The following Sunday they met at Trafalgar Square, visited the National Gallery, and rode on the open top bus. Guy kept the conversation going with his enthusiasm for all the recognisable sights and Elena was able to supply some interesting historical information which she’d looked up on the internet. She wondered if he would tell her any more about how he’d turned that gift from his uncle into the fortune he had obviously made.
For the next few Sundays, they continued with their sight-seeing, on the river to Greenwich Observatory, walking along the Embankment to the Tate Modern art gallery and standing outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, watching the changing of the guards.
Elena began to feel that she was getting to know London, was becoming part of the city, instead of just viewing it as a place to work. They grew confident and relaxed in each other's company, usually ending the day with a meal at an inexpensive restaurant. Guy had not suggested any more glitzy hotels and Elena was relieved by this. At one point, she’d explained very briefly that her younger brother was staying temporarily with her after dropping out of uni, but left the discussion there.
Spring finally arrived. They were sitting in Covent Garden, listening to a quartet from one of the London music colleges playing classical music. It was a simply perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, watching the crowds go by with the beautiful music drifting in the background.
“I've never been to a classical music concert,” she said.
“I can get us tickets if you’d like to go?” Guy answered warmly.
“I'm not mentioning it just because I want you to take me,” she said, feeling awkward, as though she’d been dropping hints, which was the last thing she intended. “It must be expensive.”
Guy turned towards her, catching her once more in his gaze, sending another shockwave of excitement through her, despite her best attempts to ignore it.
“Elena, you mustn't be so guarded in what you say to me. I can buy you anything you like, but I also sense that is not what you would want me to do?”
She decided that she would try and change the subject, as money seemed to be a source of difficulties between them at the moment. There was such a difference in their circumstances that Elena just tried to avoid bringing up the subject as much as possible.
“You were going to tell me what happened after your uncle left London,” she said instead.
Guy leaned towards her on the bench and, not for the first time, she wondered if he had any idea just how attractive he was, in his casual chinos, black cashmere sweater and that soft, grey, brushed-wool overcoat. He remained silent for a few moments, his thick brow knitted, and Elena wondered if she had been a little pushy.
“Do you really want to know?” he asked. “And do you want the real version or the polished one?”
She wasn't sure if he was joking, but replied that reality would be best.
“When I was helping Uncle Jack and moving in some quite dodgy areas, I started going to a local gym. There were some characters out there who should be completely avoided and others you needed to stand up to. I was a bit of a stringy, lanky kid and I thought it might be a good idea to build myself up a bit. Anyway, when I had the lump sum of money from Jack, I went back to the gym and had a long, hard look round. It was a bit scruffy and tired, and not really in the best of neighbourhoods, but what it had going for it was one of the best trainers south of the river. It just needed investment.”
“And so you put money in?” Elena asked, fascinated to hear the rest of the account.
“Yes. I could see that it needed smartening up. Some new equipment and an advertising campaign to draw in the right customers. I offered to invest, as long as I had a share in the finished company. I risked most of the money and in a year had turned it around.”
They had settled back on the bench and Guy slid his arm slowly along the back, his fingers gently brushing her shoulders. Elena felt she could sit there for the rest of the day. People thronged around them, but she was lost in another world, trying to picture the young Guy, taking the first steps towards his fortune.
“After that, it was a question of whether to sit back and enjoy the money coming in, or take a risk and continue looking for other investments. You can probably guess the answer.”
“You obviously succeeded,” she said. “You must have the right instinct.”
“Not without some hair-raising moments along the way. Believe me, Elena, I'm not exactly a smooth operator when it comes to business ...”
She did believe him; there was something slightly dangerous about Guy which had not been tamed during his transformation from unwanted kid to sophisticated billionaire. It was only a short time later that she had this feeling confirmed.
They had gone to a little Italian restaurant that evening, just off the popular area of Covent Garden. It was small and cosy, with terracotta walls, murals of Venice and Italian music playing softy in the background. Their were candles on the tables and the wine glasses shone in the reflected light.
The owner, Luigi, obviously knew Guy and welcomed them warmly, showing them to a table at the side of the room.
“Sorry you can't have the usual table, Mr Silver,” he said, nodding to a candlelit table in the window. “They insisted on a window table.”
“That's okay,” Guy replied and they sat down to study the menu.
They ordered starters and wine, and as they were settling in, Elena became aware of a growing tension in the small restaurant. The couple in the window table had obviously been drinking throughout the day. The girl was swinging on her chair, giggling and sweeping back her long, blonde hair, while the young man, in a loud, upper class voice, was complaining to the waiter.
“Ask the manager to come out,” he ordered, and gradually the room began to fall silent as Luigi tried to placate him, but whatever he offered to do only seemed to make the complaints about the food and service even louder and more offensive.
“We should have gone somewhere decent!” he shouted. “Not this second rate place ...”
Luigi was looking worried, glancing around the room at the other diners, hoping to avoid any further embarrassment.
