Decoding the Billionaire

by Meg MacRose

  She felt a thud of dread hit her stomach as he questioned his friend’s marriage. The more time she spent with Alex, the more she liked about him, and the more she wanted to stay with him. But on the other hand, she was also becoming more acutely aware that he didn’t view relationships as she did.

  “Let’s just enjoy the moment and have no regrets.” He said last night when she’d tried to talk about it.

  Elly had given her Uber driver the directions that Alex had written down for her earlier in the morning. Her driver had dropped her off at the gate. There was a footpath from the road, with balloons showing the way. Alex had driven up by himself as he had wanted to leave earlier so that he could help his friend, Nick, build the bonfire.

  She noted Alex’s red sportscar which was parked up in front of a row of pine trees, alongside some other luxury cars on a neighbouring field. A few wealthy guests then, Elly surmised.

  She’d had a few things at DN to get done first and had elected to make her own way. The work at Hudson’s had messed up her schedule a bit, and some of the other projects were having delays because of it. One of the younger analysts had asked earlier in the week if they could schedule time together on Saturday morning going through a project that neared completion.

  Alex leaving earlier this morning had given her some breathing space. Things with Alex had moved ahead quickly. They spent every spare minute together. And she enjoyed it. But she was someone who thrived in introspection as well. She had hoped that the time and space from Alex would give her some clarity as to what she should do. It was obvious that Alex was happy for them to continue just as they were. No commitment. No pressure. Lots of fun. Lots of sex. Which is pretty much what she’d agreed to right from the start. But since the yacht, when she’d had an intense realisation that her heart was still committed to Alex, she had a sense of dread like a lead ball in her stomach. It wasn’t nice to know that once again, she was in love with the great Alex Hudson, and he didn’t love her back. She needed to talk with him. Ask him what he was wanting from her. What his expectations were. She needed to tell him how she was feeling. It wasn’t fair of her to expect him to know how she felt, when she had entered their relationship fully aware of his stance on relationships.

  Elly walked slowly up the meandering track and admired the strip of bright cottage flowers that separated the path from the lush green lawn. She walked slow with great care to not fall over on the mossy wet patches. Elly breathed in the fresh pine scent from the trees on the neighbouring property. The air was cooler here than London. Had she realised Alex’s friend Nick lived semi-rural, she would not have dressed in her favourite dark olive coloured boots with heels. Her maroon boots with low heels would have been much more appropriate. She had at the last minute grabbed her small orange strappy bag to put in her phone and money, which hung off one shoulder. In one hand she clasped a couple of bottles of her favourite red wine, and in her other hand she balanced a heavy plate of meze that Miguel had kindly delivered to her earlier that morning.

  She really didn’t want to make a bad impression on Alex’s friends and fall or drop everything all over the path. As a child, she’d never acquired the knack of balance, and coupled with these heels, she knew she was in danger of tumbling down at the most inopportune time. She nibbled on her bottom lip, her concentration was focused on the path and to not fall over. Old insecurities about meeting new people had returned in droves, and Elly shook her head to try and push them away. She was fine, just a few more steps. She was capable, a professional, had lots of friends, and thanks to Nina, wore the types of clothes that made her look amazing. So why was the prospect of meeting Alex’s friends so nerve-wracking?

  The lunch was at Nick’s house, who Alex had told her, had been at the Phoenix that Saturday night. But she couldn’t remember anything about either of the two men. Both Nick and Dan had known Alex since university, so they had been friends for a long time. But Alex didn’t really talk about them. She knew that some nights they hadn’t spent the night together as he had met up with them for a drink, or to watch their favourite sports teams together. But he never went into details.

  With a sigh of relief, there was a bright red wooden door at the end of the path. The door was jammed open with a heavy cast iron doorstop and a large colourful welcome poster written in a child’s scrawl. Elly was curious, as the poster on the door was not what she had expected. Alex didn’t really talk much about his friends. He had mentioned Simon and his sister in a work context quite often, especially in light of Julia being implicated in Peter’s wrongful acts. She also had vague recollections of some comments he made in Greece about his parents not being married, but that was the extent that she knew of his personal life. In contrast, she knew a lot about his business contacts, just not the people who were important to him.

