Текст книги "Falling from Grace "

Автор книги: Annabel Chant

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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 10 страниц)

Twenty Two

After making arrangements to collect the money the next afternoon, I spent the rest of the day locking everything down. I called a meeting with Alex, Matt and a few of my other closest confidantes at my penthouse on the top floor of the Dominion hotel. I ran them through what had happened, and what would be happening from now on. I wasn’t about to let a security breach like this occur again, and everyone who worked for me – in whatever capacity – was going to have to be scrutinised anew. It was a mammoth undertaking, but I had a team dedicated to info gathering, and this was going to be their only duty for the next few weeks.

Alex and Matt had left my office in silence. I think they must have wondered, like me, why Rick had got himself involved in something so ridiculous and downright dangerous, when he’d had such a good position in my ranks. Their wages and holidays were second to none, and the price for their loyalty and discretion was an incredibly generous pension. To give that up, he must have been in desperate straits indeed. I almost felt sorry for him, but only almost…I’d feel a whole lot sorrier for Felicity Flint, should anything go wrong with the handover.

Giles got back to me in the early evening. I needed to know if he’d managed to quash Charlotte’s story, and I’d rung him intermittently throughout the day, before giving up and trying to get hold of Max instead. The girl who’d answered his work phone had coolly informed me that he was out of the country on personal business. When Giles finally reached me, he was short and to the point.

‘If there were problems, I’d have contacted you,’ he said in clipped tones. ‘I’ve scotched it for the moment. I can’t give any details now – I’m at a family funeral – but Max will be back Friday morning. Go and see him and he’ll explain.’

I’d waited too long. I couldn’t let him go without pushing him. ‘Did you get her address?’

There was a pause. I could imagine him looking around him to make sure he wasn’t overheard. ‘Not so far. They’re being precious.’ His voice had dropped so low now, I could barely hear him. ‘Seems she’s been involved in some dodgy operations. They’re saying her life’s at risk. Someone at one of the papers has already given it out in error, apparently, and now they can’t get hold of her to warn her.’

‘Okay.’ I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. She’d really messed up – we all had – but if I could just get to see her…talk to her…I was sure I could still sort things.

‘Best you don’t have it, all things considered,’ he said, and rang off.

I had nothing else to do for the rest of the day. Everything I could control was sorted. I’d put a team onto the empty flat, just in case Charlotte showed her face there to pick up her post, but I knew in my heart it was pointless. I had a tail on the blonde in the downstairs flat, too, but by the evening there was still nothing to go on. She’d only left her flat once, to get some shopping and post a letter. Other than that, she’d stayed in all day, providing her personal form of entertainment to a steady stream of shifty-looking men.

By the time evening came, I’d stopped thinking about it all. For one thing, it was an exercise in futility. For another, I knew there was a good chance I might finally get to meet Grace Anderton properly tonight and, for some reason, I really thought it might be a turning point in my life.

I didn’t even know why. I knew next to nothing about her. Only what I’d read online, which wasn’t much. She seemed to have kept herself out of the public eye somehow, despite being hooked up with a fairly well-known footballer. Christ, she even had a job on Max’s team, of all the bitter ironies.

I’d been half tempted to call him to find out more about her. Thank fuck he was out of the country, because that would have been reckless in the extreme. Max had a competitive streak, especially when it came to me, and he’d probably have staked his claim, there and then.

I wondered how she fared on an average day, working under him. From what I’d seen, he was just as hard-nosed at work as he was in his personal life, and I wondered how she felt, being pushed around by him. I had a feeling she’d just take it, though. There was something about her, something vulnerable. She reminded me of…

No, I couldn’t go there. I couldn’t tie her in with all of that. Was that the reason I was so attracted to her? It would explain a lot. I mean, looking at it from an outsider’s point of view, the whole thing would seem laughable. Me, who could have any woman I wanted within reason, and didn’t want any of them, obsessing over a z-list celebrity who’d just been shat on from a great height.

None of it made any sense when I looked at it like that but, at the same time, it was the only thing that made any sense at all. Whatever the reason, if she was there tonight, I was going to make a play for her. I had to. She was my only positive goal right now and, if she let me down, I’d have nothing.

