by S M Mala
Sixty
‘What do you want me to say?’ Finlay replied a few days later as he paced in his mother’s office. ‘At least I should give Juliette credit for winding you up. You don’t even like the woman!’
His mother was staring at him as she stood by her desk glaring at him.
‘Are you sleeping with Sylvie? That explains why you didn’t shut them down earlier,’ she said for the hundredth time. ‘Is that why you’re abandoning your son?’
‘Don’t you dare twist this!’ he said, angry at the accusation. ‘I’m not abandoning my son, never. Is that what Juliette’s saying?’
‘She’s saying you don’t want to make and effort… oh god help me Finlay, you better not be having an affair with Sylviana! That would make everything complicated!’ she shouted loudly before banging her fist and sitting down. ‘And if you are, she’s doing this to spite me.’
He let out a long sigh and shook his head from side to side.
Sylvie and he had spent the last forty eight hours coming up with reasons his mother would give for them not being together and this was number eighteen on the list. Finlay smiled for a moment then walked closer to Alice.
‘You used to worship the ground Juliette walked on. Yes, she is a slut and yes she cheated, but you have to think of James. Divorce her by all means but don’t lose that child.’ He noticed the panic in his mother’s voice. ‘And Andy Simmonds, you remember him? He seems interested in buying the -.’
‘No!’
It was loud and precise his answer. Finlay realised he made his mother jump.
‘I don’t want you to sell it to him,’ he said, feeling his heart beat rapidly. ‘It won’t work.’
‘He’s your love rival?’ she said and noticed her faint smirk. ‘Anyway, I can sell it to who I like and if that means taking Sylviana out of the picture to save you from losing your son, then so be it.’
‘I’ll never speak to you again if you do!’ he said sharply and again noticed his mother jumped. ‘We lied about keeping the company going until the end of the year and the least we could do is to make sure she has a business partner that will treat her fairly…’ Finlay hesitated for a moment. ‘I suppose Juliette told you that about being love rivals.’
There was a knock on the door and, to his horror, it was Sylvie’s former mother in law, Freya, poking her head around the corner.
‘Am I early for lunch?’ Freya asked happily as Finlay glared at his mother and felt instantly angry with the woman walking into the office.
‘I suppose you called her in to give me a blow by blow account of Sylvie?’ he hissed, seeing Alice roll her eyes.
‘Have I interrupted something?’ Freya asked and he recalled the last time he’d seen her.
Finlay felt sick at remembering what happened all those months back when he decided to turn his back on the woman he truly loved, but now he was faced with another dilemma.
Whether to tell the truth or not?
‘Freya,’ Alice said and Finlay knew his mother’s warning glance to keep quiet. ‘I’m just having a debate with Finlay over something ludicrous.’
‘It’s not ludicrous!’ he snapped back and stood there shaking with sudden rage. ‘You never like anyone I like.’
‘You’re on the rebound Finlay and that’s the end of it. And that goes without saying you have to end it with her for the sake of the child and business,’ she said as he noticed Freya looked confused then embarrassed.
‘I can do what I like!’
‘You can’t if you have no income,’ his mother said bluntly, taking him by surprise. ‘I can easily replace you.’
He stared at his mother realising she could.
She was the boss.
‘Alice? Finlay? What on earth’s going on?’ Freya said, visibly shocked. ‘You two never quarrel!’
‘You’d side with her anyway. You both have something in common,’ he said, trying to hide the disgust in his voice. ‘You want me to choose, is that what you’re saying?’
‘I think you should take a few days off to calm down and then we can discuss this like adults,’ Alice quietly replied but he noticed her hands were gently trembling. ‘But you have to tell me the truth, do you hear?’
‘I stop seeing her, get rid of the business by selling it to any old shit so you’ll let me keep my job and my ever so happy life,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Not to mention my right to see my son because I need a job to pay for all these overheads coming my way. You’d rather I was unhappy than with someone I care deeply about and makes me very happy, is that so?’
There was no doubting his mother’s shock as he said it.
