’d seen how futile that kind of toxic obsessive relationship had been with his own mother. She’d always told him in a voice that patronised him, that he’d understand when he fell in love himself. But his mother was hardly a positive example. All she’d done was become obsessed with an already married man who sought extra marital affairs with anyone who was available.
Why on earth his mother had thought that her token gesture of giving Alex his father’s surname, Hudson, at birth would make any difference was lost on him. His father had made his indifference clear. Throughout his childhood, Alex had known who his father and half siblings were. His father, the clever and successful Theodore Hudson, owned a multitude of successful corporations. While Alex and his mother had lived in near poverty, his billionaire father had been featured on magazine covers, taking his family around the world on holidays in their private jet. His father hadn’t been willing to acknowledge his son nor pay for his upbringing. And his mother hadn’t pursued it, as she remained misguided in the assumption that someday Theodore, the man who she had fallen in love with, would want her back and want to know his son. Only, it had never worked out that way.
The way he saw it, if he wanted to see Elizabeth again, and that was his agenda right now, then he had to be able to contact her. He could send her scant details to an investigator. He had a few on his books that he used periodically when he was involved in delicate business take-overs. But that could take days. Or he could send her details to his IT whizz of a half-brother, Simon, and see what he could come up with. Simon was Theodore and his long-standing wife’s eldest child. And Alex’s younger half-brother. If there was anything he didn’t know about computers and IT stuff, then it wasn’t worth knowing.
Alex sat back in his minimalist penthouse. He could see the Thames River where he sat in his oversized dark leather chair in his home office. He loved this room. The few girlfriends who he’d brought back had all commented on how masculine the room felt with its dark furnishings. But it was how he liked it. It was his command centre away from the head-office in the city.
He called out to his phone to dial his brother. Without any niceties, Alex asked, “Simon, I have a favour to ask.”
Alex preferred to speak handsfree on his phone, which lay on his desk while he stood back up again and paced around the room.
“There’s someone I met last night, who I am interested in meeting again.” He was sure that Simon’s interest was piqued. Despite working well together, they didn’t ever socialise or even share information about their personal lives. While Alex was someone who like to work hard and play hard, Simon kept to himself outside of the office and avoided any overt attention.
“If I send through her first name and a picture, do you think you could somehow scan the internet and find her for me?”
“Sure, I can try. Send it through now and I’ll see what I can come up with. She must’ve been amazing. It’s not like my big brother to be the chaser!”
Alex could hear the lilt of humour in Simon’s soft, posh voice.
He wasted no time and messaged his brother the single word Elizabeth and forwarded the photos that Dan had sent through.
No sooner had he hung up the call that Simon’s name buzzed on his phone.
“I can do better than search the internet for this person,” Simon said. “I know who she is.”
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.”
“She’s not known as Elizabeth, as your text suggested. Everyone calls her Elly. Oh, and yes, she’s one amazing lady. A couple of years ago she was nominated for the most ‘enterprising businesswoman’ award in London. Actually, a few months back I went to hear her speak at a technology function. I didn’t get a chance to meet her. But how on earth did she get your attention?”
He ignored Simon’s question. “So how do I get hold of her?”
“That’s easy. She and a friend of hers are the MDs for DN Incorporated. Surely you’ve heard of DN?”
“D. N. Inc.” He repeated it back as he typed it into the search engine on his notebook. And there she was, a whole barrage of photos, reviews and articles with photos of Elizabeth, or rather, Elly.
“Look, thanks for that Simon. I really appreciate it.”
“Hey, no problem, but before you go, if you’re after a reason to get in touch with Elly, I think I can give you a legitimate business reason to do so.”
Alex’s interest was aroused. “Oh, what do you mean?”
“In our meeting the other day you mentioned some anomalies in our monthly reports. I did some digging around on our systems. Just basic information, but I think something is going on and I think it might be serious. Whoever has done it has covered up their tracks well and truly. I was going to raise this with you tomorrow morning in our Exec meeting. Look, I’m worried. Something’s just not right and I don’t think my team has the right skillset to investigate further. Besides, if it’s someone internal, it’s better to get a team from the outside to come and look at our systems. And that is what DN Inc is known for doing well. They trawl through all different systems and irregularities in coding changes, or financial changes, or really anything else and work out what is happening. I’ll send through my notes and we can talk tomorrow morning.”
“Right. Yeah, send it through. That’s not good if there is something amiss. We’re in delicate discussions for the acquisition of Austin Steel. And you know who else is desperate to acquire Austin Steel?”