“Excuse me,” Guy said to Elena as he stood and strolled across to the table in the window. Elena and most of the other diners watched as Guy leaned over the young man, put both his hands on his shoulders, pinning him to his seat and spoke quietly in his ear. Guy continued speaking quietly as the man paled and tried to struggle up. Eventually Guy handed him his coat and pulled out the chair for the girl as she stumbled to her feet. They left the restaurant and a sigh of relief seemed to echo all around the room.
Luigi came over, breathing hard and wiping his face with a napkin.
“Thank you, Mr Silver, they were getting ... difficult.”
“That's ok, they won't be back, and put anything they've had on my bill.”
Elena couldn't help it, but she felt excited by the incident, sensing a raw power in Guy, bubbling just below the surface, which all the money in the world had still not tamed and perhaps never would.
“How did you do that without getting into a fight?” she queried once Luigi had left them alone again.
“I just told them they were sitting in the seats usually reserved for Luigi's friends. I also mentioned the names of these friends and what they might do if they found Luigi upset for any reason. The names are quite well know in the underworld.”
“And are they really Luigi's friends?” she pursued.
Guy’s handsome face broke out in an enigmatic smile. “You don't need to know that.”
As he leaned across the table and took her hand, Elena tried her hardest not to tremble. The day was proving way more exciting than she had ever dreamed possible. She knew she was falling in love with this powerful but unpredictable man and there was almost nothing she could do about it.
“I think it's time we moved things on Elena,” he said softly, his eyes burning and intense. “I have to go away on business for a while to Hong Kong, but w
hen I come back I’d like to take you away somewhere. Think about it. At some point, I want to take you to bed and you won't come to my house or invite me up to your flat. I want to break through this defensive wall you always put up, Elena. Because whether you believe it or not, I find you attractive. I want to get to know you properly and get you to trust me ... So? What do you say?”
PART TWO
Chapter Eleven
Elena rolled over on the lounger and reached down onto the deck. She poured herself a fresh glass of champagne, before replacing the bottle carefully in the sparkling silver ice bucket. On the table was a tray of delicious nibbles and a bowl of fruit. She selected a small square of filo pastry filled with smoked salmon and cream cheese, and took a bite. She closed her eyes, listening to the gentle slap of the waves against the sparkling white hull of the boat.
The sun was at its midday heat, so she decided to stay there beneath the shade of her parasol, until later in the day, when she might risk half an hour of topless sunbathing whilst the skipper and his mate went on shore in the small motor boat to collect any supplies needed.
She looked around at the incredible blue of the sky and turquoise of the rippling sea. Guy had gone below deck and, not for the first time, she felt utterly amazed at the speed with which her life had changed.
He’d been completely definite when he said that he wanted to move the relationship forward and had asked her to take at least two weeks holiday from work, to sail with him down the coast of Italy at the end of May into June.
He’d swept aside any uncertainties she had, telling her that they would fly to Nice and pick up the luxury yacht which the company kept moored there, then they would sail slowly across the Ligurian Sea, and south down the coast, stopping anytime they felt like exploring remote sandy coves and beaches, or exploring the coastal villages, making eventually for the Bay of Naples. It had all sounded like a dream, but here she was: Elena Walsh experiencing something she could never have imagined.
She had made vague protests about having nothing to wear, which Guy said would suit him anyway!
She looked back on those last few weeks of preparation as though viewing another world. Guy had arranged for her to have a personal shopper available for an appointment at one of London's most exclusive department stores. Elena had been overwhelmed and totally unfocused as the attractive but somewhat intimidating woman plied her with questions about what sort of new wardrobe she was looking for.
“I don't know,” Elena said. “I'm going on a private boat for a couple of weeks, finishing up in Italy. I haven't done anything like this before, and to be honest, I don't have a clue what to take.”
The elegant woman had softened then, looking at Elena with an experienced eye.
“Well, let me bring you lots of different items suitable for that – shorts, tops, swimming costumes, sundresses, wraps for the evening in case it gets chilly, sandals, deck shoes, then maybe some more formal wear for when you go ashore. Try them all on, see what you think. There's no hurry we have all the time we want and we can take it from there.”
“What about sizes?” Elena had never managed to feel comfortable in admitting her need for the cut of more generous clothes.
“Just leave that all to me,” the woman said. “I can see just what would suit you.”
Elena became worried as the fitting room began to fill up with all those insanely-expensive, designer items.
“I can't afford all these in a million years!” she wailed.
“Don’t worry. It's all already taken care of. An open ended account. Just try everything on, choose whatever you want. It sounds like the holiday of a lifetime, and if you want my advice? Make the most of it. These sort of things don't happen to everyone.”
The woman was right.
Elena remembered only a few weeks previously, when she’d thrown all her clothes onto the bed in the hope of finding something decent to wear, that first time she went out with Guy, despairing that she had nothing suitable. And now here she was with the pick of piles of designer items, all perfectly sized and picked out to enhance her figure! For once in her life, Elena had thrown caution to the wind, and went with the idea.
