Loving Alex (The Alexandra Drake Series)

by Sarah Elizabeth Ashley

  The driver informs me of things that have been substituted and one or two items that are out of stock, nothing vital amongst that lot apart from my coconut body butter – damn. I’ll have to make what I’ve got last a few more days until I can try and get it from somewhere else. I sign the sheet on his clipboard and once he’s gone and the door is shut I trudge the bags to the kitchen before starting to put the packets, boxes and frozen food away, there’s a ton, I’m sure it will last us a month, at least. How many packs of strawberries did I order?

  It’s eleven by the time I’ve finished unpacking the groceries, I would have liked a drink before I head off to see my therapist, I just don’t have the time. I take a bottle of water with me, from my newly replenished fridge.

  I pop my head around the door to Muriel, who still looks off. “Muriel, I’m off now, I won’t be back before you leave, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Fine Mrs. Drake!” She snaps. She really does look disgruntled today, she’s very matter of fact most unlike her.

  “What’s wrong Muriel?” I ask, standing firmly in the utility doorway.

  “Nothing, absolutely nothing!” Her tone is bordering on acidic!

  “But clearly there is!” I say firmly. “If you’re not happy working for me you must say, I won’t be offended, but to be honest I can’t work with an atmosphere. Let me know tomorrow if you want to stay, or at least if I’ve done something wrong!”

  “Umm.” She mutters.

  “Look, Muriel. You’re clearly not happy, so finish that ironing and go home. Have a think about what you want to do and let me know when you come in tomorrow. And, whilst we’re talking about this, were you in London yesterday because I’m damn sure I saw you?” I have a sudden rush of confidence, of assertiveness and lay my cards on the table and feel, well I suppose I feel good by coming out with what I think, something I’ve not done much of before.

  She just looks at me ah ha! Caught you! She really can’t argue, I knew I’d seen her. She doesn’t answer and I don’t have the time to play silly buggers.

  “Well, I really do need to go. We’ll talk tomorrow.” I’m matter of fact as I turn and grab my new bag. I make sure I’ve got my phone and keys and leave the house. I walk to the end of the road before hailing a cab to take me to Harley Street, having a good drink of my water on the way.

  I spend the next hour discussing various issues, mainly around my past, with my therapist. She is so understanding, the questions she asks, the support she gives just makes me feel so much better with myself. As our session comes to an end she asks me if I have thought any more about my scars, and I tell her what I’ve planned to do about the smaller one and that I will consult with someone about the larger scar but personally I feel it’s too large to do too much with. I explain that as long as it didn’t look so clearly like an iron I would be happier. She places her hand on the top of my arm as I leave and confirms Friday’s appointment.

  Chapter 8

  I leave my therapists office and take a cab to the hotel, arriving at just after one. Sam the concierge tips his hat as I enter the front doors, “Mrs. Drake.” He’s bright and cheery.

  I wave at Roger as I walk past the security desk and through the staff only door making my way up the staircase to James’ office. I knock lightly on the door marked General Manager and walk on in.

  The scene that faces me as I enter is one that I certainly didn’t expect, James has his fingers firmly stuck in his curls, his face is thunderous, he looks so angry, I’ve seen him worked up and cross, but never like this. He looks like he’s fit to commit murder.

  “What the hell’s the matter?” I raise my voice. He just looks at me, I swear if there was a punch bag in this room he’d be knocking seven shades of….well, hold that thought.

  “The fucking bastard’s struck again Alex, that fucking husband of yours needs his balls removing with the bluntest fucking knife you can find. Why the hell did you hook up with him in the first place? He’s deranged, totally and utterly, stark staring fucking bonkers. The guys a complete nut case!” He yells at me, now standing and pacing around his office.

  “Don’t shout at me! I’ve done nothing wrong! James, what’s he done now?” I shout back at him.

  “Go and have a look at the Audi. It’s FUBAR’d!” He spits, his arms outstretched in the general direction of the carpark.

  “FUBAR’d?” I have no idea what he’s talking about.

