The Secret Heiress (2 page)

She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, “I’m not sure that would be wise. Cheerio.”

Alistair tightened his grip, halting her exit. Her heart raced and she could feel a nervous tension building in her stomach.

He held her gaze. “You are so familiar. It has been several years.”

“Possibly.” She had caught a glimpse of him the previous Boxing Day but made a swift exit through the garden so she wouldn’t have to speak to him.

She knew tons about him. The sad truth was she would scan the internet for photographs of him when she had a spare moment and had followed closely all of his business ventures. Arrogance surrounded him. Alistair Martin dressed in expensive suits that clothed an extremely fit body. He was well known for his charity football matches and Iron Man adventures. He oversaw an extremely prosperous distillery empire and closely managed acres and acres of a third generation winery in Southern England. He was an extremely gifted mathematician, but instead of seeking his fortune in the financial world, he chose agriculture and vice.

“You are Olivia’s younger sister.”

She nodded. He did remember her. In fact he was probably thinking about her awkward attempt at seduction after drinking too much at Olivia’s wedding. The hot encounter where he practically stripped her naked until he realized who she was. Somehow being Fionn’s sister-in-law put her off limits. He had asked her age and cursed when she had told him. After that, he barely looked at her. Instead, she ceased to exist in his world. Yet she craved the smallest glimpse of him.

She needed to escape. “I should be going.”

He let go of her arm but held her with his intense gaze. “I’m hosting a charity ball at my house outside of London in a week. Fionn and Olivia have promised to put in an appearance. Come with them.”

He handed her a business card and she politely nodded. She wouldn’t go. Her life was in turmoil, and she didn’t need additional drama. Alistair had met her father, Oliver Bolles, several times before his tragic death in a motorcycle accident. It was too much of the past. She was trying to create a new life for herself.

Anna shrugged and, stepping away, said, “I don’t think so. I’m rather busy with work at the moment.”

He held her gaze a fraction too long, then said, “Possibly another time then,” and walked away from her.

Anna regretted not accepting his invitation but knew nothing good would come of her obsession with him. She forced herself to leave the brewery and head towards her mother’s brownstone. Attempting to banish the image of the strikingly handsome Alistair Martin from her mind, she thought about her mother’s coming reaction to her change of careers.

Anna needed to think about her new job. It would take every scrap of energy and focus. The start-up firm that hired her was short-handed and they were frantically trying to put together a launch party for a new magazine.

Anna thought about Frances Casey, an old acquaintance who owned the firm and was about to go out on maternity leave. Her sister had pushed her to take the interview, telling her that the numerous events that she helped out with at the fashion house would be enough experience to throw herself into the start-up. But there was a huge difference between helping out in her spare time and being responsible for an entire event.

Ringing the doorbell at her mother’s mansion, Anna took a deep breath and hoped the news wouldn’t be too upsetting for her. She wasn’t looking forward to the conversation, but she had learned that it was better to face issues head-on than trying to slowly finesse the outcome. Her father’s deceptive behavior had scarred her. She had a steadfast need to tell the truth and she wouldn’t allow herself to soften the message. Unfortunately, her mother relied on appearances and half-truths to conduct her life so it wasn’t always easy to have a heart-to-heart with her.

Her mother’s housekeeper, Gertie, opened the door and ushered her in.

“So nice to see you, Miss Anna. Your mother is in the library.”

She smiled at the older woman. “Thank you. You as well. I hope things are good?” Gertie had been working for her mother since Anna was twelve years old. She much preferred to chat with Gertie, as she was always warm and inviting. But in this case, she needed to tell her mother the news herself.

Gertie said, “Yes. It’s been quiet.”

Gathering her courage, an image of Alistair Martin popped into her head. She couldn’t believe after years of avoiding him, she turned around in a pub and he was standing there. On the day that she had decided to risk her future and drastically change her life. He hadn’t even recognized her at first. She had successfully avoided him at every recent social occasion. It wasn’t that difficult. He often arrived late, with a different girlfriend in tow, and Anna would go early and stay for a brief time.

Her mother looked up from the newspaper. “Anna, darling. I’m surprised to see you on a Friday night.”

Her stomach churned and for a split second, she wondered if she would be ill. “Yes, well… something has come up and I wanted to talk with you.”

Her phone vibrated and she read a text from Olivia,
Desperate to speak with you. Did you give notice?

Her mother said loudly, “Gertie, would you be a dear and bring Anna some tea?”

The housekeeper left them and Anna sat opposite her mother on a Victorian-style sofa. This wasn’t going to be welcome news for her.

Anna pushed down the anxiety building in her stomach. “Mother, I’ve come to a rather surprising decision and I hope you’ll be able to listen with an open mind.”

He mother frowned. “It can’t be good news or you wouldn’t find it necessary to forestall my objections.”

She met the older woman’s unflinching gaze. “I know you have been proud of my accomplishments at Oxford and happy that I’ve been working for Blackly Simonson.”

Her mother eyed her speculatively but remained silently sipping her tea.

Gertie appeared with a small tray for her, and Anna accepted a hot cup of tea, waiting for the housekeeper to leave them. It was better not to drag Gertie into the coming scene.

She took a sip and then placed the teacup down. “I gave notice today at Blackly Simonson and was escorted out of the building.”

Her mother choked on her tea. Gasping, she asked, “Why would you do such a thing?”

“I’ve accepted a position as an events coordinator for a small start-up.” Anna held up her hand. “The woman who launched the company is pregnant and needs to bring in a partner. It’s just getting off the ground but has a few prestigious clients.”

