Chapter Twenty-Six
James
J ames stood by the conference table in the private boardroom at Duchan Fayre, tapping the mahogany top and glancing out of the floor-to-ceiling windows over the lush woodland and hills beyond. This area was reserved for confidential meetings away from the activity of the shopping centre. He checked his watch. Where were his parents? Maybe his father was too ill to attend. Maybe seeing him at home would have been better, but this was business, and James wanted to keep it that way.
About ten minutes later, the door swung open, and Laurence and Sherri entered. Laurence took the seat at the head of the table, looking every inch the corporate businessperson he was and not the slightest bit unwell despite his recent complaints. James frowned. It didn’t seem his father’s style to make something like that up.
Sherri sat next to her husband, wiping invisible lint from her smart skirt.
‘So, what is it we need to discuss so urgently?’ Laurence clasped his hands on the table. ‘Is it about the sponsorship opportunity at the Dairvin Castle Horse Trials? Because I think we should be all over that.’
‘That is on my radar to talk to you about.’ James took a seat. ‘But before we do that, there’s something more pressing.’
Laurence arched an eyebrow. ‘Which is?’
James squared his shoulders. ‘We need to speed up the funding for the Cosy Bean Café from the community fund. The owner has received an ultimatum and could be thrown out by the end of the week.’
‘Ahh, interesting.’ Laurence glanced at Sherri. ‘That might be just what we need.’
‘How do you mean?’ James looked between the two of them.
Sherri tilted her head, giving him an almost pitying look. ‘We can’t do anything with that café.’
James’s jaw set. ‘What do you mean? We made a deal. It was approved weeks ago. I’ve met with the owner and discussed it. We can’t back out now.’
‘Yes, that was indeed my issue.’ Laurence folded his arms, his expression stern. ‘I didn’t want to withdraw the money from the project as it would reflect badly on Duchan, but this ultimatum means we won’t be able to fulfil the conditions in the timeframe, so it gives us the perfect way out.’
‘And why do we need a way out?’ James ground his teeth, but he had a horrible idea of what was coming.
Sherri exchanged a glance with Laurence, then turned back to James. ‘Oh dear.’
James mouthed ‘what?’ but before he could say anything else, his father let out a huge sigh.
‘Because you made that deal with a vested interest.’
‘I did. Because I needed riding lessons. I’m not denying that.’
His mother shook her head. ‘It’s not just that though, is it?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘That riding instructor has drawn you in. It’s as Jacinta said. She’s developed a thing for you. I guess it must go two ways and that’s why you agreed to help her.’
‘A relationship like that was unwise at the best of times, but with this deal in the background, it could have put us in a very tricky position.’
‘Listen, my relationship with Dagmar had nothing to do with this deal. That happened after and—’
‘It doesn’t matter when it happened.’ Laurence’s gaze bored into James. ‘How on earth do you know this woman isn’t using you? Her interest in you is purely financial.’
James clenched his fists. ‘Isn’t that exactly the kind of relationship you want me to have? All the women you’ve introduced me to only want me for my money. Dagmar is the first one who doesn’t.’
‘And yet she wants you to save her mum’s café.’ Sherri gave a little shrug. ‘Actions speak louder than words. Will she still be interested in you if you don’t?’
James frowned. ‘Of course she will.’ Or at least he hoped so. His parents’ words drummed in his mind, making him doubt himself… Doubt everything.
‘I’m not so sure.’ Laurence placed his palms flat on the table. ‘I think it would be a good idea to keep away from her for the time being.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the business with the café is problematic enough.’ Sherri gave him a pointed look. ‘If you’re hanging around her, she’ll do nothing but pester you to take action.’
James let out a sigh and rested his head on his hand. ‘And so what if she does? I need to take action. I need to do something. We made a deal. A promise.’
‘Like you also made a promise to me.’ Laurence stared at him.
‘I did, but I regret that now.’
Laurence sat back and rubbed his chest. ‘You what?’
‘I made it at a time when you were very unwell and when Duchan Fayre wasn’t as successful as it is now. We don’t need to align with another big family to ensure its continued success. It’ll endure with me and Eloise – when she’s back from maternity leave. We’ll keep it going ourselves.’
Sherri pursed her lips. ‘That may be so, and it is very admirable, but I don’t think you should give up on Victoria so quickly.’
James dropped his forehead into his hand. ‘I’m not going to date Victoria.’
‘That’s ok. No need to think about that just now. But I’ve arranged for the countess to meet us for lunch today, and I suspect Victoria will be with her. You will have to be there too, as we want to discuss the sponsorship plans.’
‘You made these plans without even discussing them with me?’
‘I checked your calendar,’ Laurence said. ‘You have nothing on.’
Wasn’t that just great? James needed to speak to Dagmar, but before he did that, he might have one last trick up his sleeve. He had several private investments, not to mention the land at the end of Loch Briar he’d bought years ago. None of the funds were easy to access. They were long-term investments, but he might be able to tap into them if he made some phone calls. That didn’t look like something he’d be able to do today if he was being forced to have lunch with the countess though.
He definitely didn’t need the land anymore. The idea he’d had for putting a house there had died a death, and these days, he didn’t fancy a home so close to the town, but if he sold the land, that would easily cover the café cost and then some but selling land wouldn’t happen quickly.
He sent a message to Dagmar, telling her he was so far hitting a brick wall with his parents, but would get in touch when he knew more. Trouble was, he couldn’t see an easy way out of this… Or a way at all. Whatever happened, it didn’t look like he would be able to raise the funds quickly enough to save the café.