by S M Mala
‘Pardon me?’ Finlay sat forward and glanced at Stephen, who looked a little smug. ‘You want him to return considering what he said to people including Rosalind!’
‘I’d apologise if given half the chance and I realise now that the whole situation was absurd,’ spewed Stephen. ‘Especially since I met your wife and-.’
‘You met my wife!’
Finlay jumped to his feet and realised his mother had been up to something behind his back as he tried his hardest to compose himself.
‘Finlay?’ Alice said gently. ‘Will you just listen?’
‘You obviously don’t trust me with the business, why don’t you just put me on gardening leave or sack me?’ he said furiously. ‘I’m sure Stephen can easily step into my shoes.’
‘Will you sit down?’ his mother said calmly. ‘Stephen explained to me what happened, after all these weeks, and even I know it’s absurd.’
‘Told you what?’ Finlay asked, quickly glancing at Stephen who smiled sheepishly back at him.
‘I explained to Alice that I’ve liked Sylvie for some time but since the episode with the police she blames me. I never really thought she’d taken the money but-.’
‘I think you’ll find you passed that information on to our accountants?’ he said and walked towards the window, furious that his mother had got Stephen involved in their business. ‘And Sylvie won’t be pleased if you go back in.’
‘I’ll apologise to her,’ he said. ‘I was all over the place at that time. I’d broken up with my girlfriend and felt isolated especially since your arrival. I didn’t feel needed so when I misheard what she said, I flipped. I know for a fact it’s totally absurd!’ He let out a weak laugh. ‘I mean, I met your wife and the idea of Sylvie and you is incredibly stupid! I know you can’t stand her and she’s… well … she’s not ready for anything and anyone. You know her husband went to Oxford like me?’
Finlay looked out of the window and smiled to himself for a second.
‘Yep, I heard,’ he quietly replied. ‘And your point is what?’
‘Can you sit back down?’ his mother asked. ‘We need to talk business.’
‘Am I still part of it?’
‘Now you’re the one being absurd,’ she sharply replied.
Slowly he turned and looked at Stephen for a second, then went back to where he’d been sitting before. Finlay realised Stephen had indirectly managed to cover Sylvie and him from his mother, so he smiled, which partially startled Stephen.
‘You’ve been to see my wife and I suppose it was on company business?’ Finlay said sweetly, gently brushing the leg of his jeans before smiling. ‘And what did you discover?’
‘Well, this is fascinating,’ Stephen said, glancing at Alice then back at him. ‘I know you asked recently to check where the money had gone but I managed to trace a link to another company.’ The man was beyond delighted as he smiled at the pair of them, his big white teeth glaring brightly. ‘Everyone was looking at the way people were being paid, the suppliers but, very much like Piers had done with Sylvie, there were small amounts of money going out. Not blatantly obviously but when you start adding them up, it came to a lot and-.’
‘Where’s the money?’ Finlay asked before seeing Alice frown. ‘Please Stephen? I need to get back to Brentford for a meeting.’
‘You might not have lost it,’ he said, proud as punch. ‘You see the money was transferred into an account which went to another which we could presume was a loan therefore-.’
‘Loan for what?’ he asked sharply as his mother rolled his eyes.
‘Another business.’
‘What business?’
‘It seems a small restaurant called-.’
Finlay burst out laughing.
He couldn’t help it.
‘What’s so funny?’ his mother asked, looking annoyed.
‘Are you going to let me finish?’ continued Stephen getting pissed off. Finlay put his hand over his mouth and nodded. ‘It went to a small restaurant called ‘Les Jardin’ which is apparently up for sale. Now we can link the money so we should be able to recover something. There might have been papers to show it was a loan.’
‘I know about the restaurant and it wasn’t a loan,’ Finlay sighed, glancing at his mother. ‘My wife was giving her lover money to help set up the place, probably to keep him sweet but they’ve since broken up… to be honest I don’t know.’ He smiled for a moment seeing Stephen’s confused expression then his mother’s. ‘I’m divorcing my wife and-.’
