‘Hey, slow down a bit. What’s the hurry?’ she asked when he only just managed to stop before crashing into one of the displays.
He snatched the pencil from her hand and slammed it down on the counter grinning from ear to ear. ‘You’ll never guess what I’ve just found out!’
Paige sat up and folded her arms. ‘I can see by the look of satisfaction on your face that you have gossip you’re dying to pass on.’
‘Oh, I do,’ he said, the enthusiasm in his voice unmistakable.
‘No doubt it’s fascinating stuff?’ She raised an eyebrow, loving Olly’s childlike excitement.
‘It is.’ He leant forward over the counter towards her. ‘I’ve had to sort out problems with some of the software on Sebastian Fielding’s secretary’s computer.’
‘Not exciting quite yet, Ol.’ She teased, pulling a face at him.
‘It will be if you just listen and stop interrupting me.’ He linked his fingers together and cracked them back. ‘I went up to the office to find out what the problem was, and she told me a document was frozen. Guess what page it was frozen on?’
‘I’ve no idea.’ Paige tried to concentrate but was having difficulty getting the angle of her heel from her mind. ‘Go on.’
‘Well,’ Olly said, glancing over his shoulder when the shop door opened. ‘Shit. I’ll wait out here.’ He raced out to the storeroom, as if he’d just been caught doing something naughty, which, thought Paige, was probably the case.
She looked up, surprised to see Sebastian standing in front of her. ‘Sebastian? What brings you here?’ she asked, thinking how uncomfortable he seemed.
‘I thought you were going to give me a call,’ he said, his eyes humourless.
‘Yes, sorry. I’ve been tied up with the shop, and the re-launch of the site.’
‘You think I’m all talk, like that ex of yours seems to have been.’
Paige was conscious that Olly was listening to everything they were saying and tried to feign disinterest.
‘I was going to call you,’ she said.
‘You don’t trust me to work this out, do you?’
She couldn’t lie to him. ‘I don’t want to put myself through any more heartache than I’ve already had to deal with this year.’
‘So, you expect me to accept that we should end our relationship?’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘And what if I disagree with you?’
‘I’d say that for once, Sebastian, someone else is making a decision about your life. I have to think of my family.’
Sebastian stared at her for a few seconds. ‘As do I, Paige.’ He turned and walked out of the shop, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Immediately Olly reappeared from the storeroom. ‘What the fuck did you do that for?’
‘What?’ Paige jumped, taken aback by his uncharacteristic anger. Olly never swore at her. ‘What have I done?’
Olly rubbed his face roughly with his hands. ‘Bloody hell, that’s what I came to tell you.’
She shook her head, confused. ‘I’ve no idea what you’re going on about, but I wish you’d hurry up and tell me.’
‘The files I was telling you about before, the page that was frozen open. Well, it was his.’ He motioned towards the door.
Paige stepped up on the stool behind the counter. ‘Go on,’ she said, intrigued to find out what Olly had discovered.
‘I’m not sure how to say this, so I’ll just spit it out. He’s been subsidising your rent here.’
Paige sat bolt upright. ‘What did you say?’
‘You heard.’
‘Sebastian has? I don’t understand,’ Surely Olly was mistaken. She chewed her lower lip trying to let this unexpected news sink in. ‘No, you must be wrong.’
‘It’s true. Sebastian’s secretary went off to make a cup of tea, but before she left she told me that the information was strictly confidential, and that I couldn’t repeat anything I’d seen, blah, blah, blah. I had time to double check the information on the document before she came back to her desk,’ he added guiltily.
‘He’d fire you if he ever found out.’ She couldn’t believe Olly had done something to endanger his job. ‘What did it say exactly?’
He looked thrilled. ‘I knew you’d want to know. Apparently, the company you lease this building from is one of his.’
‘Are you sure?’ she asked, thinking back to the contract agreement and knowing she didn’t recognize the landlord’s company on it. ‘No, Ol, it can’t be. I’d have noticed something like that.’
‘What? You checked it out, did you?’ he asked. ‘Your lease is with a holding company. Sebastian is the sole director of the company that owns 100 per cent shares in the holding company, therefore he owns this property.’ Olly watched Paige shake her head. ‘He actually owns several holding companies, one of which has Sara’s restaurant.’ He paused for a moment to let this next piece of information sink in. ‘Another owns this place. He is, in effect, your landlord, once removed, or something like that.’