Twenty Three

The F Bar turned out to be the roof bar of the Fforbes Hotel in Mayfair. The Fforbes was one of the most expensive in London, and rooms there cost a small fortune. As we got out of the taxi, a group of reporters surrounded us immediately.

‘Hi,’ said Kitty, beaming around at them. ‘Yes, we’re on the guest list tonight. Going to have us some fun.’ She stopped briefly, and posed for the cameras, turning this way and that and sticking out her hip.

I cowered behind her. The last thing I needed was to get snapped somewhere like this. Even though he had no right any more, Leo would freak. In fact, if he found out I was here, I shuddered to think what he’d do. I held my hand to my face as the cameras flashed, and scurried after Kitty into the revolving doors, while she smiled and waved at the cameras behind her.

‘Apparently, it’s really hard to get in here, if you’re not actually staying here,’ Kitty confided, excitedly, as we went up in the lift. ‘Unless, of course, you’re on the VIP list,’ she giggled. ‘Like us.’

I began to feel nervous. I was never comfortable in swanky places – not without Leo. I preferred the middle-of-the-road night out, where I didn’t have to stand on ceremony. I wasn’t sure I’d fit in here.

The lift doors opened out into a large foyer. The black double doors ahead of us had F Bar over them, picked out in tiny diamond-white lights. The F was followed by forbes, but the letters were tiny, running across the centre of three asterisks, so that it really did look like F***. The F*** Bar. Liv and I hadn’t been so far from the truth, after all.

One of the doormen checked us off on the list, and that was when I first realised something wasn’t quite right. He took Kitty’s coat – I hadn’t brought one – and I got a look at the paper in his hand. Ours were the only names on it.

I followed Kitty in through the double doors, wondering what it meant. Once inside, it was even stranger. I suppose I’d been expecting it to be busy. It wasn’t. There was barely a handful of people scattered through the bar, mainly business people, judging from their suits, and almost all men.

Kitty looked about her in disgust. ‘Is this it?’ she said. ‘I was expecting a bit more, to be honest.’

I was still thinking about the so-called VIP list. ‘Who told you it was hard to get in here?’ I said.

‘Jimmy,’ Kitty said. ‘That’s what the guy sorting the VIP list told him. He was desperate to get us here, apparently.’

‘Yeah,’ I said, looking around at all the empty tables. ‘I can see why.’

‘Well, we’re here now,’ she shrugged. ‘And the paps have got their story. So, mission accomplished.’

‘What do you mean?’ I said, not following.

‘I mean, Jimmy made sure they’d be here,’ she said. ‘You’re a dope, sometimes, you really are. It keeps our faces in the papers. Raises our profiles. It’s all good.’

I didn’t think it was good at all, but I didn’t think she’d understand, so I just nodded.

‘Come on.’ She nudged me. ‘It’s only early. Things’ll pick up later on. Cheer up and come to the bar with me. We might as well make the most of it.’

I got a vodka, free of charge, but only took one sip and left it. The mere smell of the alcohol made me feel sick. I ordered an orange juice, and followed Kitty over to sit at a table near the dance floor. The room wasn’t large – the dance floor would only have taken about fifty people, if that – but it was exquisitely decorated, with satin-covered walls, studded with more of the diamond lights. A pianist was playing the Rat Pack over by a small stage and next to it was a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, with a door opening onto a roof terrace.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, looking around at the business people and wondering if this was as good as it was going to get, I suggested going out there for some fresh air.

‘Good idea.’ Kitty jumped up and grabbed her bag off the table. ‘I’m dying for a fag.’

Again, she led the way, and I followed her outside. The terrace wasn’t large, but what it lacked in size, it made up for in atmosphere, with ambient lighting and palm trees, as well as high-end patio furniture, glass and black wicker, carefully positioned to give a casual look. I leaned against the glass-panelled railings that ran around the edge of the terrace, and looked down at Park Lane below me. There were cabs coming and going all the time outside the hotel, and I wondered how many of the people in them would be joining us up in this roof bar.

‘Ah.’ Kitty took a deep drag on her cigarette. ‘I needed that.’

‘Can I…’ I began. Then stopped. I knew I shouldn’t. I’d given up a few years ago, but…what the hell. ‘Can I have one?’

‘Knock yourself out.’ Kitty thrust the box at me. ‘Take ʼem. I’ve got more in my bag. They’re menthol, though.’