  “Fucked Up Beyond All Repair!” He yells at me.

  “Do. Not. Yell. At. Me!” I shout loudly.

  “I’m sorry.” He walks around the desk his arms outstretched and pulls me close. “I wanted to call you but I didn’t want to tell you before your appointment.” His tone much calmer, still angry but quieter.

  “Tell me what James, you’re confusing me. What the hell has he done?” I speak slowly and firmly, just in case my lover isn’t understanding me clearly.

  “Come on baby, I’ll show you.” He takes my hand and leads me down the staircase through the foyer and out to the car park, there in the General Managers space is James’ pride and joy, well it used to be mine until I gave the damn thing to him.

  The soft roof has been slashed so that it barely resembles the once soft top, across the bonnet someone has painted the word bitch and the rest of the paintwork looks like it has had acid thrown over it, the paint stripped in parts showing the bare metal.

  “Oh my God!” I throw my hands to my mouth and gasp, “Lewis?”

  “Yup. My thoughts exactly, and he’s not at home is he?” He looks at the car and then again at me.

  “No, well David said there was no answer from home, I would have thought he couldn’t go far, but…..well, he’s vindictive enough to do something like this. Have you called the police?” I look at the once beautiful car now destroyed, FUBAR’d as James so eloquently put it.

  “Yeah, they’ve been, taken photographs, checked outside Amici, there’s no damage to the bistro, thank God. There’s some CCTV in the place opposite Roberto’s so they’re talking to the shop owners, but he’s slippery that one, that fucking bastard of yours.” He hisses.

  “James, he is not mine! Have you spoken with the insurance company yet? Can it be fixed?” I’m stunned and horrified, Lewis can have a pop at me but to start going after other people in my life, where will he stop will Anna be subjected to his sadistic tendencies next?

  I hold James’ arm, I can tell he’s absolutely devastated and so very angry, he’s shaking.

  “I think they’ll respray it, new roof, but it’ll never be the same again will it? It’ll always be damaged. Cars are never the same once they’ve been trashed like this!” I swear there’s a tear in his eye, he looks so angry and at the same time forlorn like a little boy whose favourite toy has broken or disappeared.

  “Can Benito do anything, and I mean legally?” I know what I’d like Benito to arrange, what do they call it in the movies eliminating or rubbing out? But I draw the line at killing someone off, although deep down I know that would be the preferable option, get rid of the bastard in the same way you’d tread on an ant!

  “Don’t know.” He runs his fingers through is hair again, his head down, he looks so pale, physically ill.

  “Did you find it, or Roberto?” I ask, dreading the thought that the aging gentleman would have stumbled across this in front of his restaurant this morning.

  “Me, Roberto doesn’t open up until around ten, I got there about twenty minutes after I left home, there were a few people standing around it - gawking, you know some were smiling, bastards, others were genuinely shocked, none had called the police and I don’t think any of the gawkers had seen anything, they were mostly retailers opening up their own stores for the day.” He walks around the now wrecked Audi, visible distressed and so very, very angry.

  I follow him and grip his arm tightly, “We’ll get it fixed and then trade it in, get a new one. Yes?” I try to calm him down. It’s a car, yes a beautiful one but it’s only a car, it
can be replaced.

  He looks at me, those dark eyes look so full of sorrow. I pull him close, putting my arms around this big man who for a little while appears to be just like a five year old, so terribly upset at the destruction of something so precious to him.

  I pull him gently back into the hotel. “Is someone going to come and pick it up? Did you drive it here?”

  “The Audi garage is coming for it, I thought it would be best if they sort it, especially as its new, rather than a standard body shop, and yes I drove it here – lots, and lots of looks!” He laughs “I bet they all thought I’d been messing around with someone’s wife!”

  “Umm, well you have really James.” I laugh. We’re in the corridor by the side of the orangery and he pulls me close wanting a hug. He just holds me, his face buried in beside my neck.

  “I love you so much Alex,” he whispers, “the quicker we can get you moved on with your life, the better, for us all.”