Her mother’s face tightened. “I don’t understand. Why would you want to plan weddings and such?”

Anna took another sip of her tea. “It’s not a wedding planning business. It’s focused on corporate ventures. They have a contract to coordinate a show at the National Gallery in a few months and a launch for a new perfume.”

“You intend to become a gloried party planner instead of working in the financial world?” Her mother’s voice rose to fill the large room.

“I don’t expect you to understand.” Elizabeth Harris valued wealth and appearance. There is no way her mother would understand her need to seek a different life.

Her mother’s voice was brittle and harsh sounding. “You are just like your father. You are so secretive and selfish. You only do things that benefit you instead of thinking about your family.”

Anna stood up. If she stayed longer, it would turn into a contest of wills with her mother trying to beat her down.

Her mother’s hand tightened on her teacup, causing it to rattle. “You’ll be broke within a fortnight and I won’t give you a pence towards your mortgage payments.”

Anna knew enough to have contingency plans in place. Her mother was not one for helping out or supporting a new idea.

“I’ve already sold my flat. I understand that this venture comes with risk, but if it doesn’t work out then I’ll try something else.”

Her mother put her hand on her forehead. “If you cared for me at all then you wouldn’t make a mockery of my sacrifices by throwing it all away.”

She had heard this line of guilt so many times that it washed over her without hitting its mark. Parents were expected to educate their children and make sacrifices. She would do the same one day for her children.

She needed to be alone. “I’ll text you my new address and work information.”

Her mother stood. “You shouldn’t have sold your flat. It was in one of the best buildings in London.”

She did sell it. If she held onto it, it would have kept her locked in a career path that she had no interest in. “I wouldn’t have been able to afford the mortgage on the small salary that I’ll earn for a while.”

“You are making a colossal mistake.” Her mother’s negativity washed over her.

She kept her voice neutral. “It’s mine to make, mother.”

Anna could feel the tension in every muscle of her body. Walking out the front door, she wished their relationship could be less adversarial. She cared for her mother, but the bitter woman saw the world so differently. Elizabeth Harris cared about appearances. Her father deceiving them with his double life hadn’t helped. Her mother had only become more rigid and unforgiving. Being raised as an only child put enormous pressure on Anna to succeed. She was a natural scholar, so it became a game to achieve academic excellence. But she needed to figure out what would bring her fulfillment and happiness.

She was tired of working with men from impressive schools, born into wealth and without concern for the greater good in society. As a lot, they were spoiled, superficial and ego-driven. They wanted models as girlfriends and reliable, exercise fanatics as wives.

She wanted more from life than to become someone’s wife. She hated to think about her father but forced herself to consider why she failed at close relationships. Her father pretended he was averse to commitment while he had a family in London and a wife and son in New York, and another daughter being raised by a guardian in Ireland. Was it any surprise that she had difficulty trusting men?

Anna pushed the negative thoughts from her mind. She was heading over to see her sister and her nieces and she didn’t want to worry them.

Ringing the doorbell to her sister’s residence, she waited only a minute before her little niece greeted her. Whenever she visited Olivia’s townhouse, memories of Alistair popped into her head. She had kissed him in the back garden and had never been able to completely get rid of the image from her mind. It had been an uncharacteristic moment of madness. She always did the right thing and rarely took chances.

“Auntie Anna, have you come for my bath time?” The small blond girl reminded her of herself as a child.

She scooped the five-year-old into her arms amid a flurry of giggles, saying, “I’d love to give you your bath.”

Olivia appeared with her two-year-old in her arms. “Fionn has a late flight so we can chat once these two lovelies are in bed.”

After a drawn out bedtime routine, she and Olivia stretched out on the sofa, each with a glass of chardonnay.

“Your girls are delightful, Liv.”

“They are missing Fionn, but somehow we survived the week.”

Her sister looked happy. Even juggling a successful fashion business, motherhood, and an endless romantic fascination with Fionn, her husband, she looked calm and rested.

Anna bit her lip. “I took the plunge today.”

Her sister squealed. “You resigned?”

She nodded. “Yes. I sold my flat and decided to accept the job. It’s going to be feast or famine for a period of time, but I’ll make it work.”

“If you need any help, let Fionn and I know and we can advance you some money.”

Anna looked down at her glass. Olivia cared about her and had enormous resources but she wanted to succeed on your own. She didn’t need her family’s help.

Olivia touched her glass to hers. “Congratulations. You’ll be amazing at events planning.”

She pushed away her worries. “I even stopped in and told my mother. I was just working up to it when I got your text.”

Olivia grimaced. “That couldn’t have been pleasant.”

Anna took another sip of her wine. “She didn’t take it particularly well.”

Olivia placed her glass on the ornate table. “You have to silence the naysayers and follow your instincts. I texted you earlier because I had a feeling.”

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in thought.

Anna glanced at her phone. “I ran into Alistair Martin at his brewery this evening. He invited me to a gala at his house and mentioned you and Fionn are going.”

Olivia nodded. “He does an annual black tie fundraiser for homeless and disadvantaged youth.”

Anna met her sister’s gaze. “He is quite a saint.”

Olivia shook her head. “It would be a good networking opportunity for you. You’ll need to begin thinking about bringing in future clients. Landing his account would be tremendous for your new company.”

She took another sip of wine. “I’m sure Alistair has in-house staff to coordinate his events. He wouldn’t take a risk on a start-up venture.”

“The man is all about risk.” Olivia winked at her.

“I doubt he takes risks with his business.” If she wasn’t careful, her sister would slip into matchmaking mode, when what Anna needed was to expel her teenage fantasy of Alistair Martin from her life and move forward.