  Elly had almost whooped in delight when Alex had asked her to join him for today’s potluck picnic lunch. The last time she remembered going to a potluck lunch was with her mum. She was excited; this was the first time that Alex had opened-up some of his life to her, which he was very good at keeping shuttered. She glanced down at her aqua green slinky trousered bodysuit. Nina had assured her that the bodysuit would be perfect for a swanky picnic. Elly had fingered the soft material before she put it on and knew that she looked good. But now that she was here, she already regretted such a suggestive outfit.

  Before Elly had a chance to try and work out how to knock on the door without any spare hands, a tall willowy lady, about the same age as herself, with short spiky blonde hair came to the door. A feeling of relief seeped through Elly’s body as she noticed that the lady was as dressed up as herself, though in a short bright red dress that left nothing to the imagination. The lady wore matching bright red lipstick and gave Elly a warm smile. Elly’s anxiety washed away as the woman collected the bottles of wine from her with a friendliness that she hadn’t expected.

  “Here, please let me take these from you.” The lady glanced down at the wine as she relieved Elly of them. “Oh, you shouldn’t have. Thank you so much. I hope you found our place okay.”

  Alex had told her that Nick had been married for only a short time, but he had not expanded to share the wife’s name or what she looked like.

  “You must be Elly. Come in, come in.” The woman who smelt of exotic perfume, pulled her close for a quick hug before ushering her inside. Elly couldn’t help but grin back. The woman’s friendliness oozed out and her smile was infectious. Any apprehension that Elly had coming up the garden path had dissipated.

  “I’m Lacey, and this is Therese.”

  Elly glanced down as Lacey patted a curly-haired, brown-eyed girl aged four or five. The little girl’s face was a younger version of Lacey’s.

  “We’re just doing the finishing touches, aren’t we?”

  She looked down at the girl. She was adorable as she folded a hand towel, or rather scrunched it up. Elly felt a pang of envy wash over her as she observed the close relationship between Lacey and her daughter. Elly didn’t stop to question why she the scene resonated with her so much.

  “Of course, with the finishing touches, we’ve had a few sneaky taste tests, haven’t we?” Lacey winked to Therese, who was nodding in shyness to the question.

  “Oh, thank you so much.” She relieved Elly of the large silver meze platter and placed it on the nearby table.

  “You never know how people will react when it’s a pot-luck picnic. I’d never had one before shifting here. My mum always put on catered dinner parties. But I like the concept of potluck, where everyone brings something different. Plus, it takes the pressure off me from having to cater for everyone.” Lacey spoke over her shoulder as she placed the meze on the bench that was laden with home-made quiches and pies.

  “The men are all out the back, gathering firewood from the adjoining woods. Come. We can get to know each other before everyone else arrives. In my experience, the boys aren’t particularly good at sharing information, well personal information anyway.
And I for one, know almost nothing about you. And I reckon you know nothing about me. Nick said he met you once, briefly a couple of months back. He said he had to wring your name out of Alex!”

  Elly shook her head. “To be honest, I don’t remember who I met that night at the Phoenix. I met a couple of Alex’s friends, but with the loud music, I never heard their names! It wasn’t until Alex mentioned to me about your picnic that I realised Nick had been at the Phoenix too. To be honest, I’d not even recognise them in the street either.”

  “Ahh. I wondered if it was the boys’ catch up at the Phoenix that Nick referred to. He’s still a bit closed shop as far as talking about his friends go. We’ve not been together that long really. Not as a couple anyway.” Lacey walked through to a large country style kitchen table, motioning for Elly to choose a seat at the table. Therese pranced between the ladies. Elly looked around, taking in the vase of cut flowers, Therese’s own placemat and setting at the table, and the artwork that covered the fridge. There was a nice cosy feel to the kitchen.

  “So, do you go to the Phoenix often?” Lacey queried while she continued stirring a mixture in a bowl, her eyes watching Therese who was inspecting the baked goodies that were covered by tea towels.