She spent most of the day trying on different outfits, enjoying the extensive range and realised that the personal shopper had selected items that were both sensational to wear but also made the most of her generous curves, rather than hiding them away. And she began to grow in confidence as she saw herself transformed in the mirror, and with a little encouragement chose a whole beautiful new wardrobe of clothes.
She didn't ask what the prices were. Guy had told her to shop here, so she was going to obey.
A slight note of warning echoed deep inside her, though. How many other women had he done this for? Obviously he knew how to arrange this special treatment.
His ex-wife Olivia had been indulged by him, but what about others, too?
She pushed the thought aside; perhaps sometimes it was better to be happily ignorant ...
§
When she’d asked Yvonne if she could book two weeks holiday in May, Yvonne had been surprised.
"Taking an early holiday, somewhere in the sun?" she asked.
And Elena had felt slightly guilty that she hadn't been keeping her up to date about her romantic involvement, even though she’d been a good friend since Elena had worked at the agency Yvonne, however, was very shrewd in matters of romance and looked closely at her.
“It's a man isn't it? That one you see sometimes on Sundays. He must be something special, ‘cause you look different somehow ... Sort of glowing.”
Elena had decided she must tell Yvonne at least some of the truth, after all she would be needing her job in the future, and she couldn't gamble everything on this unexpected holiday with Guy as nothing had been discussed about what would happen after the break. It was dangerous to put too much store on what was happening, but she couldn't bring herself to think about any possibility of a more permanent relationship, either. Just enjoy the present, she kept telling herself, for however long it lasts.
“You’ve got it,” she said. “It’s the guy I’ve been seeing recently. But the thing is, he’s quite well off and wants to take me away on a chartered boat ... So you see that I don't want to say too much around the office at the moment in case everything goes wrong.”
“How well off?” Yvonne asked, intrigued.
“Seriously rich,” Elena whispered back, “and to be honest I think I’m a bit out of my depth ...”
§
Josh had been less easy to talk to.
“You don't really know this man,” he’d said when she told him she was going away “Who is he, apart from being super rich? He could turn out to be a weirdo and you’d be stuck out there on the sea with him. Why doesn't he take you somewhere where there are other people? And why you, anyway? Hasn't he got any rich female friends he can take along!”
Elena had been shocked by such a strong reaction from her brother.
“You can't say you don't trust him just because of the money,” she argued back, shaking her head, feeling her frustration mounting. “He's told me about it, and he’s earned every penny himself. He didn't come from a rich family. And I suppose what you really mean is why does he want an overweight twenty-eight-year-old with no background, when he could have his pick of beautiful, cultured women, right?”
“You've never brought him here. I just don't know him, that’s all,” Josh mumbled, slamming out of the door.
It was true, she’d admitted to herself. She had kept Josh and her modest surroundings in the background, perhaps because she was a little ashamed of the tiny flat and worried what Guy would make of her brother and his ‘laid-back’ lifestyle.
Sipping the ice-cold champagne, Elena thought back over the disagreement with her brother. It was unusual for them to have a real row, and afterwards she’d been shaken.
Things hadn’t thawed out between them before it was time for her to fly to Nice and she hoped that he
would come round to the idea of Guy when they returned, at least.
She made up her mind that the two should really meet as soon as possible. If there were going to be problems with Josh's attitude it might be better to get it out into the open.
But there on deck, London, the tiny flat and the office all seemed a million miles away.
“You look as though you were day dreaming,” Guy said, flopping down on the adjoining sun lounger and taking a bottle of beer from the ice bucket, his bronzed skin shining with sun cream, his body so perfect, so toned and athletic it took Elena’s breath away every time she let her eyes stray over it. “Penny for your thoughts?” he said, seemingly unaware of her hungry gaze, as he flipped the top from the ice cold beer bottle.
“Oh, just thinking about Josh,” Elena replied.
“The one you haven't introduced me to,” Guy said.
Elena thought for a moment, then decided that it was only fair to fill Guy in on the situation. So she told him the whole story about Josh leaving uni and the fact that their parents knew nothing about it, his determination to try and make it in the world of music, and about the chaotic living arrangements in the tiny flat.
“So, you were ashamed of where you live, and assumed I might think your brother was some kind of layabout,” Guy stated once she’d finished.
“I suppose so.”
“And how does Josh feel about me?” Guy leaned towards her and gently stroked her arm.
“He thinks you’ve brought me onto the wild seas to have your wicked way with me,” Elena laughed.
“He's probably right.”
Guy lay back on his lounger, placing his hands behind his head, his muscular body gleaming in the sun. He seemed so totally relaxed out here, away from the strain of business calls and decisions, like a different person. Elena wondered how long it had been since he’d allowed himself to take a holiday, rather than pushing himself to make deals. The new, laid back Guy was a surprise to her.
A Fragile Heart (BBW Billionaire Light Romance) Page 5