Alex didn’t have to spell it out to Simon, who was as keen as Alex to beat their own father’s company. The last three acquisitions that Theodore Hudson had tendered for, Alex’s company, Hudson Pty Ltd, had trumped at the last minute and taken the acquisitions as trophies.
His own father had never acknowledged him since tha
t first fateful meeting as a teenager in his father’s office. And now, he relished the removal of business opportunities from Theodore. Alex knew he had to stay top of his game to continue, as his father was known to be a ruthless player, and no doubt looked at ways to undermine Hudson Pty. To undermine him.
“Cheers for that, Simon. Before you go, what on earth does DN stand for?”
Simon’s small laugh was just audible.
“Only a techie or Latin wordsmith would get it. It’s for Diluo Negotium. Latin for, I guess it’s translated as resolving business affairs. You know, it really is perfect timing that you contact Elly if you can and bring her in. Though I hear on the grapevine that DN Inc has a waitlist of months to get any project taken on. They are that much in demand. But they are top of their field in data and system security analysis. Good luck. I’d love to hear how the great Alex Hudson gets on with Elly Marsden. Although, from what I understand, it’s her business partner Nina Fox who arranges all the contracts and schedules. Elly is the brains of the company and Nina is the organiser.”
“Marsden? I’ve seen that name somewhere. Anyway, cheers Simon. I’ll go through your notes now and get DN on the firm.”
He flicked back to his previous message from Dan. There it was. William Marsden. Was he Elizabeth’s husband? The provocative way that she’d wriggled her hips as she walked, and how she’d spoken with such sexiness made him think not. Elizabeth wouldn’t flaunt herself like that if she was married. But then, she wasn’t the Elizabeth of twelve years ago. What else had changed? His body was already aroused from just the thought of her—that dress and her definite lack of underwear.
* * *
The minute hand on Ellie’s watch had barely moved since her last glance. She cursed aloud. She was late and despite the paracetamol she had taken earlier, still had the worst headache ever. She could barely speak, except in a low hoarse voice.
“Why on earth did I not just cancel lunch today?” Her croaky whisper echoed in her head. She shook her head. She knew why. Sunday lunch was a big deal to her Dad. His wife Wendy, who he’d enjoyed a comfortable married life with for the last 20 years, always went to a lot of effort. Wendy and Dad had married after Wendy became pregnant with her half-sister, Lisa.
It had been a bit of a surprise to Elly, as after her own Mum had passed away, she hadn’t really spent much time with her workaholic father. She’d chosen to hang out at her Grandparent’s house or the library most afternoons. She hadn’t even known that he was seeing someone, not until they were engaged. Wendy had opted to shift into a new house in a new district. Though to be honest, the change of house hadn’t really bothered her at the time. The house had been inconsequential. The addition of a step-mum, and then not long after, a new baby had made little impact on her everyday life. She had her books and her devices, and her grandparents still saw her regularly. Wendy and Dad had given her space as they had been distracted, first Lisa was born and then Amy had arrived 18 months later. Wendy had always tried to create one big happy family. It couldn’t have been easy, as Elly was that bit older and had preferred being occupied with a book or her computer. The only time that Elly could remember Wendy being insistent was for family meals.
The Sunday roasts alone added up to over 1,000 times. Elly calculated the computation quickly in her head. That was a lot of roasts that Wendy had cooked!
She let out a sigh of relief as finally, the line of cars in front of her started to inch forward.
There was no point to dwell on the past. Her own Mum had passed away when Elly was only 6. She didn’t really have a lot of memories. Probably more fake memories that were associated with stories that she had created around the photographs of her Mum at her grandparents’ house. They had been very proud of her Mum’s academic achievements. She knew that her Mum had been smart, a very clever scientist. And she was gorgeous. All the photographs that Elly had ever seen of her Mum showed her with a radiant smile and eyes that twinkled. And trendy. Her Mum had always been trendy. It had been hard for Elly as a teenager as she’d been anything but trendy. She had ached to be like her Mum – popular and beautiful and confident, just like in the photos. She always felt like she’d never lived up to her Mum’s image and was a disappointment to her Mum’s memory. Her Dad’s comment last night that her Mum would have been proud of her had really hit home. For the first time, it was like she’d finally gotten there. She knew that in all her other successes, she was someone who her mother would have been proud of, but last night she pulled off even more. It was like the last piece of her transformation and the puzzle was complete. She had joined in the type of nightclub party that even now she would choose to run away from. And she’d not only joined in but looked like she fitted in too! She was glad that she had stuck with Nina’s advice on what to wear. She was also glad that she’d never have to do that again. She’d stick to her work and the fun social activities that she did with her friends and colleagues. Night clubs weren’t her thing.
