Everything to Nothing (52 page)

‘It’s good to
hear you can still, well, become what you are with limited academic
work.’

‘Don’t get me
wrong, if you were sitting here telling me you were just about to
enter Oxford to read medicine I’d be happier, but so long as you
make my daughter happy then that is all it should really be about.
I think it would drive me insane if she dated one of those pompous,
polo playing buffoons who are always surrounding her like flies
round shit!’ David laughed. ‘I think I may have just described my
daughter as shit, but never mind. It is good that she is dating
someone who is more, well, salt of the earth.’

‘Thank you Mr.
Gallagher. That means a lot to me.’

‘Good. Oh, as
an aside, you can both stop this little charade about who was on
the yacht with her last week. Don’t look so worried. I know you had
nothing to do with her little scam, however, she should have known
better to think I wouldn’t find out. I know about everything that
goes on in my world and considering what she did in Monaco it would
be rather foolish of her to think that the paparazzi wouldn’t be
keeping an eye on her.’ Mr. Gallagher took pictures out of his
pocket and threw them on the table. ‘Look at them.’

David picked
them up and flicked through them. They had been taken with a
powerful lens from quite a distance but clearly Sally could be seen
in various positions with David, one with her leg draped over him,
the next he was applying suntan lotion to her naked back.
‘Shit...’

‘Indeed. I paid
a lot of money to obtain those photos and keep them out of some rag
with a signed contract to state they will never be published.’

‘Shit.
Sorry.’

‘You’ve got
nothing to say sorry about. You didn’t lie to me. She did.’

They both
looked up as they heard the gravel on the path crunch as Sally made
her way back to the table. On arriving she gave her dad a hug and
apologised for snapping at him. The apology was accepted and then
Mr. Gallagher said, ‘Just been showing David some interesting
photos.’

‘Oh daddy! You
best not have dragged out the baby photos already! Let me
look!’

Before he could
offer any resistance the photographs were snatched out of David’s
hand and as she flicked through them at first she went red and then
slowly the blood drained from her face. ‘How dare you!’ She threw
the pictures at her father to which he did not flinch. ‘How dare
you spy on me!’

‘Sally. Stop.
He didn’t spy on you. Please, don’t say anything else.’

‘I’d listen to
David if I was you because I have had just enough of your attitude
today young lady and you are heading towards a full withdrawal of
all privileges!’

Sally took a
deep breath and it was clear she struggling to control herself.
‘Well explain these pictures to me then.’

‘I will. I
obtained these pictures from a member of the paparazzi who was
working for some sleazeball rag that likes to publish pictures of
so called celebrities. It seems that your antics in Monaco towards
a certain Prince did not go un-noticed. So, for a short time,
you’re flavour of the month. If I’d known for one second that you
were going to that yacht with David I would have stopped you with
all my power.’ Sally made to interrupt him. ‘Let… me… finish,’ he
growled at her. ‘With all my power because I knew what would
happen. I have worked very hard to keep you safe and secure Sally,
very hard. You make things easier yourself by not putting yourself
on the front cover of these rags, but if you did that then I would
not interfere. But you don’t, so I work hard on protecting you from
these idiots with their long distance lenses. This is not the first
time I’ve intercepted photos like this. Hell, when you were
gallivanting around the Gulf with that idiotic Prince I don’t think
I’ve ever been busier with my phone pressed to my ear offering
ridiculous amounts of money for pictures of you with him. Don’t
look surprised. I’ve known about you and the Prince before you told
me about it in Monaco, but not the full story, not how much he
upset you hence why I cancelled the contracts. So, what do I do
when I receive a phone call from my security stating that there are
photographers taking pictures of you and the man you are with.’

‘But… But…
There was no security there?!’

‘Sally, my poor
naïve Sally. There is always, always, always security near you at
all times.’ He paused and rubbed his eyes. Obviously this
conversation was causing him some discomfort. David wanted to be
anywhere else in the whole world right now.

‘But where are
they? I didn’t see them.’

