Decoding the Billionaire

by Meg MacRose

  Alex hadn’t heard Elly’s trainers as she’d re-entered the room and by the look of surprise on Simon’s face as he twisted in his seat towards Elly, neither had he. Alex turned around to face her. He nodded in agreement.

  “You might be right.”

  “Oh, I am. This is how we help Nina get over her broken relationships.” She used her fingers to create inverted commas above her head as she said ‘we’. “Actually, Nina’s been pretty self-sufficient, but it’s the antidote that has always worked for her.”

  Elly stepped toward the brothers. The lines on her face were creased in concern and her tone remained serious.

  “Julia needs to know that you guys support her. That you don’t doubt her. You have to show that you still trust her at her job. The best way is to load her up with a juicy contract, or a new piece of work that you know she’ll love to work on. Something to challenge her, preferably somewhere away from here. Then you deal with him.” For someone who declared herself as being a socially awkward person, Elly gave sensible advice.

  Alex had gotten the clear impression that Elly thrived on being treated as a peer in the business discussions as they had trawled through the evidence that Ivan had produced. Her input had already helped give another view to his and Simon’s contrasting approaches.

  “We’ve been compromised and I’m not confident that we’d ever know what we were getting with Austin Steel.”

  “Agree. Though I think if we pursue Austin Steel and Peter ends up working there in any capacity, it’s going to break Julia. We need to protect her.”

  Simon shook his head as he continued. “I guess we should count ourselves lucky that this has never happened before.”

  She rubbed her eyes as she tried to suppress a yawn. “This is going to be tough on Julia.”

  Elly’s wise words about how it was differences that made a good team still resonated in Alex’s head. At least there didn’t seem any evidence to point to Julia being involved. Elly and Ivan had worked tirelessly to prepare reports and data for the Police, who had been contacted, and would be over in the morning to discuss with the case with them. Nina would liaise with the Police on Hudson’s behalf. Elly’s assurances that police involvement was typical in cases like this was a revelation. Simon was right, they were lucky that it hadn’t happened before.

  “We need to phone Julia and let her know straightaway.” Simon’s voice sounded both tired and anxious. He stretched his long legs out with the same poise that Alex noticed he always had.

  Elly interrupted them. “Not yet guys. I know it’s tough. You’ll be protecting Julia more by not letting her know until Peter has been brought in.”

  “Sorry Elly, but I agree with Simon. Julia should be told sooner than later.” Alex couldn’t see any benefits at all in Elly’s suggestion. Why would they wait? If it was him in the same situation, he’d want to know about it asap.

  Her eyes wrinkled as she frowned. “No Alex. The first thing in my experience is that someone in Julia’s position does is contact their boyfriend and confront them. They’re hurt and don’t want to believe the allegations. That will tip Peter off and you won’t be in a position to effectively support Julia. He’ll either feed her lies and then she won’t believe you for a long time, or he’ll lash out at her with unkind words which will hurt even more. Believe me, I’ve seen it happen many times.”

  Alex heard a noise at the door, he stormed over to the door. But it was just the cleaners. This was crazy. They were all on edge. Simon sat on his sofa, his face rigid and tense.

  Elly looked tired, even her attempt at a smile as he checked the door was weary.

  “Come on, let’s all go home. There’s nothing more that we can do. I’ve finished all the preparations for tomorrow. You guys will have a few busy days ahead anyway. Plus, it’s almost midnight, and I’m starving. Anyone want to join me for pizza?”

  Simon looked up at Elly’s request, and smiled at her at her unexpected offer of pizza. A sharp pain went through Alex’s chest as he waited for Simon’s response.

  “Nina warned me about you and pizza. But no, I’ll head back to my apartment. Thanks anyway.” Alex hadn’t realised that he’d held his breath until Simon had answered. He stood up before Elly could slink away back to her apartment. They had unfinished business together.

  “Pizza sounds good. What time do we need to be back here?” He asked her directly.

  Alex noticed Simon’s raised eyebrows as he conferred with Elly.