Paige could not believe what she was being told. ‘But it doesn’t make sense,’ she said, her voice barely above a stunned whisper.
‘Yes, it does. In fact, far from being the mercenary shit we all thought him to be, he’s been secretly supporting your shop behind the scenes.’
‘By how much?’ she murmured, wanting to be angry for this deception, while at the same time knowing he had been instrumental in giving her the chance to strike out on her own and become independent.
‘It looks like he charged you enough, so you’d assume you had to push yourself to make the payments, but not so much that you couldn’t cope.’
‘I don’t believe it.’ She was glad to be sitting down, her legs seemed to have turned to jelly. ‘And Sara?’
Olly shrugged. ‘Who knows? Maybe she’s a friend he wanted to help. Does it really matter that much?’
‘No, it doesn’t.’ Then a thought occurred to her. ‘I think he’s gone for good this time.’
Olly nodded. ‘I heard. So, what are you going to do about it?’
She stared at Olly trying to work out what to do next. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Come on, Paige. You heard the man. He’s spent months trying to get you to try again with your relationship. Granted, we all thought he was a self-centred posh git, but it seems that he isn’t how we thought him to be at all.’
Paige thought about him subsidising her shop. ‘He didn’t expect me to ever find out about this place either, did he?’
‘No. He obviously wasn’t trying to score points with you.’ Olly sighed. ‘And look how he helped that kid, the boxer who had that accident. That jockey, too. Come along, Paige think about it, before it’s too late.’ Olly leant against the wall and crossed his arms.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
He started to laugh. ‘I have a confession to make.’
Paige pulled a face. ‘Another one?’
‘You know the other night when Clem was in tears and was trying to get me to tidy up the magazines at your house?’
Paige vaguely recalled something to do with the messy pile. ‘What about them?’
‘She was trying to hide an article in the Glitz magazine about Lucinda and Sebastian Fielding getting married. I think it was a story sold by “a close confidante of Lucinda’s”.’
‘Ah,’ Paige sighed, picturing Lucinda’s friends from the shop the day before. ‘Really, what is wrong with that woman?’
‘What is wrong with you, you mean?’
Paige stood up and glared at him. ‘Hey!’
‘No, it’s true. The man does all this on the quiet, the shop I mean, and you still don’t believe he’s worth your trust.’
Paige chewed her lower lip. She wanted more than anything to be able to do exactly what Olly suggested. ‘It’s not that easy, I have to think of Bea and the rest of my family getting caught up in his world.’ She blinked back tears. ‘Anyway, if I phone him, he’ll wonder why I’ve suddenly changed my mind about him. I can’t
tell him how I know, can I?’
Olly sighed. ‘Bollocks, I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose not.’ He gave her a hug. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have told you, then you’d be none the wiser about what he’s done. I wish you could tell him.’
‘I’m not getting you fired. You need your job at De Greys, especially now,’ she said, wishing there was a way around her dilemma. ‘If only I’d known this before he came in here this afternoon maybe I could have handled things differently.’
‘Timing has never been my strong point,’ Olly murmured, looking downcast.
‘Nor mine.’ Paige wished she could turn the clock back ten minutes. He was helping me all the time, she mused. I never gave him a chance. He’d left believing she was glad to see the back of him.
Sebastian was proud, and she knew she had turned her back on him for the last time. The realisation stung. Paige dare not admit as much to Olly, but fervently wished he had not found out about Sebastian being her landlord. Somehow it made matters far worse knowing she had underestimated him so badly.
‘Sod it, Ol, what have I done?’ she asked, stunned by this new development. Paige lowered her face into her hands. ‘I’ve been such a fool.’
‘Sweets,’ he said, taking her in his arms and cuddling her. ‘Don’t do this to yourself. It’s hardly surprising you didn’t believe him, even your father warned you off him, so why would you ever think differently?’
‘Because I know him better than Dad does, that’s why.’ She looked up at Olly. ‘And because I love him and should have at least had the courage to give him the benefit of the doubt.’
‘Hey, it’s not all your fault. There is some good news.’ Olly let her go.
‘What?’ sniffed Paige unable to imagine what it could possibly be.
‘His jockey will be able to compete again, and Elusive Goddess is on the mend.’
Paige couldn’t help feeling a little better to hear this news. ‘I’m so relieved,’ she said. ‘Thanks for telling me. Now you’d better get back to De Greys before you’re missed.’