‘You’re what!’ exclaimed Alice. ‘I thought you’d sorted it all out and-.’
‘Can we recoup some of the cash?’ he asked, ignoring her total look of shock. ‘I’m sure there’s something we can do.’
Stephen was staring hard at Finlay and he couldn’t fathom what was going on in the man’s head. He seemed like he had a bad case of wind as he took a sharp intake of breath.
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Stephen eventually replied, then looked Finlay squarely in the eye. ‘And I want to return to the company, Piers’s company, as I think it’s only fair I get to oversee the accounts. It’s not that I don’t trust them but money has had a habit of disappearing.’
Finlay looked at him for a moment and glanced at the floor.
‘And wasn’t it Sylvie who sorted it out last time by lending Piers the cash from Daisy’s trust find?’ Finlay sharply replied.
‘It was Daisy’s money?’ his mother said and looked genuinely upset. ‘Sylvie did that for Piers? No one told me.’
‘Actually it was Daisy Mather Harvey who told me that Juliette might have given the money away to her friend,’ Finlay grinned, shaking his head from side to side. ‘What a clever little girl! I must remember to buy her a big ice-cream next time I see her.’
‘See her?’ Stephen repeated and Finlay saw the confusion then annoyance spread across his face. ‘Do you see her a lot?’
‘Once a week,’ he shrugged before seeing his mother’s raised eyebrows. ‘Sometimes I have to pop round to see her mother because of my hectic schedule which reminds me, I have to go back to the sex shop.’
‘Can I come?’ Stephen asked eagerly. ‘If that’s alright with you Mrs Caplin?’
‘I think it’s best I tell the others of your impending return first. Do you mind if I have a word with my mother in private?’
‘Sure,’ he said, standing up quickly. ‘So when do you think I should come in?’
‘Let me discuss it first,’ Finlay replied and put on his false smile. ‘Lovely to see you again.’
He put out his hand and waited for Stephen to shake it.
‘Sure!’ Stephen said cheerfully as Finlay continued to grin at him as he walked out of the office.
He let the grin completely fade before looking at his mother. She was equally staring hard at him and he heard her little chanting going on before she stopped.
‘Sylvie took that child’s money and gave it to Piers? I don’t believe it. Why would she do that? It doesn’t make sense,’ his mother mumbled, holding her throat. ‘What if she never got the money back, then what would have happened to her child?’
Slowly getting up to his feet, he walked towards his mother and looked down.
‘She told me what happened with you and Freya, what you did and didn’t do. I was a bit surprised as I didn’t think you’d be so… I don’t know… unfair.’
Glancing quickly away, he could see his mother was deep in thought.
‘Mum, that’s not like you to let someone get kicked when they’re down.’
His mother didn’t reply as she sat there motionless, looking at the ground then carefully tucking her hair behind her ears. She stood up and looked into his eyes.
‘Freya was a mess. Since the day she found out Rupert had fallen in love with Sylvie, she wasn’t happy. Then her only child dies, doing a charity bike ride for that bloody school and she was full of guilt, full of anger. I know she shouldn’t have vented it at Sylvie but there was no reasoning wi
th her at the time. I should have tried, I realise that now. I felt bad and Sylvie has a good way of making sure I don’t forget. You know, Freya knows nothing about her involvement in the company, let alone her whereabouts.’
‘Keep it that way,’ he mumbled as Alice’s eyes widened for a moment. ‘She’s been through enough.’
There was a heavy silence in the room and he knew his mother was searching his face. He held his head up high and smiled.
‘I better go. I said I’d be back for noon,’ he said light heartedly.
‘Are you really going to divorce Juliette? On what grounds? You took her back knowing she was unfaithful.’
‘I don’t want to be with her.’
‘Who do you want to be with? Daisy? Isn’t she a little young for you?’ his mother half smiled. ‘Or is it someone else closer to her you like?’