  “Nina’s meeting us here at 7:30 to make sure that we’ve ticked all the boxes, and to run through with you guys again how we extracted the information etc. Then we hand a copy over to the Police. I’ll just get my bag. See you tomorrow, Simon.”

  Alex watched her tall willowy frame as she walked out of the room. She’d been a huge all night. So had Simon. If it wasn’t for him, they’d have not identified what was happening so quickly.

  “I appreciate your help here. It would have been a lot to take in going through all of this by myself. Don’t worry about Julia, we can protect her professional reputation. And we’ll work out what we can do for her personally. Maybe now that we’re not pursuing Austin Steel, we can take a step back and relook at some of the more innovative propositions that you and Julia have suggested over the past few months. I’m sure there’s something that she’d love to get her teeth into. Go home and sleep. As Elly said, we’ve got a lot of work to get through over the next few days.”

  Simon looked up in both relief and something that bordered adoration at his big brother and nodded.

  “Thanks Alex. Go and enjoy that pizza. I reckon your pizza date has been a long time coming, based on the way you’ve tried to get her to go and eat with you over the past weeks. She’s a good one, Elly is. Strange to say this, but I think she’s very right for you. Although, I must admit, I can’t understand how you guys could have hit it up in the first place. She’s got more business smarts than the women you normally date.” Simon paused as he put up his hand in defence. “Not that I’m judging. I’ve always been so impressed with how effortlessly you attract beautiful women. But Elly. She’s got the perfect combination, hasn’t she? Business smarts and good looks.”

  Alex gave a slight shrug. It wasn’t a conversation he was ready to have with himself yet, let alone with someone else. Sure, he respected Elly for her intelligence. And he couldn’t take his eyes off her. But the perfect combination? For what? He wasn’t looking for a spouse if that was what Simon referred to. He didn’t believe in forever-afters. The toxicity of his own mother’s disastrous relationship with his father had remained long after he was born. All because she wanted some kind of promise. Some kind of happy ending. He shook his head. That wasn’t for him. No way, he just wanted a good time.

  He gave Simon a final nod before he walked out the door as Elly locked her own door and left her key in Helen’s top drawer.

  “Ready?” she asked, her hand held out to him. Alex let out yet another internal sigh of relief. He’d never admit it to anyone, but he was glad that she had made the first move. For some reason, he didn’t want to mess up with Elly. He took a couple of slow breaths to settle his heart as it fluttered. Her hair smelt of roses. His eyes closed for just a moment as he breathed in her scent again and savoured the memory. He dipped his head and gave the top of her head a quick kiss, before he took her hand in his and matched her long stride as they walked in unison toward the lift lobby.

  ###

  Elly led them through the very familiar dimly lit back streets. She enjoyed his warm and strong hand clasped in hers. They walked in a comfortable silence, until they arrived at what had to be her all-time favourite eatery in all of London. She smiled at Alex’s quizzical look as he glanced across the nondescript all-night pizzeria.

  “You’ll just love this place. It is great for two reasons.” Her emphasis on the word love made Alex look away from the shopfront and look back at her with curious eyes.

  “Oh?”

  “First, their sl
ices of pizza come straight from paradise. You’d better believe it.”

  “And the second reason?” he asked with a grin.

  She enjoyed this banter with him. Despite their long day, he looked energised as she teased him with a smile.

  “And second, my apartment is literally just across the street.” His pupils dilated at the news, and he immediately checked out the buildings across the road. Elly led them inside the unremarkable building, across to a window table for two. Elly loved the smell of the garlic and herbs that dried in bunches on the walls and hung from the roof. She had discovered this place in her student days, even before Nina had moved into her Dad’s place. And Elly came back at least once a week. Nico, the Italian owner’s son stood in front of the wood fire. He nodded in acknowledgement to her as they had entered. And it wasn’t long before Nico, who had always looked like an Italian god, distributed sparkling water and large slices of steaming hot pizza to their table.