  We make our way back to his office, “So when are they coming for the car, the garage?” I ask as we walk back to his office.

  “Should have been here by now, they said they’d be here more or less straight away, I’ll give it another half an hour and ring them.” His head’s still down, still looking so angry but at the same time so sad.

  “Presumably they won’t know how long it’ll take until they see it?” I ask.

  “Yep, you’ve got it.” His tone’s clipped. I’m going to have to extract the information bit by bit, we’ve been here before, I know the drill.

  “So, we’ve no car until then?”

  “No. None,” He looks at me “Hire car?” He suggests, opening up a little.

  “Yes, shall we sort something out? Four seats though!” I smile. It’s not the end of the world.

  “Yeah. Anyway, how did this morning go, with your lady?” He says as he sits in his big swivel chair.

  “Fine, great in fact. I’m back on Friday. She thinks I’m coming along nicely. I’ve told her I’m going to see that guy about my back, the big scar anyway and I’ve already sorted the smaller one out.” Something that I’d not mentioned before.

  “Have you, you didn’t say anything to me? When?” He looks directly at me, leaning back in his chair his hands resting on the leather covered arms.

  “Tomorrow, and wait and see, it’ll be a surprise.” I smile, not giving anything away, it will be a surprise although I’m dreading it.

  He looks at me totally confused.

  “Anyway James. We were going to have lunch, I’m not really hungry and that,” I point in the direction of the car park, “has totally killed what little appetite I had.”

  “Mine too. As soon as the garage has been for the car shall we go and get a sandwich, we can go to the little pub at the end of the street….I need to get out of here!” He’s still clearly seething.

  “Fine with me. Muriel was funny this morning.” I say for no reason.

  “In what way?”

  “Just sort of off. I’ve told her if she’s unhappy working for me she needs to think about it and let me know tomorrow, but I can’t have that sort of atmosphere at home, especially when Anna gets back. She was really, really….well, I don’t know quite how to describe it apart from off. And I’m sure she was listening outside the study door when I was talking to Shauna and then Nial.” I stand and pace around his office flapping my hands as I articulate my conversation.

  “You spoke to Nial this morning?” He looks up.

  “Yes, just to arrange to meet with him, I’ve never properly introduced myself, apart from the night he ran me home – when you, you….well.” I stop before I rake up the past, saying something that I just might regret.

  “When are you meeting him?” The anger on his face replaced with a sudden interest in when I’m meeting Nial.

  “Tomorrow, after lunch. I’ve got something I need to do in the morning, well a couple of things actually, and then I’ll go there for about two I suppose. Why?”

  He looks worried again, rubbing his bloody fingers through those gorgeous locks he looks directly at me “I don’t think you should see him on your own. I’ll come with you!” He states flatly.

  “Why? What is he, some sort of axe murderer? I’m only going to see him to say hello, I’ve no intention of getting involved in the running of the place, but when you’ve a fifty per cent stake in something you need to at least know who the other partner is!” I continue to pace around his office, watching The Bossman as he frets and worries over his car and my meeting with Nial.

  “I agree, I really, really do. But I know Nial, and well. Alex, he’s a playboy or at least he used to be! Bed anything with a heartbeat and a pulse at one point, and I mean anything!” He looks so serious.

  “And you’re not?” I snap, “Come on James, it’s so bloody obvious. I mean, an exceptionally good looking bloke like you not settled down with some young beauty, it’s as obvious as, well, the nose on your face! And anyway, doesn’t it take one to know one?“ I could go on, tell him what Gia told me, about the girls ringing all the time, but I won’t drop my newly acquired aunt in the proverbial.

  “I’ve changed,” he stands, clearly agitated and takes a few paces before plonking back down in his chair again, “my days of a different girl every night are long gone, finished when I went state side - truthfully. But Nial, I’m surprised he didn’t try anything on when he gave you a lift home!”

  “I’m probably too old for him. Anyway, if you want to come along, you can do tomorrow can’t you? I’ve nothing to hide! Well not yet anyway!” I smirk.