She was propping herself up against the desk as he let out a massive sigh.
‘You see mother, she said you’d disapprove and she didn’t want me to tell you. Only last night she said if it was going to cause a problem, she’d rather just keep quiet about it but I said ‘no’.’ He laughed out loudly suddenly feeling awash with relief. ‘You see she’s scared everyone will get upset, like last time, and she’s worried about all the repercussions.’
Slowly he walked over to the sofa and sat down glancing at the two women.
‘I think you better go,’ his mother said gravely.
‘Why don’t you like her?’ he asked, turning to look at Freya, who seemed confused by the conversation. ‘She’s so lovely and kind, I don’t understand.’
‘Who are you talking about?’
‘Finlay, don’t,’ his mother warned. ‘This isn’t the time and-.’
‘Sylvie.’
Freya’s face turned to stone as she blinked a few times as if trying to digest what was being said before she took a step back for a moment.
‘Sylvie? Sylviana?’ Freya said quietly, as if she’d not heard the name in a long time. ‘You’re talking about Sylviana Mather?’
‘Why the hell do you never listen!’ his mother snapped. ‘Get out right now!’
Finlay stood up and glanced at one angry then one shocked face.
‘You see ladies, I’m in love with Sylvie Mather and she’s in love with me. Sorry to ruin your day.’
He then strode out of the office, heading down the emergency stairs and into the fresh air. The sun was beating down on his face and Finlay felt good, though he knew his mother seemed pretty serious about firing him.
But at that moment he didn’t care.
Stopping he grabbed his mobile.
‘Hello it’s Finlay Chambers. You need to put the wheels in motion regarding the divorce and what I mapped out in my email,’ he said, leaving a message on the voice mail. ‘I expect to see the draft paperwork this afternoon. Thanks.’
Then he speed dialled another number.
‘Look Juliette,’ he began before she could say a word. ‘You can do what you like, say what you like but the fact is you owe me a lot of money and you either pay it back or we come to a compromise.’
‘Don’t you shout the odds at me!’ she snapped back.
‘I want a divorce, I want out or I will fight for full custody of my son and you will lose,’ he said, knowing he was calling her bluff. ‘I’ll support you as much as I can but going to my mother and telling tales isn’t something I accept lightly.’
‘She slapped your wrists for playing with an employee?’ she said and he noticed the strained laugh afterwards. ‘Finlay, your standards are really slipping!’
‘I’m in love with her.’
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
‘I don’t think so,’ Juliette eventually replied. ‘You’re caught in the moment and, believe me, I know how that feels.’
Finlay didn’t know what to say.
He was stumped by her reply and more confused she didn’t seem to be accepting what he’d just uttered.
‘I’m very much in love with her and I knew this before James was born but I gave us a chance. I tried to give us a chance but things have changed. I’ve changed. I’ll always love you Juliette but I’ve not felt like
this for a long time and I want it to last… with Sylvie.’
The line went dead.
Stopping dead in his tracks, his heart was beating fast and he knew how irrational Juliette could be before worrying she’d go round to ‘Good Vibration’ and confront Sylvie.
‘Sly,’ he said, hearing her pick up the phone as he hailed a cab. ‘Where are you?’
‘On my way to meet Piers for lunch. I’m just walking into the place now. Why?’
‘Good,’ he said with relief.
‘You don’t sound happy. What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing.’
He opened the cab door and sat down, buckling up his seat belt with one hand.
‘Look I had a fight with my mother and told her about us,’ he blurted out. There was silence on the other end of the phone. ‘Sylvie, something else happened I need to talk to you about.’
‘Did she threaten to sack you?’ she quietly asked. ‘Well we can both look for jobs together.’ There was a little laugh. ‘It’s a beautiful day, don’t you think? The garden area in ‘Carlito’ is really lovely. Why don’t you come and join us if you’re not busy. We can eat al fresco.’
Finlay realised she sounded happy and knew, instantly, that he’d probably ruin that by telling her about the three women who would to want to wreak havoc on her little world of contentment… and very soon.