‘It’s what I smoke…smoked,’ I said, lighting up and slipping the box into my bag, absently. ‘I’m not starting again. I just…fancy one.’

‘Yeah.’ Kitty laughed. ‘That’s what they all say.’

I was about to protest, when I noticed a man standing in the bar. He was looking out at me; a strange, almost hungry, look on his face. I had a feeling I’d seen him before somewhere…recently…but I couldn’t place him. Whoever he was, he was incredibly good looking. I turned to Kitty, to ask her if she knew him but, when I turned back, he’d gone.

Don’t be ridiculous, anyway, I told myself. He wouldn’t be interested in you, and even if he was, you’ve sworn off men. You’re not getting involved with anyone else at the moment. Besides, what would Leo…

‘I didn’t know you smoked,’ a voice said, from behind me.

I stepped back and span round. There, right in front of me, my forehead nearly touching his nose, was the man I’d seen looking out at me. There was another door out onto the balcony. I could see it now.

I looked back at him and he took a step back. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s fine,’ I said. He was breathtakingly, outrageously handsome. He was enough to make a girl weep. I just stared.

‘I…’ He gave a brief laugh, and I looked away, feeling myself begin to blush. ‘I was just saying that you smoked. I didn’t know.’

‘Well, of course you didn’t,’ Kitty interjected with a sharp laugh. ‘How would you? You don’t even know who she is.’

‘On the contrary, I know her very well. Or, at least, I know of her,’ he amended, turning and smiling at me again, with a nod of recognition. ‘Miss Anderton.’

I nodded back, trying to remember where I’d seen him before. It had to be off TV. He had that ultra-perfect look about him and, right now, he had the advantage. I couldn’t place him at all. I took a drag on my cigarette to steady my nerves.

‘And as I was saying,’ he continued, addressing me again. ‘I didn’t realise you smoked.’

‘She doesn’t,’ Kitty said, now physically elbowing her way in front of me. ‘Allegedly.’

‘Allegedly.’ The man smiled at her briefly, acknowledging her joke, then turned to me and, with a look of disapproval, took the cigarette from between my lips and threw it over the edge of the terrace. ‘Smoking is very unbecoming, you know,’ he said. ‘Not to mention, unhealthy.’

I was so mortified, I didn’t even react. I just stared at his now-empty hand, then up at him. There was an amused look in his blue eyes, one I’d seen before and remembered only too well. I felt the colour drain out through my shoes as realisation hit me.

At the same time, I felt Kitty bridle. She made a big show of dragging on her cigarette, apparently expecting him to try to stop her. He didn’t. She was furious at being pushed once again from centre-stage, I could tell. She was rapt by this guy, and small wonder. He was truly beautiful. The only trouble was, that ironic grin had broken the charm. I knew now exactly where I’d seen him before, and why he knew me.

He was Mr Arrogant, from Max’s office.

I felt the colour flood back into my cheeks in a physical rush…they actually pulsed. He was Max’s friend…client…whatever. He’d been there the day I’d found out about Leo. He’d more or less witnessed my humiliation. And here he was again…giving me that same mocking grin he’d given me in Max’s office. No wonder he’d had the gall to throw my fag away. It was all in a day’s work for him. Why did he get such a kick out of embarrassing me?

I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to find out. Someone like him would never be interested in me, anyway. If I was anything to him, I was sport…something to keep him entertained while the bar was so empty.

I threw him what was quickly becoming my trademark Icy Glare, before moving away slightly and turning my back on him to gaze across Hyde Park. I hoped he’d get the message and disappear. Night was closing in, and the lights on the fountains were beginning to stand out against the darkening green of the lawns. I traced the streetlights around the edge of the park, trying to take my mind off his continued presence.

What was he even doing here, anyway? Kitty was trying to find out, not very subtly, but he seemed evasive in his answers. I couldn’t help myself. I was too curious. I turned slightly to watch them, leaning against the balcony and wishing I still had the cigarette. I needed it now.

‘I had some business here tonight,’ he was saying. ‘I came to meet someone.’

‘Ooh.’ Kitty leaned forward, pushing out her ample bust. ‘Who is it? Anyone I’d know.’

‘Yes, well,’ He paused and looked over at me. I turned my head away and pretended to be interested in something on the horizon. ‘That is, I doubt it. Do excuse me.’