‘You wouldn’t.
I know how you hate them so they are told to keep a discreet
distance away. You’re a kidnap risk Sally, you always have been and
you always will be. I do not want my most prized asset stolen from
me by some psychotic madman so I keep you safe, but discreetly. A
few months ago, I told them to stay away for some foolish reason,
but then something happened to you and the Mini? I don’t want to
know the details, but they were put back on you straight away.’

‘But…’

‘Sally,’ he
reached into this pocket and took out his Blackberry which took
couple of moments to access, ‘last Saturday night you went to the
cinema. You watched that rubbish new Bond movie. How do I know it
was rubbish? You said it was rubbish when you left. I quote from my
security, “Sally did not appear to enjoy the movie. Clearly heard
to state it was rubbish.” Now, a few years ago I would have put the
whole house on alert because whenever something happened you didn’t
like you got in a mood that shook the whole house! Thankfully
you’ve grown out of that now, but how you are and what you’re
feeling is still important for me to know because I rarely see you
because I’m so busy. After the movie you went to Pizza Hut. You
ordered a large meat feast and a coke with a side order of wedges.
Sunday, you went shopping and spent over a thousand pounds,
including, I quote again, “some sexy lingerie”, which as usual my
accountants will ensure is paid off.’

‘Oh my
God.’

‘Now, fair
enough, I need to train them a little and inform them that I don’t
need to know when you buy sexy lingerie or any kind of lingerie for
that matter, but they are there Sally, they are always there. I’ve
had David and his family thoroughly checked out and if my checks
had come up with any kind of skeleton in the closet he would have
received a visit.’

‘A visit?! A
visit daddy?’ Sally voice was strained and shocked.

‘A visit. He
would have been warned off.’

‘Warned
off?!’

‘Yes. So when I
go to so much effort to protect you yet allow you to live your life
it breaks my heart when you lie to me and force me to confront you
like this.’

For a few
moments nobody said anything until David spoke. ‘I think we both
owe your father an apology Sally.’ By now though Sally had tears
rolling down her face and was unable to speak. ‘Well I’ll apologise
for us then. I’m really sorry we tried to deceive you Mr.
Gallagher, and thank you for protecting us, protecting our dignity
from these paparazzi idiots.’

Sally though
had clearly had enough. With another sob she stood from the table
and ran towards the house.

David stood to
follow her, but Mr. Gallagher said, ‘No. Don’t. Leave her be. She
needs to think. Also, you need to think. I was going to speak to
Sally about this after you’d gone, but I decided I wanted you here.
I understand that you’ve only just learned about Sally’s true
status in life, yes?’ David nodded. ‘You need to think whether this
is the life you want to become involved in. I know you like Sally a
lot, and she likes you a lot, and going off first impressions,
which have never let me down in the past, I like you too. But this
is a big, a huge, an enormous change from what you’re used to. Can
you cope with knowing that your every move is being watched? As
Sally becomes more popular and more known to the media, I think
even I will struggle to keep all stories out of these rags. So can
you cope with having intimate pictures plastered in these rags?
This is another question you need to consider. I apologise that our
first meeting has not gone as planned and that you’re probably
feeling a little overwhelmed right now, but I give you my blessing
to continue to date my daughter. However, if you ever, ever, ever
step out of line with her I will know about it and my blessing will
be swiftly revoked. Now, I doubt that she’ll want to see anyone
tonight so would you like me to organise for a car to take you
home?’

‘Yes
please.’

They walked
together in silence, this time around the house, to the front of
the mansion were a large Mercedes was waiting. Before he entered
the car, David turned to speak to Mr. Gallagher.

‘I’ll consider
everything you’ve said, but I think you know already what my
decision will be.’

‘Good. I hope
you do continue to see her. I think you’re good for each other. You
add more balance to her life, a balance that I think she
needs.’

‘Thank you for
dinner.’

‘My pleasure. I
hope we’ll meet again soon and our meeting will have a better
outcome.’

‘Me too. Take
care.’