  “Help yourself.” Elly invited Alex, as she took a slice covered in capsicum and mushroom, and bit into it. “Ahhh, heaven. Go on, have some, you won’t be disappointed.” She wiped away the cheese that dripped down her chin with the back of her hand and grinned at Alex once she realised what she’d done.

  “Not the most eloquent, but it is delicious!”

  ###

  Alex was already in heaven as he watched Elly devour her slice of pizza. She had no idea how sexy she looked as she wiped her chin.

  His stomach had rumbled and murmured since they had entered. He reached over and demolished his first slice. He didn’t dare tell Elly that he was so hungry that he barely tasted it. But then he found he reached over for another, and then a third.

  “Okay, Elly I’ve got to say, this was excellent pizza. Did you happen to find it when you moved into your apartment?”

  Elly shook her head. “No, it’s the other way around. I’d already found this place when I first moved to London as a student. I found my apartment because I was such a regular here. So, when the building had a for sale sign placed in the window, I spotted it immediately. See that one over there? The narrow building? That’s mine.”

  Alex leaned forward and followed her gaze. Despite her description of narrow, for London, it was rather a good-sized terraced house.

  “It’s not too far from DN’s offices and I can walk to the university. Which reminds me, I forgot to collect my bike this afternoon.” She shrugged. “Anyway, it’s my idea of perfect. And I have a little garage out the back on the laneway for my car. Though I don’t use it a lot. Plus, I often work late at night, and there’s always fresh pizza available.”

  Alex leaned over to wipe the smear of pizza sauce from her cheek with his thumb. There was something delectable as he watched Elly eat her pizza, and the closeness of her home tantalised him. He had been curious for weeks as to what her place would look like. Would her style be feminine, minimalist or cosy? He couldn’t guess. The new Elizabeth was full of surprises. Fingers crossed that tonight was the night he’d find out.

  “So, where did you live before here then?”

  She reached out for another slice of pizza.

  “Dad has an apartment a few suburbs away that I used when I was a student. A flat really. I still had to pay utilities, so I sublet the spare rooms out to other students. Once I returned from Greece, Nina answered the ad, and that’s how we met. We ended up using the third bedroom as our office. It worked out well, but then my sisters were of an age when they wanted to come to London for weekends, and we found it difficult to share our business space with them and their friends. So, we looked around for an alternative.”

  Elly rolled her eyes and shook her head before biting into another slice of pizza.

  “My sisters are the total opposite to me. Extroverted, very boisterous, and they love to party. Their idea of being in London is clubbing every night and hanging out with lots of friends at the apartment during the day. It only took a couple of their visits before we were tearing our hair out. Nina arranged through a mutual friend who had just started out as an accountant, for a review of our finances and it looked promising. We’d had some lucrative contracts come our way, so we went to the bank and requested a loan. We ended up getting three properties in the first year – one each and one for the business. It was a different era; credit was easier to come by. It just so happened that my apartment across the street came up for sale one day when I sat here gorging on pizza! Nina found herself a cute townhouse across the river that she really loves. And it’s all worked out really well.”

  Elly’s eyes crinkled as she continued. “In the meantime, Dad and Wendy hit the roof when they realised the girls were using the apartment as a party house. It was a bit of shock to them that the girls would do that. Especially after Nina and I living there without even a hint of a party in the entire time we were there. So, Dad has split the flat up now and rents out half of the property and uses the other half for when he and Wendy come to visit.” She sat back in her seat, resting her elbows casually on the table, and propped her chin up with her hands. He was sure that she had no idea how elven and delicate she looked.

  “My sisters are actually my half-sisters. My mum passed away when I was a child, and Dad remarried Wendy a couple of years later.”

  “Oh, a wicked stepmother story then?” Alex didn’t want to hear that she’d been hurt by her family. And was somewhat relieved when she shook her head.