‘You weren’t invited,’ said Piers as Toby walked towards their table in the gardens of the restaurant. ‘Did you invite him?’
‘Look daddio I’ve been covering your job since you took a turn for the better, so the least you could do is stump up for lunch,’ he replied with a massive sigh. ‘Anyway, I wanted to come and see you.’
‘You saw me this morning,’ came the terse reply as Sylvie laughed at the pair of them.
‘Now Caplin boys, behave and we can have a nice lunch,’ she smiled, seeing Toby give her a cheeky grin before he threw himself on the chair next to her. ‘Considering that company is going to be wiped out in a matter of weeks I don’t know why I feel so cheerful, actually I do.’
She smiled to herself before looking at Piers then at Toby and back at Piers.
‘I can hazard a guess why?’ the older man grimaced.
‘You don’t approve?’ she tentatively asked. ‘Of me?’
‘Of him!’ said Toby sharply. ‘How comes he got you and I didn’t?’
‘Toby!’ his father barked. ‘Stop being a little brat and kiss your … what will you be?’
‘Friend,’ she replied, before grinning. ‘Always a friend.’
‘I blame you for all this, father!’ he said, before stopping and thinking for a second then looked stumped. ‘So daddio knows? How does he know? Did you tell him? I certainly didn’t say a word.’ Toby peered into Piers’s face. ‘How do you know?’
‘Oh for goodness sake will you be quiet?’ Piers smiled, before giving his son a kiss on the cheek. ‘All I wanted to do was have a quiet lunch with Sly to discuss what’s going on, with the shares being sold and that video, which has gone out of control.’
‘Piers have you heard from Alice today?’ she asked and noticed he peered at her for a second. ‘Finlay just told me they had a quarrel and he mentioned me.’
Two startled pair of blue eyes looked at her.
‘How’s he?’ Piers asked. ‘She’s not said anything to me but I expect she’s quietly seething, thinking it’s my fault.’
‘It is!’ added Toby as Sylvie gently slapped his arm. ‘Well if you hadn’t got ill, then he wouldn’t have shown up and then I would be with Sylvie.’
‘In your dreams,’ they all heard and turned to see Finlay standing behind them. ‘Can I join you as it’ll probably be the last thing I’ll ever be able to put through expenses.’
He looked upset and then smiled.
For the first time, Sylvie realised the true extent of his mother’s wrath.
Biting her lip for a second, she watched him sit in between Piers and herself. Then her eyes met Piers and she grimaced.
‘This is my fault,’ she quietly said. ‘Alice is angry about me. If it was someone else running the place she’d be fine but because I’ve got the shares and what happened in the past, she’s taking it out on you. God, this is a mess.’
Putting her face in her hands, every little ounce of happiness she was feeling was completely drained. She felt Finlay’s arm wrap around her shoulders before he pulled her hands away.
‘You’re not giving me up, okay?’ he said quietly, scrutinising her face.
‘Well if she has to, she has to, as I’m always here. We are related and I’m sure we have other similar physical similarities down below, if you know what I mean,’ piped up Toby.
‘Tobius,’ his father said, in a deep warning tone.
They all sat there in silence for a moment as Sylvie stared at the table then up at the sky. It was clear blue and she wished she could float up right now before realising Finlay was looking at her.
Then a phone started to ring.
It was Piers and, from his expression, everyone knew who it was.
‘I need to think,’ Sylvie said, shaking her head. ‘I can’t let you go through the same shit as Rupert.’
‘Sylvie,’ Finlay mumbled before pulling her head so his forehead could rest against hers. She felt his perspiration against her skin before looking at him straight in the eye. ‘You’re not going to do anything stupid and you’re not going to give me up, do you hear?’
‘If she wants to bro, then she should,’ joked Toby before leaning into them. ‘Don’t give him up, even if I say so. He’ll just be a miserable bastard if you do.’
She smiled before noticing from the corner of her eye that Piers had left the table and was walking to a quieter part of the restaurant.
