Everything to Nothing (49 page)

‘You were in a
car crash?! What on Earth is going on?! Are you okay?’

‘It’s okay, I’m
fine. Just a bit bruised and battered.’

‘Well, erm
well, I’m glad to hear it. How did you crash and where is
here?’

‘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.’