Everything to Nothing (44 page)

When he did
realise he cursed himself, spinning back round and returned to the
bar area where he slammed his cocktail glass onto the bar then
stripped off his clothes down to his underwear. He let out a quiet
shout as he ran to the pool, leapt into the air and tucked his
knees into his chest which allowed him to bomb into the water with
an almighty splash. Spluttering and coughing he returned to the
surface chuckling to himself and then with a kick he rolled onto
his back and spent some time floating effortlessly in the pool
watching the stars that hung in the clear Mediterranean sky.

After floating
for fifteen minutes he swam a few lengths of the pool before
leaving it. Not bothering to dry, he padded through the yacht to
his cabin where he flung open the door to his balcony and sat in
one of the loungers allowing the cool night breeze to dry his body.
Eventually, with a relaxed sigh of happiness he left the balcony
closing the door behind him. Giving a glance to the clock he
muttered that this would be the earliest he had been to bed for
thirty years so he decided to read some financial papers on his
computer that had been emailed to him earlier that day. He became
so engrossed in them that it was only when he felt the need for the
toilet that he looked around him and noticed it was dawn. ‘Bloody
hell!’ he muttered out loud. ‘So much for relaxing!’

When he had
visited the bathroom he lowered himself onto his bed and slept for
two hours before being woken by the distant shouts and screams of
his daughter and her friend. With a smile he leapt out of bed, put
on his swimming shorts, and raced through the yacht to the port
hatch where he dived into the refreshing sea and promptly dragged
both young ladies deep under the water. With a cough and splutter
they all surfaced, Mr. Gallagher laughing.

‘Daddy! You
nearly drowned us!’

‘Rubbish!
Right, last one to the rear of Samurai is a rotten egg!’

With a couple
of strong strokes he swam away from Sally and Michelle, who both
laughed at his antics and quickly followed him towards the rear of
the yacht, to the lavish breakfast that awaited them.

*

Back in
England, Sarah had just bought some fresh drugs off an acquaintance
of Peter’s. Her breakfast that morning was a full syringe of
heroin. The veins in her arms had long since collapsed so she
simply injected the breakfast into her leg.

Chapter 34

To the sound of
the yacht’s horn, Samurai docked at Monaco harbour two days after
Mr. Gallagher had arrived. The previous day had been spent relaxing
on the yacht as they cruised towards the state of Monaco, arriving
just in time to watch the start of the practice session for the
Grand Prix.

After the yacht
was docked they made their way around the circuit in a car supplied
by the team he sponsored until they reached the pit lane and the
team’s garage. Here they were met by the Team Principle who
introduced them to the drivers.

Michelle could
not help notice and chuckle to herself how both of these
multi-millionaire drivers’ eyes nearly popped out of their heads as
they saw Sally for the first time. From that moment, they both
never left their side, showing the young women around the garage
while Mr. Gallagher had a meeting with the Team Principle in the
hospitality section behind the garage.

Michelle was
sure that the distraction of Sally was the reason why both of the
drivers underperformed during the practice session, both of them
coming ninth and tenth respectively. One of the drivers seemed
especially smitten with Sally.

As soon as he
arrived back at the garage he was back by her side, showing and
explaining to her the telemetry of his laps on a computer screen.
Without realising that Sally could pay his wages from her own
personal bank account, he invited her to the after race party as
his personal guest. With a smile she stated that considering her
father was one of the main sponsors of the team, that she also had
a boyfriend and that she personally knew his girlfriend, she did
not think it would be a good idea. Obviously not used to being
rejected, with a blushed face of thunder he stated that he hoped
they both enjoyed the race and he stormed out of the garage.

‘He didn’t seem
very happy,’ chuckled Michelle

‘Well,
honestly. They think that just because they’re well paid and
slightly good looking that they can ease their way into any woman’s
knickers. Really annoys me. Same with those flamin’ footballers
from my dad’s team who always hassle me.’ She rolled her eyes.
‘They don’t seem to realise that in a blink of an eye I could pay
their wages and buy their houses and cars which they are always so
eager to flaunt!’

Michelle
laughed. ‘Well forget about him for now and let’s go and find your
dad.’