He nodded his head at her and smiled briefly. I looked back again, half wishing he’d stay, despite everything. He was looking over at me. His expression, as he caught my eye, was unreadable. I think it was intended as a smile, but it was only his mouth that made it. His eyes were inscrutable. If anything, he looked disappointed.

I watched his back as he went into the bar, pausing briefly at the door as if there was something he’d forgotten to say. He was tall – a good few inches taller than me, even in my heels – and he wore his suit like a second skin. It seemed so natural on him, as if he never wore anything else. His shoulders were square, without being overly broad, and his jacket was fitted enough to show off his athletic build, well-toned but not overly muscled. His dark hair curled slightly over his collar, and he put his hand up to it now, running his fingers through it as if he, too, felt somewhat awkward.

For a moment, I thought he was going to turn back to us – to me – but, if he’d intended to, he thought better of it and disappeared into the bar.

‘Well!’ Kitty seemed almost speechless. ‘Isn’t he adorable?’

‘I’ll smoke if I want to,’ I said, not really listening. ‘What’s his problem, anyway?’

‘He was just trying to make conversation.’ She gave a shrug. ‘You need to lighten up a bit. He was a babe.’

‘Yeah,’ I said, wondering if she was right. Maybe I was just over sensitive. I kept seeing that disappointed look and, despite everything, I felt angry with myself. I wanted to please him, I realised, but that just made me angrier.

‘Your loss is my gain, anyway,’ Kitty continued, heading back inside. ‘I’m in there, later, I reckon.’

‘Yeah,’ I repeated, taking a last look out across the park before following her in. She was probably right, after all. She had the looks and personality to attract a man like that. Not to mention the reputation. Next to her, I was a definite also-ran. Not to mention a disappointment. How come it was okay for Kitty to smoke, anyway? Maybe he didn’t want to risk upsetting her. Take the piss out of the sad friend instead. Yeah, that made sense. I needed to forget him, and fast.

None of this stopped me looking around for him as we walked back across the dance floor to our table. There were more people in the bar now, but he wasn’t one of them.

‘He’s gone.’ Kitty gave a long-suffering sigh and sank down into her seat. ‘Oh well, plenty more where he came from. Look, it’s really filled up!’

It had, somewhat. There were certainly fewer empty tables. A blond man was leaning over the railings above us. He was quite handsome in a Nordic God kind of way, all blond hair, tanned skin and muscles, and it didn’t take Kitty long to notice him.

‘Hey-up,’ she murmured under her breath to me, chinking her glass in his direction. ‘I think I’m in here.’

And, this time, she was right. He came down and sat with us, talking exclusively to her, until I felt as awkward and uncomfortable as I’d felt the night before, when Liv had abandoned me at the bar.

Twenty Four

Kitty Hart was worse in the flesh than she’d seemed on the news. Fuck knows why Grace had agreed to come out with her. She was a liability with a large mouth and a love of publicity – good or bad, it didn’t seem to matter to her. I couldn’t believe she’d tipped off the tabloids. I’d had to push my way through a small army of reporters when I’d arrived, and I was still furious with her.

I didn’t care what she did to herself, but she was likely to suck Grace down with her, at this rate. I stood at the end of the bar out of sight, and watched them both, wondering whether to just go home. Grace had seemed less than impressed with me – again – and I was starting to think I was wasting my time.

For a start, she was smoking. I’d seen her cadge it off Hart, so I knew she wasn’t a real smoker. What did she think she was playing at? I’d teasingly nipped her nicotine-binge in the bud, but she hadn’t taken it well. I’d expected her to laugh, maybe protest a little, but then relent and start chatting. I was wrong. I wondered if she was always so defensive, or if it was purely aimed at me. She certainly seemed to have developed an intense and immediate dislike for me. It put me on the back foot; I was used to reactions like that from men, but seldom from women, particularly those I barely knew.

She looked just as awkward and prickly now, though, so maybe it wasn’t just me. Hart was fawning over some blond guy. He’d been standing alone, casing the room. As soon as they’d sat down, he’d moved over and stood above their table, leaning on the railing by the bar. I’d seen him in there before. He was a regular at the hotel. He might even be an escort, judging from his behaviour. I wondered if she had any idea what she was getting into. I didn’t get the impression she much cared. She was all over him, anyway.