Beep.
Her phone rang through her car’s audio system. The number showed as private. She shrugged, that wasn’t unusual in her work, though she didn’t get many calls on a Sunday.
She gave the voice commands to answer the call.
“Good morning, Elizabeth.” That voice. Oh. My. Goodness. That was the voice that had invaded her dreams the previous night, and now it was echoing across her car.
“Hello, Alex. What can I do for you?” Her head still ached, and she was dumbfounded as she could not work out how he had managed to get her personal number. Part of her was thrilled that he’d gone to the effort of contacting her. But part of her was also on edge. Seeing him last night had brought too many memories back. Memories that were fantastic, exotic and sad.
“Can I interest you in a late brunch in Soho? Give us a chance to catch up on twelve years.”
“Sorry Alex, I already have plans today. Besides, I’m not sure that we have anything to catch up on. Last night was fun bumping into each other like that, but I doubt we have much in common to extend it any further.” She was lying through her teeth. If she turned her car around, avoided her family, and caught up with Alex, the day would surely be better than her original plans. But it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.
“How about tonight? Do you fancy another night at the Phoenix?”
She had to give it to him—he was persistent. She didn’t dare meet up with him again. She shown him what she’d become. Not that he got the chance to see more than what she wore to the nightclub. She wasn’t looking for a relationship just now. Anyway, Alex wasn’t someone who was interested in falling-in-love type of boyfriend which is what she’d want from him. She’d already fallen for him once before and felt utterly devastated when he moved on to someone else. It was better to end this conversation now, before she felt tempted to have just one more night with him.
“The Phoenix isn’t really my kind of place. I was the supposed chaperone last night to my sisters and their friends. It’s nice that you called, but I don’t think our paths will cross again. Take care, Alex. Bye.”
She ceased the call before she changed her mind. Her heart fluttered. Why would Alex want to meet up with her? Her hands trembled on the steering wheel. Hearing the low timbre of his voice on the other end of the phone call was totally unexpected, and she couldn’t help replaying the conversation in her head. But she had done the right thing by not arranging to meet up with him again. Her heart was vulnerable to Alex, and she couldn’t let him break it a second time. And he would if she let him.
Her little electric car was noiseless, except for the crunch of tires on the gravel driveway as she parked alongside her sisters’ sporty convertibles. Elly let herself in through the oversized dark blue wooden front door. Wendy always left the door unlocked on a Sunday for her to use.
“I want this to feel like your home too, so please don’t knock and stand waiting,” Wendy had told her many times.
Her family was already seated at their formal long seat white
-washed table, waiting for Elly’s imminent arrival. Wendy would never serve the meal while they were still waiting for someone. Elly noted that both her sisters looked as hung over as she still felt. Well, at least that was something. As she slipped into her seat, Lisa rolled her eyes upwards.
“Where on earth have you been? I’m starving and Mum wouldn’t let me even have a nibble. How good was my party last night? How cool is the Phoenix? No wonder I’m starving. We danced the night away, didn’t we, Amy?”
Elly muttered half an apology to her Dad and Wendy.
“Sorry I’m late, roads were a nightmare.” Her head still pounded, and anyway she wasn’t in the mood for mindless chatter. Amy grinned at her.
“We were just telling the folks about that sexy hunk you pounced on last night at the Phoenix.”
She groaned inwardly. Oh no, she so didn’t want to be interrogated by her family. Alex’s phone call had already made her feel a bit unbalanced. She didn’t know how she felt about her own feelings for him, much less about her own blatant actions last night. The last thing in the world that she sought right now was a blow by blow account by her sisters.
“Really? I don’t remember pouncing on anyone.” Elly feigned what she hoped was a bemused expression. Alex was a topic she had never shared with her family. This was all she needed, her family needing to know the intimate details. “I did catch up with an old friend, but nope, no pouncing.”
“What, you know that guy?” Amy looked almost laughably incredulous.
“So, who is he, is he single? Is he rich?”
The barrage of questions was very typical of her sisters, who were most impressed by a person’s wealth or perceived status.
Elly shrugged her shoulders. He’s someone I knew years ago. She bowed her head and averted her eyes and opened up a hot bread roll that Wendy had just handed out around the table. Breathing in deeply. “Ahhh, these smell great” she mentioned to Wendy as the aroma of the herbs filled her nostrils. This was a smell of her childhood and had been repeated countless times.