Chapter 32
Chapter 32
‘Should you be doing that?’ Johnny said, nodding towards her phone as he retook his seat.
Fran supposed he had a point, reading from the screen definitely wasn’t doing much for her headache. The dull thud was becoming stronger. Or perhaps it was nearly time for more painkillers, because her ankle was throbbing with increased determination, too.
‘I’ve been trying to work out how best to approach this. I wasn’t sure how you would be feeling and I’m so pleased that you’re doing well.’ Johnny frowned, his lips tight as though he was fighting with whatever he wanted to say next. ‘But I’m just going to come right out and say it, Fran. There doesn’t seem to be much point in beating around the bush. Why did you lie to me about who you are? Why did you tell me you didn’t have a father, when you clearly do. A hugely influential one. Why were you pretending to be a hotel employee when your father owns the place? What were you trying to achieve?’ He drew breath, then shook his head as though irritated by himself. ‘I’m sorry. It’s really none of my business. It’s just that …’
Fran set her phone down, pulling in a deep breath as her gaze settled on his features, his expression mirroring the state of her own thoughts. He looked genuinely lost.
‘I feel like a complete fool, truth be told,’ he said.
‘You’re no fool, Johnny Taylor,’ she said, ‘and I am so sorry for making you feel that way.’
Fran wanted to explain, but Johnny cut across her words.
‘And then I left that pathetic business plan at reception for you. You must think I’m such a prat.’
‘I haven’t even had a chance to look at it properly yet. It fell out of my pocket and my father took it by accident this morning. That’s what he was phoning about, actually.’
‘You’re joking?’
As she shook her head, Johnny slid his coffee onto the table and buried his head in his hands. ‘Now that’s properly embarrassing.’
‘He did find it rather amusing.’
A groan emanated from beneath his splayed fingers, then Johnny glanced up. ‘Please tell me you’re taking the mickey?’
‘Nope. He told me to tell you that you’re no Van Gogh. What even is that in the drawing?’
Fran scrolled to find the correct page, enlarging the illustration for him to see. Johnny’s cheeks flushed almost bright enough to match the bruising on his jaw, his brow furrowing as he shifted on the plastic chair.
‘I don’t want to upset you, Fran. But that’s meant to be Chateau des Rêves.’ He drew a vague finger outline to match the skyline of the building.
‘I have to agree with Bill, you’re no artist, but why would a drawing of Chateau des Rêves upset me?’ she asked.
‘Because of this.’ Johnny’s finger zeroed in on a small shape almost impossible to discern on the phone screen. ‘This was meant to signify Red, living at Chateau des Rêves.’
‘Oh.’
‘I hadn’t thought through the details very carefully, but in my pie in the sky idea, it seemed to make sense to offer the cat a new home at des Rêves, as he was so unwelcome at the hotel …’ His words tailed off, replaced by an awkward pause.
Fran wanted to tell him it was OK, that it was a lovely thought, the kindest of gestures. But she couldn’t say anything, her throat tightening as she fought even more tears.
‘Please don’t get upset. I didn’t want to distress you again – you’ve been through a hell of a day.’
Fran nodded, pressing fingers against trembling lips as she willed herself back under control.
‘It was a beautiful thought. He would have loved it there.’ Her words were little more than a whisper, but she wanted to let Johnny know how much she appreciated his gesture. ‘Johnny,’ she said, gulping back tears and focusing on the here and now. ‘Why did you leave me a copy of your business plan?’
Johnny bit at his bottom lip before he answered. It was tempting to be totally transparent with Fran, to tell her that he’d wanted her to see how serious he was about the entire project, how even though he’d spoken about Chateau des Rêves as being a crazy dream project, and how he had now all but talked himself out of it, that he was more than capable of making it work. How it would have been that if he had decided to take it on, he would be deadly serious about delivering on his schedule, bringing all his promises to fruition.
He also wanted to express how serious he had been about including Fran as a business partner. Her ability to restore furniture – the eye she had for beautiful antiques and her desire to refurbish rather than rip out – it all added up into a skillset Johnny was well aware he lacked. To him, a chair was just a chair. He knew what he liked, or didn’t like, but had no idea of the why.
He wanted to make the chateau into something spectacularly beautiful, but he would need a whole load of help to achieve it.
No, that wasn’t the way he wanted to express it. What he really wanted was for the pair of them to make the chateau into something beautiful, and for the both of them to make the wine-tasting holiday idea into a viable business, too. And the idea of Fran then running upholstery workshops alongside his wine tasting seemed a perfect long-term combination. He wanted Fran to be front and centre in bringing the whole plan to fruition, and to have a long-term reason to stay, too.
Together, it felt as though they would make an unbeatable team, would propel the business from cautious beginnings, into something special.
All those reasons were held within the words of his plan, though, if she chose to look closely enough. What wasn’t written into the words was just how pointless the entire thing seemed to him if she wasn’t a part of it. If she didn’t want to make a go of Chateau des Rêves, then he would walk away from the idea.