Grace, on the other hand, was just sitting there, her leg crossed away from them, looking around the room. She looked bored to death, and I didn’t blame her. I was beginning to regret inviting them here in the first place. There were plenty of other bars and clubs I could’ve chosen, but I’d plumped for this one because it was quieter and more discreet than the rest. In hindsight, it was perhaps a bit too discreet. There was no crowd to blend into, no chance of just happening upon her as I walked around the club. If I was going to talk to her again, I was going to have to be obvious, and I didn’t much fancy that, after her reaction out on the terrace.

I wondered again what I’d done. She’d had it in for me from the moment she’d seen me in Max’s office. Maybe that was why I’d found her so alluring. It was rare for me to meet a woman that was a real challenge, and she was starting to become exactly that. I swirled the ice around in my glass, and looked over at her again. That was it. I’d treat her as a challenge. Then, even if she brushed me off yet again, I wouldn’t feel so defeated and I’d have my own permission to keep trying.

I was just about to go over and try, again, to talk to her, when some guy went over to her. She looked up at him, and then over at the group of guys he’d been sitting with. She shrugged briefly and smiled, before getting up and following him over to sit with them. I couldn’t believe it…I’d missed my chance. I could only watch in increasing disbelief, as she smiled round at them all and shook their hands. It was my own fault, I knew. I should have been quicker off the mark…been more direct with her out on the terrace.

She sat down between two of the guys, smoothing her dress as she did so. She had her back to me, and I could see the bones of her spine tracing a curve down the open back of it as she crossed her legs again. I wanted to reach out and run my fingertip down that spine, trace a line back up it with the tip of my tongue.

Even as I thought it, one of the guys put his hand to the nape of her neck, and did exactly that. He caressed her neck for a moment, before letting his fingers slide, trailing down her spine to the point where the silken folds of her dress met in the small of her back. It was such a subtle, predatory movement that it sent a shiver right through me. Even before I saw him flash a grin at his mate, I knew what he was after.

I started forward, ready to intervene, then paused as I realised she’d done nothing to stop him. In fact, far from protesting, she was laughing and shaking her head slightly, tipping it coyly to one side, as she smiled at him.

I sighed. It was the end to another perfect day. I might as well leave and get sorted for the morning. I might even squeeze in a run for the first time this week, if I left now. I threw one more regretful look in Grace Anderton’s direction, and made to go.

That was when I realised Kitty Hart and the blond guy had disappeared.

I looked around to see if they’d moved, but they weren’t anywhere to be seen. They weren’t at the bar or on the terrace, and their drinks were sitting empty on their table. I went to the door. Matt was on security there. It wasn’t his usual job, by a long stretch, but I’d wanted to make sure no undesirables got in tonight, and he was one of the few men I could still trust one hundred per cent.

‘The blonde one, Sir?’ He nodded at the lift. ‘She went down with some guy a few minutes ago.’

‘Are they coming back?’

‘No idea, boss.’ Matt looked awkward. He was good at his job, and he always hated not being able to give me a straight answer. ‘Jez got him his jacket though, so it doesn’t look like it.’

I stood there for a moment, wondering whether to just go. I knew it was the wise move. Grace seemed more than happy with her new pals, and I’d just end up standing there, torturing myself, but…there was something off about her behaviour. I didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of just leaving her there. Not now Hart had done a disappearing act.

I looked over at her again, and what I saw made my mind up. Another of the guys was leaning forward now, and he had his hand between her knees, pushing up between them. She barely seemed to notice. She was leaning back in her seat, and the guy that had been stroking her back was now nuzzling her neck.

As I watched, he whispered something in her ear. She gave a shy smile and nodded, and the whole group stood up. The guys pulled their jackets from the backs of their seats and started across the dance floor towards me…towards the exit…pulling Grace along with them.

I froze for a moment. I could hardly believe what I was seeing…and I’d thought Kitty Hart had gone off the rails! Well, she had, but she’d left with one guy and, even if I’d seen her go, there was nothing I could do to stop that. Girls left with guys all the time.

But one girl leaving with a whole group of guys…a group who’d been mauling her in a public bar. It didn’t bear thinking about. Even if I hadn’t had a vested interest, I wouldn’t have let that happen. Not in one of my clubs, and certainly not on my watch.