  He looks at me frowning, ignoring my comments and starts to flick through some paperwork.

  “Are you going to call the garage?” I ask

  “Huh?” He looks up from his desk.

  “The garage! – to check they’re coming for your car!” I speak slowly as it appears he’s not heard me.

  He stops what he’s doing and calls the Audi dealership, he’s informed that the low-loader should be with us by now as it left a while ago, London traffic is blamed for the delay and shortly after he ends the call Roger rings him on his extension to tell him that the driver from Audi is here. I stay in his office whilst he goes to sort his car out. I sit quietly for a few minutes just thinking about Lewis, the total and utter waste of space, the bastard, how can he possibly live with himself, knowing what he’s done over the years, what he’s doing now. I hope the police get something from the CCTV, from anything.

  I’m interrupted from my thoughts as James returns looking grumpier than before, “They say it’s going to be a few weeks by the time they’ve stripped it and done whatever they have to do, then they have to order the roof and can’t do any of it until the insurance have given the go-ahead!” He whinges as he stamps his way back to his chair, what’s happened to the car is terrible, unforgivable but the way James is reacting now you’d think the world had ended! Or maybe it’s me, am I just so used to heartache that I manage to move on quickly?

  “Give them until tomorrow and get their estimate, we can pay for the work to start before the insurance agree. Okay?” I try my level best to placate him.

  He huffs, “Shall we go and have some lunch? I could murder a pint.” He grumbles.

  “A pint? Fine with me.” I’ve never seen him drink beer, only wine and fizz!

  We leave the hotel and stroll down to the little old pub, I order a bacon and brie ciabatta and he has comfort food, a giant Yorkshire pudding filled with slices of beef and a rich gravy, very healthy? I don’t think so, not that my bacon and brie is any heathier! We sit in a corner of the pub chatting quietly about organising a hire car, meeting with Nial tomorrow, which he still insists on coming to, when I look up directly at Lola.

  I nudge James’ arm, “Lola’s in here.” I whisper.

  “What?” He looks towards the bar.

  “That’s not Lola, she’s at the hotel.” He disregards my comment.

  “That is Lola! She’s wearing a cardi over her uniform, loo
k!” I say firmly, “I’ll go over and say hello, prove you wrong!”

  I stand and walk towards the fair haired young woman, as I get closer I can clearly see that it is indeed Lola.

  “Hi Lola. How are you?” I ask.

  She looks up at me, shocked I think and fumbles around with her bag, “I…I’m fine Mrs. Drake. Just taking a break.” I don’t know if she really is on a break or simply wagging an hour, she’s certainly behaving like she’s been caught out!

  “Oh, so how are things today? You seemed at little upset earlier in the week.” I’m trying to be friendly.

  “I’m sorry about that, I’m fine today, I was just, just a bit stressed that’s all. I need to get back to Josh.” She points towards a young man with horrendous acne sat at table in one of the bay windows.

  “Okay, well enjoy your break.” I say as I walk back to James.

  He looks at me open mouthed, “Told you it was Lola!” I smile sweetly at him.

  “What’s she doing in here? It’s main service.” The angry look crosses his face again, oh hell.

  “Said she was with Josh, the boy with acne in that window.” I nod in the general direction of the couple.

  “I don’t know him, but she still shouldn’t be here, Marcus would never let anyone have a break mid service.” He shakes his head as he reaches for his beer, taking a long drink.

  The remainder of our lunch passes uneventfully. We discuss the car, Lewis and last night, eventually ending our mid-day snack with a smile. We leave the pub and head back towards the hotel passing a small jewellers. James stops suddenly and pulls me towards the window. It’s an upmarket little place with a bell to gain entry, the kind of store I’ve never actually been into having very little jewellery myself, apart from my wedding band which I’ve cast aside into a drawer, my bit of tin engagement ring that Lewis grumbled over buying years ago and a couple of pairs of ear-rings that my mum gave me. There’s a whole box of stuff that Maggie has left, something I’ve never been through, I should I suppose. Maybe I could sit with Anna and do that this weekend?