At least, that was how he had been feeling about the whole idea, until he’d discovered Fran’s less-than-transparent approach to her reasons for being at the hotel. And with her tycoon of a father emerging from the shadows, Johnny’s confidence and his ability to tell truth from falsehood had taken yet another pummelling.
Unable to sum his thoughts up in coherent form, Johnny shrugged at Fran’s question. Repeating it in order to give himself a framework within which to answer.
‘Why did I leave you a copy of my business plan? To be honest, if I’d known who your father was, I wouldn’t have done it. Not in a million years.’
‘Why not?’ Fran looked genuinely mystified.
‘Because my sense of self-worth has taken enough of a bashing already. And the fact that your father is laughing at my business plan doesn’t exactly make me feel any better about myself. Surely you can understand how embarrassing this is turning out to be for me.’
He tried to keep the exasperation out of his tone, but from the look on Fran’s face, he’d failed.
‘No, Johnny – you’ve misunderstood. When I said he was laughing at it, he was only amused by the drawing. He thought the rest of it was awesome. A seriously good plan.’
‘Please don’t mess with me,’ he said, taking refuge behind a sip of rapidly cooling coffee.
‘I’m not. He wants to invest.’
‘He wants to do what?’
‘To invest.’ Fran spoke as to a child, slowing her words to allow them extra time to sink in. ‘He proposes to loan a lump sum of money in return for a percentage of the business once it’s up and running.’
‘Right. OK. Oh my God.’ Johnny took a moment to compose himself. This kind of thing only happened in fiction. ‘What percentage?’
‘Well, that’s what he wants to speak to you about.’ Fran allowed herself a grin. ‘Be warned, he won’t go easy on you. On us. First and foremost, he’s a businessman, don’t forget that.’
Us. She’d said ‘us’.
‘Are you interested in being a part of Chateau des Rêves then?’ he asked.
‘Only if you’ll allow me to clear up any misunderstandings you might have about me?’
By the time Fran had finished her explanation, again – it seemed as though she’d done little other than try to explain herself lately – her head really was throbbing.
‘The weirdest part of all of this is that everyone thinks I’ve been pretending to be someone I’m not. But I haven’t. Not really. That person, that Fran who was happy to join the chateau staff, the woman wanting to befriend a stray cat to help me make sense of my reality – that person is me. It’s the rest of it which is the unbelievable bit.’
‘I suppose that makes sense,’ Johnny said.
‘I didn’t mean to mislead anyone, and whether people choose to believe me or not, it’s the truth.’ Fran shifted on the mattress, wincing as she settled her head back.
‘I believe you,’ Johnny said. ‘And for the record, I like that version of Fran.’
She smiled, allowing her eyelids to lower. ‘Thank you. Me too.’
‘So, are we going to go for it?’ Johnny said. ‘Are we doing this thing? Do you feel like becoming my business partner?’
It was a big decision to make – one she couldn’t take so lightly. She suddenly needed more time, wanted to be sure she could cope with the arrangement being conducted on a purely business footing. She wasn’t in the right head space to be able to answer Johnny truthfully. Not yet. Not after the events of today had put her through the emotional ringer.
‘Sorry, Johnny, my head is killing me again. I should probably get some rest.’
Johnny was on his feet before she’d finished speaking.
‘I’ll find someone. Won’t be a minute.’
In record time he was back, accompanied by a nurse, both wearing serious expressions.
‘It’s no big deal,’ Fran was saying, as Penny appeared at their shoulders. ‘Just need to be quiet for a bit.’
‘Is she all right?’ Penny asked.
The consensus was that Fran did need some rest, that there was nothing to be concerned about, and barring any unexpected mishaps, she would be discharged in the morning. After some rapid farewells, Johnny reassuring her that he would be back to collect her, the nurse drew the curtains around her bed with a sense of determination. A few minutes later the nurse returned with a miniature paper cup full of tablets, which Fran swallowed, and then she was alone with her thoughts.
By the following morning, Fran had shaken off the worst of her headache and the X-rays had confirmed the damage to her ankle was limited to a heavy sprain, while her wrist was only bruised. Strapped up, resourced by a selection of blister packs of medication, and with strict instructions to take it easy and to refrain from alcohol past a small glass of red wine – in itself a medicine, as far as the doctor was concerned, if her wink was anything to go by – Fran was ready to leave the hospital.
After going back and forth in her mind, in between bouts of sleep and moments of lucidity, she was finally ready to give Johnny an answer. She couldn’t wait to tell him that the idea of taking a dilapidated chateau and bringing it back to life, offering guests a top-notch holiday experience, was an exciting opportunity. One she was going to grab with both hands.
Although it wasn’t everything she wanted, she’d convinced herself it was the right move because of what it would give her – a new life of her own, the career of her dreams and a fresh sense of purpose. Spending time with Johnny, even if it was only as his business partner, was something Fran wanted more than she’d care to admit.
So, it was disconcerting to discover that it wasn’t Johnny waiting outside the hospital to take her back to the hotel, instead it was his brother, Noel.