  “Gosh, no.” Elly replied, a little bit taken back at the question. “It was my sister’s twenty-first party, and I was roped in by my Dad to chaperone! Nightclubs aren’t quite my thing.” Elly bit down on her lip; she didn’t want to alienate Lacey by saying that she hated nightclubs. But then, she couldn’t pretend either.

  “Me either. That’s why life out here in the village suits me so well.”

  “Here, let me help,” Elly said, motioning to the bowl Lacey stirred. “I’m an awful cook, but I can do the basics. My stepmother Wendy made sure of that.” Lacey handed over the ceramic bowl of gooey mixture. The bowl was heavier than Elly had expected, and she needed to rest it on the table as she started stirring the concoction.

  “My sisters love nightclubs, hence, the party at the Phoenix. I’m afraid I drank a few too many cocktails. But nightclubs have never been my thing. Alex had a … well, I guess you could say we were in a relationship years ago when we were on holiday in Greece. The relationship finished, and I returned to London totally broken hearted.” It didn’t occur to Elly that this was more information than she needed to give until she noted the spark of interest in Lacey’s eyes.

  “I hadn’t seen Alex again until that night in the Phoenix. It was probably the effect of the alcohol, but I decided to go up and say hello. That’s about it. I left soon after.”

  “Oh. You poor thing.” Lacey had stopped in her tracks, with an empathetic expression.

  “Oh no.” Elly shook her head. “To be honest, being heart-broken gave me the push to do some soul searching, and really evaluate the person I wanted to be. I got a new flatmate in, and we ended up becoming both best friends and business partners. It’s great. We’ve created a good business and love our work, so it’s been a brilliant journey, I think.”

  “Sounds great.” Lacey exclaimed. Elly blushed a little. She didn’t want to be put on a pedestal. What she had done wasn’t so amazing. “What type of business did you start?” Lacey seemed to be asking with genuine interest.

  Elly relaxed, leaning against the wooden chair, still stirring the doughy mixture. Elly told Lacey all about her business and how she and Nina had gotten their start.

  “Oh, wow.” Lacey’s eyes widened. “That’s brilliant.”

  “What about you? Have you lived here long?”

  “No.” Lacey shook her head. I came here to live a bit over 6 years ago, when I first found out that I was pregnant with Therese. I was an interior designer in London, but I knew London wasn’t going to be right for me to bring up my daughter. My boss who happened to be my Uncle, recommended a company only twenty minutes or so from here, so that early on in my pregnancy, I could move and keep working. I applied for a job with them and shifted down. Now that Therese is a bit older, I am picking up more projects. I love it here. The local community has been great in supporting me. Although I must admit, I am surprised how much I enjoy dressing up and battling London traffic for the odd job that I have back in the city.”

  Lacey poured a glass of amber liquid into two long tumblers. Thanking her, Elly took her first sip. The flavour was sweet. “It’s cold peach tea. It’s not potent, but it does have a drop or two of peach schnapps in it too!”

  “It’s divine.” She took a bigger sip this time, enjoying the cool deliciousness.

  “You know. Not sure if this is appropriate to mention. But Nick thinks that you must be pretty special to Alex. He said Alex’s reaction to you at the Phoenix was not a ‘typical Alex’ reaction at all. Plus, Nick says that after Alex finishes any relationship, he never picks it up again. I’m a pretty good judge of character, and my guess is that this time around, he did the chasing. Don’t let his hardened exterior fool you. He’s a lot like my Nick; hard and cold on the outside, but a big teddy-bear inside!”

  Before Elly had a chance to process Lacey’s comments about her and Alex, Lacey held her hand out to Therese and called out. “Come on through. Bring your drink too. How about we give Elly a special guided tour?” Lacey directed the question to a very excited Therese, her head nodding back with enthusiasm.

  Elly loved Lacey’s home. There were baskets in every corner filled to the brim with toys or books. As they walked through the house, Lacey’s expert interior design concepts were evident in every nook and cranny. The rooms were decorated in a fun and functional way that complemented the style of the house.