For a moment he wanted to tell her he’d fallen in love and was happy with Sylvie, he wanted his mother to know he didn’t really care about anything other than being with her. Finlay glanced around the offices and realised if he did say it, then he wouldn’t have an income and certainly Alice’s reaction would be to close the whole thing down, which he knew she was perfectly capable of doing.
And that would hurt Piers and Sylvie.
‘I think we owe it, as a family, to make it up to Sylvie and Daisy as they were good to Piers and Toby when they needed it the most,’ he said, seeing his mother’s shamed face. ‘That’s the least we could do, don’t you think?’
Finlay was smirking to himself as he looked at his tablet while propped up against the wall. He could hear the music from her tap dancing class and they certainly didn’t sound like they were in time. Then he heard her laugh out loud from the heavens, it seemed, knowing Sylvie was probably the main culprit for the hilarity happening in one of the dance rooms. ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ was blaring from the windows and again there was some loud tapping going on before they clapped and he realised the class was over.
The door was opened and a few women came out, all pensionable age. Then he heard her voice as she stepped on to the street, turned and stopped dead in her tracks.
‘What are you doing here?’ she said aghast, her face glowing from exercise and more probably laughter.
‘I was listening to the lesson from here,’ he smiled back and thought she looked gorgeous with the sunshine coming from behind her. ‘And I wanted to walk you back to your home.’
‘Bye Sylvie,’ an elderly woman said as she waved before grimacing back at Finlay.
‘Is she one of your hot shoe shufflers?’ he grinned as she shook her head and grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the end of the road.
‘Why are you here?’ she asked and as he looked down, he saw her bright smile. ‘Do you want to come to lessons?’
‘I want to come in you,’ he whispered as she gently thumped him. ‘We didn’t manage it this morning so I thought I’d slip a quick one in to your old sweaty flange.’
‘All these sweet words, how can a woman resist?’ she replied sarcastically. ‘What did mummy want?’
‘I’ll tell you later.’
Gently he put his arms across her shoulders as they walked over the bridge and through the park. Sylvie had slipped her arm around his waist and he smiled, before looking down at her again. Just that moment she glanced up and he stopped, bending down to kiss her very gently on the lips.
‘Is this too open?’ he whispered as she smiled.
‘What did she say?’
‘I’ll tell you after we make love.’
‘You’re constantly on heat,’ she whispered, before continuing to walk. ‘I’m not complaining but we have to work, well I have to work as you don’t seem to be doing much of that.’
‘Now you sound like my mother!’ he laughed out and glanced up at the very tall trees surrounding the park. ‘And I know I need to do work, it’s getting done as I’ve delegated it out so I can spend more time with you.’
‘But I, sweet rich boy, have to graft,’ she sighed and held his hand to cross the road. ‘I take it Alice gave you a bollocking?’
‘You take it correctly,’ he said and felt his cheeks get hot. Sylvie did a double take before stopping. ‘I’m in the dog house.’
‘Don’t get into trouble because of me and certainly don’t fall out with your mother,’ she said gently. ‘I’m two people down. It’s a nightmare. All I do is update the web, look at orders and moan.’
‘I like it when you moan.’
‘You like it when I moan on my back,’ she sniggered and shook her head from side to side before marching off down the road.
He let out an impromptu sigh knowing he had to tell her about Stephen.
‘Sylvie!’ he shouted running up behind her. ‘You need to know something and it has nothing to do with me.’
‘Go on,’ she said, walking at a quick pace.
‘My mother has hired Stephen to take on some work for the company and that includes overseeing the accounts on your business.’
She immediately stopped.
‘And what did you say to that?’ she asked, before looking up at him. ‘You know he’s probably spying, don’t you?’
‘I said he’d have to apologise plus... and I know you’ll be very proud,’ he carried on, wanting to butter her up so he could take her straight to bed. ‘Your wonderful child was right about the money. Seems Juliette gave the money to her man, it’s just how we’re going to get it back is causing a headache. See, the genius of your child! It took us a matter of days to find out!’