  “No not wicked at all. Just different. I was a nerd, a loner, not interested in fashion or girly things. Wendy just didn’t know what to do with me. Dad was into his work. My mum’s parents lived not far away from my school and would pick me up after school finished. I hung out at their place a lot of the time. My Grandad was into science and astronomy. Nana was a keen gardener and always baking. As I got older, the only requirement by Dad and Wendy insisted on was that I returned to their house and shared Sunday lunch with them, because that was ‘family lunch’. Other than that, I was my own person. If it wasn’t at my grandparents, I was at the library in town or found my own way into London to go to a museum exhibition or come in and listen to a lecturer speak.”

  She hesitated. Her face blushed. “As you know, you were my first lover, my first boyfriend” As she paused, Alex sat back. She had no idea how refreshing her frankness was. There were no dramatics, no ego. Today, despite the stress that Peter had caused, being in Elly’s company had been stimulating and emboldening. She enthralled him.

  She finished her slice of pizza before continuing. “I had been so focused on filling my mind with information and knowledge, that boyfriends hadn’t really factored into my life. Besides, I used to avoid social events like the plague. They were definitely not my scene. Not that they are particularly so now, but at least I don’t get as anxious about them. Since Nina and I became flatmates and friends, my social life certainly changed that’s for sure. I think we’ve been to every cocktail bar, German beer bar and wine bar in London! But it’s been a good balance.”

  Alex admired her. The brief childhood summary omitted the loneliness that he sensed as she spoke. She was a strong woman and was resilient. Though it bothered him, why did she give Nina the accolades? Elly was bright and funny. And it was her who had made the brave move from the family home to London, gone to Greece, and then who trusted her own capabilities to set up her own tech company. She underestimated her achievements. She took too lightly her presence and how much others respected her.

  He’d lived in London probably longer than Elly, and while he had made a habit of being out most nights at parties or attending charity events, he had no regular places that he hung at. And apart from Dan and Nick, he’d made very few new friends. Helen often selected the bar or restaurant where he met his girlfriends. In a way, he was envious of Elly. She’d made her own community around her. She didn’t need the status of functions or being seen at bars that created her identity.

  Elly rubbed her eyes with a balled fist and tried to stifle a yawn.

  “C
ome on Elly, let’s go.” He pulled out his wallet from his pocket as Nico clear away their dishes.

  “No no. It’s okay. Not a problem.” Nico winked at Elly and she smiled tiredly at him.

  “Thanks Nico. See you around.”

  As they crossed the road, he couldn’t help himself.

  “What is Nico to you?”

  She shook her head. “I’m pretty close to the whole family. Nico’s wife often joins Nina and I for nights out. I’m godmother to their daughter. I’ve been a regular here for nearly fifteen years. Nico was still at school helping here in the evenings.”

  Alex’s heart lurched as she smiled up at him.

  “Oh, and I have a monthly account. That’s why there’s no need to pay. We worked out it was easier. It’s my midweek late-night haven for food. I often don’t finish work before 11pm, and there’s never much else open. I’m a bit lazy really, as I couldn’t be bothered to cook for myself. Nico’s wife often leaves leftovers from their own dinner out for me. I get spoilt with delicious homemade lasagne, soups and stews. All the guys who work at DN all know that they can come in here and eat, and Nico will just send the account to the business. It’s just easier that way for everyone. Ivan brings his mum and youngest siblings here most weekends, and I think Nina still calls in on her way home from the clubs or bars, early in the morning. It’s kind of like an institution for us. Our pizza institution!”

  “Here give me your key, you look knackered.” He held out his hand for the key.

  “Not a problem, it’s keyless entry.”

  “Is that safe Elly? You are living in London.”

  “You’re asking me if a technical solution that I designed is safer than using a key that can be recut? Believe me it’s safe.” The look on Elly’s face was not so much annoyed, but more incredulous to his question. Alex made a mental note to never question anything to do with technology again. Of course, she’d have it sorted.

  He had no idea how she unlocked the door, but it pushed open and they entered to go up a large impressive set of stairs. Finally, on the third floor, Elly flicked a switch to light up a large airy room. It was not what Alex expected. There was a lot of artwork on the walls, hand crocheted blankets on each of the aged leather sofas, and photos stuck on to her fridge with magnets. It was very homey.