  They finished their guided tour with the back deck. Puffs of smoke came from the back of the property.

  “Sit down. These sofas are really comfy. The others won’t be here for another half an hour. We’ve invited a real mix of people. My old London contacts, Nick’s friends and family, local families, and my colleagues. You know what? I think you and I are going to be great friends. My biggest concern when one of Nick’s friends bring a lady friend over for a function is that she’s going to be one of those hoity-toity women, who doesn’t believe in women having a career, and thinks the world should bow down to them. It’s such a relief that you are certainly not like that. And you look amazing too. That bodysuit really suits your shape and colouring.”

  Elly blushed. “I rely on my friend and business partner Nina for choosing most of my wardrobe. Left to me, and I’d be in a cotton t-shirt and jeans every day! I do wish I had worn boots with no heels though.”

  Lacey chuckled. “Point taken. Feel welcome to go barefooted if you want. I will once everyone has arrived.”

  Elly nodded. What a great idea.

  Lacey craned her head. “Hmmm. I think I can hear the front door. Feel welcome to stay here and chill. Or head down to where the boys are and introduce yourself. I know Nick for one would love to meet you again.”

  As Lacey left the deck, Elly spotted Alex as he stood down yard with friends. There were a few other men still picking up fallen branches and logs for the bonfire. She decided to brave the grassy yard and join them. It didn’t take long to work out that the middle of the yard was softer than the edges. So, Elly backtracked and in her heeled boots followed the fence line down to the back. Besides, if she did topple over, she could always use the fence to steady herself.

  Elly could hear Alex and three of the men as they chatted, but she couldn’t quite make out what it was they said. She couldn’t see them, as they were on the other side of a small wooden shed. As she made her way around the shed, Elly stopped in her tracks. They were talking about her.

  “So, tell me, is the one and only Alex Hudson in love then?” One of the men teased Alex.

  Elly heard Alex’s reply crystal clear. “No. Not a chance. You know that’s not going to happen. Elly’s a great girl, and she knows the score. It’s what we both want. No complications.”

  A shard of pain went through her heart and she froze where she was, unable to move.

/>   “Love. What’s love anyway? It’s a fallacy, I tell you,” Alex continued.

  One of the other men then asked “You wait until the day you fall in love. Then you’ll change your mind. Marriage will be on the cards, you’ll see.”

  Elly couldn’t see Alex’s reaction to his friend’s question.

  “I doubt it. I’m not interested.”

  “You’ve never brought a date to one of our homes before, party or not. So maybe you’ve found your soulmate in Elly. Who knows, maybe it’ll be your wedding bells next!”

  Elly stepped back, not wanting to hear anymore. Her knees felt like heavy wet sponges and wouldn’t budge.

  “I doubt it. Elly and I are having a great time. No, if I had to marry, and I mean really had to, it’d have to be so that I can extend my business empire. Not to just formalise a relationship. Anyway, what Elly and I have already is uncomplicated, why add a wedding to the mix? Look what happened to your plans with Diana, Nick!”

  Her first instinct was to wonder who Diana was. Then reality set in as to what had just been said. Elly was gutted. She hated that Alex had told his friends explicitly that she he’d never fall in love with her. She walked back around the shed with her head down and retraced her steps along the fence line. Elly headed back to the deck area. What should she do? Order an Uber and just go home? Confront Alex? But then, what would that achieve? She needed to reconcile her own feelings first.

  The sadness that seeped through her was so intense that it felt suffocating.

  “Elly, honey, are you all right?” Lacey came up to Elly and patted her on her shoulder. “Come, sit down. What’s happened? You look like you just saw a ghost.” She led her back to the blue sofa.

  “No ghost.” Elly replied, with a grim tone. “I just overheard a conversation that perhaps I shouldn’t have. Nothing good ever comes for eavesdroppers, my grandmother used to say. I should have listened to her.”

  “Oh dear. Was it the men? They don’t mean anything bad. They tend to speak a bit more gutterish when they get together.”