Chapter Thirty-eight
‘Where’s Ol?’ asked Paige when she walked into the living room. ‘He’s usually here by now.’
Clem pulled the cushion from behind her back and hit it a few times before replacing it. ‘He phoned a while ago, said he had to work a bit later tonight.’
‘Strange, he never said anything when he came to the shop earlier.’
‘Maybe it was a last-minute thing,’ Clem said. ‘That Sebastian Fielding is a slave driver when he wants a project finished.’
Paige shrugged. ‘I suppose that’s why he’s so successful.’ She took off her coat and hung it on the coat stand by the front door. ‘He works far harder than he expects anyone else to.’ She returned to see Clem trying to stifle a giggle. ‘What’s so funny?’
Clem gave in, and laughed loudly, holding her side until she managed to contain herself. ‘You’re very defensive of him suddenly, aren’t you?’
‘No.’
‘You know you are, so don’t try to deny it.’
‘Coffee?’ Paige asked, changing the subject and trying not to smile as she left the room. ‘Anyway, he’s not all bad.’
‘Hello, honey, I’m home,’ Olly sang, banging the front door shut loudly and striding along the hallway.
‘Where’ve you been?’ Paige asked stepping up behind him and making him jump.
‘Shit, don’t do that?’
Paige narrowed her eyes. ‘You’re a little nervy tonight.’
‘No, I’m not.’ He pulled a face and went through to see Clem. ‘How’s my poor suffering girlfriend today?’
Paige went back into the kitchen to finish making the drinks. It was a relief that the two of them had finally made up, she mused, taking an extra cup from the overhead cupboard, but it did make her feel a little like she was intruding in their love nest.
Paige sat nursing her cooling mug. ‘I’m glad you’re feeling much better now,’ she said to Clem as she snuggled up to Olly on the sofa. ‘Do you think you’ll enjoy looking after the online sales?’
‘Definitely.’
‘You won’t get a little bored being stuck here by yourself all day?’
Clem giggled. ‘I won’t be by myself, though, will I?’ She took Olly’s hand and stroked her stomach lightly. ‘I’ll have company that’s probably going to keep me extremely busy, especially for the first few months.’
Paige nodded. ‘True. How could I forget?’ She smiled. ‘Who’s that?’ she groaned, hearing someone knocking heavily on the front door.
Olly and Clem looked at her, but didn’t move. ‘Fine, I’ll get it.’ She sighed and walked through to the front door. ‘What are you doing here?’ she asked when she pulled the door back and revealed Sebastian standing on her doorstep, a determined expression on his face. She stepped back to let him in.
‘I’ve come to collect you,’ he said.
‘Why? Where are we going?’ Paige turned to find Olly and Clem standing behind her. ‘What?’ she said, noticing a mischievous glint in Olly’s eyes.
‘Pack a bag. You’re coming with me.’ Sebastian said, taking her mug from her and passing it to Olly.
‘Where to?’ Excitement began bubbling deep within her stomach. ‘What do I need?’
‘At least she’s not arguing,’ she heard Olly whisper to her sister.
‘There’s always a first time for everything,’ Clem giggled.
Ignoring them, she studied Sebastian’s face. ‘What’s this all about?’
‘Olly came to my office earlier and we had a brief chat.’
Paige’s eyes widened. She glanced over her shoulder at Olly.
‘It’s all right, he’s told me everything,’ Seb said.
Paige daren’t say anything in case Seb wasn’t talking about the computer incident and was referring to something else.
‘It’s true. He knows about me seeing the spreadsheet on his computer.’
Paige sighed with relief. ‘And you’re not going to fire him?’
‘Thanks for putting the idea into his head,’ Ol said. ‘For once just shut up and listen.’
Sebastian laughed, taking Paige by her shoulders. ‘Stop looking so concerned. I’m not going to fire my best IT man. However, I am taking you away with me for the weekend.’
‘But…’
‘No “buts”.’
Paige shook her head. ‘Where are we going?’
‘I’m not telling you, you’ll have to trust me. Do you?’ He stared at her with such intensity she knew he wasn’t just referring to the weekend ahead of them.
Paige nodded. ‘Yes, I do.’
Sebastian smiled. ‘Finally,’ he murmured into her ear, so only she could hear.
The Jersey Scene series box set Page 63