‘Good
idea.’

Linking arms
they strode out of the garage, the passes around their necks
allowing them access straight away into the hospitality suites
behind the garage. ‘There he is. Oh and bugger. Look who he’s
talking too!’

‘Never mind
Sally. Let’s go over anyway and make him feel really awkward.’

Smiling, they
both strolled over to where Mr. Gallagher was sat talking to the
driver, and Sally casually draped an arm around her father’s
shoulder. With another deep blush he muttered an excuse of having
to speak to his engineer and he quickly walked away.

‘Now, how are
my two favourite ladies?’

‘We’re
fine.’

‘Did you enjoy
looking round the garage?’

‘Yes, it was
good.’

‘It will be a
bit more exciting tomorrow when the qualifying starts and of course
you’ve got your special treat as well!’

‘Oh yes! We’ve
been having such a fantastic time we’d both almost forgot about
it!’

‘Tomorrow,
after the qualifying is finished, they’re going to let us drive
round in a new Mercedes sports car!’

‘Sounds
brilliant daddy!’

‘Yes, I’m sure
we’ll enjoy it! Right, I’m done here. I’ve cleared up sponsorship
issues so we can go back to the yacht and relax. Tonight we have a
function we have to attend.’

‘Oh, I thought
we were going to parties?’

‘We were. But
an invite has come through that we can’t say no to.’

‘Fair enough.
Well let’s go back to the yacht and we can relax there for a
while.’

‘Okay. I’ll get
someone to bring us transport back to the yacht.’

They waited in
the suite for a short time while a car was prepared for them which
took them back to the harbour and Samurai. They all spent the rest
of the warm day lounging around the pool. Mr. Gallagher’s phone
never stopped ringing, and for the first time that Sally could ever
remember he directed all the callers to a member of his executive
board.

Eventually
though, after a mutter and a curse, Sally heard him record a
message for the phone’s answer phone and in what was an absolute
definite first he turned the phone off. A little while later he was
approached by a member of the crew who informed him that there was
a man waiting in one of the lounges to speak to him. Mr. Gallagher
strode into the yacht and came back quickly holding three pieces of
paper.

‘Right ladies.
We’ve been invited to a function tonight. It’s black tie for the
men, ball gowns for the women.’

A look of panic
flashed across each of their faces and Sally informed him, ‘Daddy,
we didn’t bring anything that formal.’

‘Did you not?
Why not?’

‘We thought we
would just be attending parties, not events that require ball
gowns.’

‘Sally, you’re
the daughter of one of the richest men in the world and you’re in
Monaco with your father during a Grand Prix weekend. The first
things that should be packed are ball gowns!’

‘Sorry daddy. I
didn’t think.’

‘Right, not to
worry. Rob,’ he said, calling to one of the crew, ‘get me Boutique
Adrienne. Make sure that they know it is me who is calling.’

‘Yes Mr.
Gallagher.’

They only had
to wait a few moments for Rob to return holding a phone which he
passed to Mr. Gallagher.

‘Hello.’

‘Mr. Gallagher.
It has been too long!’

‘Adrienne. So
lovely to speak to you.’

‘You too Mr.
Gallagher. How can I assist you today?’ Adrienne spoke with a
sultry French accent.

‘We have a bit
of a ball gown catastrophe. Can you help?’

‘I am very busy
today but I will take care of this personally myself. Who are the
gowns for?’

‘My daughter
and her friend.’

‘Your daughter?
But Mr. Gallagher, I am confused. As you know, we don’t stock gowns
for children?’

‘I think it has
been longer than you realise Adrienne. My daughter is seventeen
now.’

‘No, she cannot
be! I remember her with your mother. She was no taller than my
waist!’

‘Well, she is
now. Can you help?’

‘Of course.
Which hotel are you at?’

‘I’m on my
yacht in the harbour.’

‘Ah, perfect! I
will come now.’

‘You’re coming
yourself?’

‘Of course. I
need to measure the ladies.’

‘Excellent. How
long will you be?’

‘Five minutes,
if that. You know my Boutique is only a short walk from the
harbour.’