‘Group hug?’ Toby said with a smirk.
‘And you’re both in big shit!’ Finlay said, pulling away as Sylvie sat back in her chair, watching the two of them look at each other. ‘Mother also has demanded that the music video gets pulled as lawyers have contacted us…’ He cleared his throat. ‘… her about the infringement on copyright.’
As she looked up it was obvious the colour had drained from Piers’s face. She couldn’t fathom what was going on but he approached the table and put down the phone.
‘What’s wrong?’ Toby asked, looking up at his father.
‘I have to go. Your mother’s very upset,’ he said, his voice cracking.
A full thud of guilt hit her chest.
‘I’ll drive you back,’ Toby said, standing up immediately. ‘You don’t look well.’
‘Do me a favour Finlay?’ Piers said gently, leaning closer to her. ‘Don’t quarrel with your mother.’
‘What’s happened?’ Finlay asked and Sylvie knew he was being shifty.
‘I think you know my boy, I think you know. Don’t you think you should tell Sylvie exactly what you said this morning and to whom?’
‘Fin?’ she asked, turning to look at him and noticed her lover, once again, couldn’t betray a thing as he went beetroot.
‘I’m sorry Sylvie,’ he grumbled. ‘It sort of slipped out.’
Sylvie listened and nodded when he told her what happened. Finlay was surprised she hadn’t flipped. All the time she held on to his hand tightly and, even as they picked up Daisy, she was still acting normal. He observed her smiling at the pair of them, making dinner, chatting away and then he’d catch her looking away for a moment, realising she was upset before snapping out of it.
They sat around the table as Daisy chatted before Sylvie put down her fork and cleared her throat.
Finlay looked at her for a moment as the sunshine streamed through the window.
‘I have something to say,’ she said quietly, grabbing her child’s hand. ‘And it’s very important so could you both stop eating for a moment.’
He didn’t know what she was going to come out with but obediently put his fork down as did her child.
‘Are you okay mummy?’ Daisy
asked as she smiled at her daughter.
‘I wanted to tell you that Finlay and I are seeing each other, sort of like boyfriend and girlfriend, so he’ll be around a lot more, which I hope you don’t mind?’
His heart was starting to bang hard into his chest, waiting on the reaction of a nine year old girl who flicked him a sideways glance.
‘Do you mind?’ he asked, hearing his own voice break as he spoke. ‘I am a nice person.’
‘And Daisy, that doesn’t mean I will love you less or leave you and spend more time with Finlay. We are a family and he will be part of us, if he wants, but you will always come first in my heart and responsibilities.’ Sylvie looked at Finlay who couldn’t help but smile. ‘He has a small baby and will soon legally divorce his wife. They are separated so there’s nothing wrong with us being a couple.’
At that moment Daisy turned to look at him, questioningly before she frowned.
‘I love your mother,’ he blurted out, unable to think of what else to say as the brown eyes didn’t divert their stare. ‘I want her to be happy and it goes without saying I really want us to get on.’
‘What about your baby? Don’t you want your child?’ she asked accusingly.
‘I want my child very much but that’s something I have to work on. I, too, would never let my son down. I understand how fiercely your mother wants to keep you happy. Daisy, I hope we can be friends.’
‘Please give Finlay a chance,’ Sylvie smiled genuinely for the first time in hours. ‘I wanted to tell you the truth.’
‘Will you tell grandma?’
‘Oh good grief no!’ laughed out Sylvie as Finlay wondered why she said that. ‘I’ve got a few other old women to deal with first before I tell her.’
He knew immediately she was talking about his mother and Freya.
‘Are you really okay about your mum and me?’ he asked Daisy as they sat in the living room watching a kids programme after they had eaten. ‘I know she sort of sprung it on you. I think she just wanted you to know. You know I’ll never replace your dad but I hope we can be friends. Can we?’
‘Yes,’ she said with a grin. ‘I remember you telling me about your dad and your step dad and Toby, so I think we can be friends.’