‘She takes after me,’ she smiled, before walking off. ‘Come on, I need to shower.’
Finlay followed her in as she shot up the stairs and he went to the bedroom. It was very bright and as he started to undress, Sylvie walked in with a towel wrapped around her and went straight under the covers. He looked at her and slowly took off his underpants.
‘Samina’s been all over the place since her son’s wedding thing on Friday. She was sending out the strangest things yesterday by accident, so she says. Come on Fin, I’m in a rush.’
‘I want to go slow,’ he smiled and pulled down the sheets to have a look at her brown smooth body on the white sheets. ‘And I don’t want covers.’
‘Well I do.’
‘I want to see you when we make love, is that a problem?’
Instantly she pushed her face into the pillow, letting out a little groan.
‘You do know I get embarrassed,’ she mumbled into the material as he leaned down and stroked her shoulder. Then she turned to look at him. ‘And today, you look really young. I don’t know what it is but you’re simply glowing and now it’s making me feel decrepit.’
Finlay smiled at her scowling face and let out a little sigh.
‘And the sighing, you’re constantly sighing,’ she said softly. ‘Are you pissed off?’
‘I’m in love,’ he honestly replied and kissed her shoulder before slowly pulling down the covers. ‘And I want to see all of you.’
‘Well you can’t,’ she replied and he noticed she’d wrapped her right foot around the duvet. ‘We’ve only been together a short time and I want it to last a little longer than the last two attempts.’
It was like a sharp knock in the guts when he heard her say it as he sat back on his heels.
‘We had complications then,’ Finlay replied. ‘And this is different because I love you and it’s not me rebounding or using you.’
The expression on her face said it all as he felt himself getting wound up.
‘You don’t believe me, do you?’ he asked as she smiled for a second and lay flat on her back, looking up at him. ‘You think I’m pretending to be in love?’
‘I love you and that’s all that matters,’ she said, reaching out her hand to touch his knee. ‘I’m happy we’re spending more time together.’
His mouth was half open as he sat there stunned for a moment. The first reaction was to jump off the bed and have a good rant but he knew that wh
en he’d been angry before, it’d upset her more. Just as he was on the verge of saying something she spoke.
‘I hope you love me, I really do but I don’t want to cause any problems. Thing is, I think it might, one way or another. You’re married with a little baby, you work for your mother and that’s complicated enough. I don’t want you to lose out over me. I’d hate it if Alice and you fell out. That would upset me more than anything because Roo did that with his mother and god did she let him suffer for it. I won’t let that happen to you.’ Sylvie sat up as his heart was beating faster. ‘I’d give you up in a shot if I thought it was a good thing to do. I didn’t do that with Roo but I won’t repeat the same mistake twice.’
‘You’d give me up?’
‘I’d have to if it meant you were going to be unhappy,’ she honestly replied.
‘You should be fighting for me if you love me,’ he said, getting agitated. ‘I’d fight for you.’
‘I’d want you to let me go if it meant you being happy.’
‘Sylvie, you don’t get it do you?’ he said, leaning closer. ‘How could I be happy without you? I tried and it’s testament to that because I came back, to you, to be with you. Don’t you get it you silly old moo? I love you.’
‘I said I’d give you up if I thought it was a good thing to do… I don’t think it would be, do you?’
He watched her fiercely blink for a few moments before touching his face and looking at his lips. She seemed lost in thought as she placed her other hand on his chest. Finlay knew his heart was beating fast as Sylvie stared into his eyes for a moment before dragging him quickly down to the bed.
There was no way she was going to let Finlay escape her bedroom without showing him how much she cared. Even she knew he was delighted with the amount of attention she’d given to his body, caressing, sucking and licking him until she realised he was fit to burst. All the time she looked at him and realised he actually meant it.
He was in love with her.