David offered
his hand first which was accepted and then he got into the car and
was taken home.

*

With a long
sigh he watched the car drive away and then turned to enter his
mansion. It was at moments like this that he wished that he did not
live in such a place that was so difficult to make it feel like it
had any soul in. Right now, Sally would be in her room, Alfred
would be in his room or in one of the reception rooms; one or two
of the staff would be in the staff quarters which left about forty
rooms not being used. Add to that the numerous ensuites, gyms and
swimming area and it probably meant that around ninety-five percent
of the house was not being used at this moment. With another long
sigh he looked up at the large image of his departed wife hanging
on the wall of the huge hallway of the mansion and shook his head,
wondering to himself how he could be so rich, so successful, and
live in such a house, yet at moments like this feel so sad and
lonely.

He knew he
would have to confront Sally before the day was done, but he knew
that now was too soon so he went into one of the many receptions
rooms and poured himself a large glass of port, and then in a
change of mind he poured this into a bigger glass and topped it up
some more. For a few moments he sat in front of the cold, unlit
fireplace trying to relax but staring into an empty cold hearth was
making him feel far from relaxed. So he walked over to the wall to
ceiling windows and watched the sunset for a few minutes until he
grew bored with that. When he slipped a hand into his pocket he
felt his Blackberry and realised he had not checked his emails for
a couple of hours, a record for him in the last twenty-five years.
But he forced his hand out of his pocket leaving the device where
it was, thinking to himself that they need to learn to cope without
him for one evening. But he was bored, so involuntarily he found
his hand sliding into his pocket, grasping his Blackberry again
until his eyes rested on the grand piano in the corner of the room.
Until that moment he had barely remembered he had a piano in this
room, in fact he could not remember the last time he was in this
room.

He had taken
lessons at some point in the past and he thought he would try to
see what he remembered. Sitting on the stool he thought to himself
that it was probably not in tune, but unknowing to him it was on
one of Alfred’s many task lists to ensure that the pianos dotted
around the mansion were tuned every six months.

After lifting
the keyboard cover he tinkled a few notes before remembering a
short tune which he hesitantly performed. Stretching his fingers he
stood and opened the lid of the stool and lifted out a music book
which he placed on the piano and then sat back on the stool and
squinted at the music sheet. He frisked himself to see if he had
his glasses and after realising he did not he decided he could just
about cope without them. With a few practice attempts he managed to
play the piece with only a few bad notes, and as he was playing and
concentrating he did not hear nor see the door to the room open. It
was only as he finished playing did the person speak.

‘You’ll strain
your eyes dad.’

Mr. Gallagher
jumped a mile. ‘Bloody hell Sally! I would have thought I gave you
enough money without you trying to get my life insurance by giving
me a bloody heart attack!’

‘Sorry.’

‘It’s okay,
it’s okay. Crikey though! I thought you’d be asleep?’

‘No, not
really. I was trying, but I heard the piano. My room is directly
above this, remember?’

‘Oh yes, of
course. Sorry. Inconsiderate of me.’

‘You haven’t
played for years.’

‘I was just
thinking that. I couldn’t tell you the last time I was in this room
never mind sat at this piano.’

‘You only came
in here to listen to mum play anyway. I doubt whether it has been
played since, well, you know.’

‘You’re
probably right.’ He closed the lid over the keys and walked over to
where his daughter was stood. ‘Shall we talk?’ She nodded. ‘Would
you like some port?’

‘I’ve never
tried it.’

‘Try it now.
Drink with me.’

‘Okay.’

They both
settled into the chairs in front of the mantelpiece and stared into
the soulless fireplace, both of them searching for something to
say. Eventually Sally could not take the silence any longer. ‘About
last week. I’m so sorry. You’re right. It was naïve of me to try
and trick you like that. If I’d been honest then none of this would
have happened. I was just really shocked before when you told me
that they, the security, were always there. I mean, I barely
remember saying that about the movie yet you have a record of it on
your Blackberry.’