‘We’ll be
waiting for you.’

Just under the
stated five minutes, a member of the crew led a woman out to the
pool area. She was dressed simply in dark jeans with a simple white
top. Her long dark hair cascaded down her back and as she saw Mr.
Gallagher she smiled and removed her sunglasses showing her shining
brown eyes. ‘Adrienne! So lovely to see you!’

‘And you Mr.
Gallagher.’

‘Thank you for
fitting us in at such short notice.’

‘My pleasure.
Now, we must hurry if the gowns are to be ready for this evening. I
presume you’re attending the ball with Pr…’

He quickly
interrupted her. ‘Yes, yes. Quite true.’ With a look of confusion
on her face, Mr. Gallagher then whispered quietly into her ear that
their destination this evening was a surprise for the girls.

‘I’m sure you
will all have a lovely time. Now, where are my two subjects?’

Sally and
Michelle walked up from their cabins where they had been to quickly
change. Adrienne looked at Sally and gasped. ‘Sally! So lovely to
see you!’

‘Thank you for
seeing us at such short notice.’

‘My pleasure.
Your mother was one of my favourite and most loyal customers. You
must miss her greatly, yet you are her image.’

‘Thank you. We
do miss her, but she would be happy to see us still holding
together as a family and enjoying life. This is my friend
Michelle.’

‘My darlings,’
and she kissed both of the young ladies twice on the cheek. ‘Now,
we must be quick. Just glancing at you I know we have two beautiful
gowns that will suit and fit you, but we must measure you and get
them to suit and fit you perfectly! Now, where can we go, and keep
in my mind I only measure my subjects naked!’ Adrienne noted their
surprise. ‘How can I find you a gown that fits when your clothes
get in the way? I must see and measure your bodies so I can have
the gowns fit you perfectly!’

‘That’s fine,’
replied Sally. ‘My cabin will be best.’

Sally quickly
led them to her cabin where they both took it in turns to strip in
the bathroom and be measured by Adrienne. As Sally entered and took
off her shorts and bikini top Adrienne gasped again. ‘If you ever
want to model for me let me know. You have the most amazing figure
and you have your mother’s looks.’ She fluttered round Sally with a
tape measure, recording the figures on a notebook. ‘Did you know
that before she married your father, your mother modelled for all
the leading fashion houses?’

‘My dad might
have mentioned it.’

‘She was a
stunning woman, just like you.’

‘Thank
you.’

‘Right, we’re
done. Please send in Michelle.

After Michelle
had been measured they all made their way to the pool where he was
waiting for them.

‘Mr. Gallagher,
you are all in luck! I have two perfect gowns for tonight that
would nearly fit without alterations, but I want all my clients to
look perfect so I will have them changed slightly and have them
back to you, well, when do you leave?’

‘The limousine
is coming at six.’

‘Then give me
two hours and I will have them here for five.’

‘Thank you so
much Adrienne. Sorry about the short notice.’

‘Not a problem.
Just remember though ladies, next time you need a gown you know who
to call!’

‘We’ll always
be grateful,’ replied Sally. ‘Thank you so much.’

‘I will send
the bill to your office in London as usual Mr. Gallagher.’

‘Please. I will
see you off the yacht.’

With that he
took the designer by the arm and led her off the yacht. The rest of
the afternoon the girls spent getting ready. Mr. Gallagher acquired
the services of two top hairdressers to attend to them on the
yacht, paying a large amount of money for them to come at such
short notice. Also, he arranged for some makeup specialists to come
to help perfect the women’s look for the night.

At exactly five
that afternoon each of the women received their gowns at their
cabins. Almost as soon as Sally had closed the door Michelle
knocked loudly on it and Sally told her to enter.

‘Have you seen
yours?! Have you seen yours?!’

‘No, it’s only
just come. Hang on.’ Sally unzipped the protective case and I was
her turn to let out a gasp. ‘Oh my, it’s beautiful!’

‘Mine is too.
Mine is red though, a really deep red!’ Michelle replied.

‘No wonder my
dad asked her for the gowns. We’re both going to look amazing!’

‘You’ll look
amazing, I’ll look okay.’