Chapter 14 #2
After breakfast, I found Niki in her office and asked about Trudy joining me at the spa. She assured me it was no trouble and that she’d get in touch with Trudy herself. That sorted, I went in search of Julian, thinking he might be in his office by now.
I knocked on his door and it swung open. Elsa was standing behind the desk, rifling through a stack of papers.
Her head jerked up, her eyes flaring with annoyance. ‘Is there something I can help you with?’ Her tone made it sound as if I was the one intruding – as if it were perfectly normal for her to be going through Julian’s desk.
‘I’m looking for Julian,’ I said, keeping my voice even.
She stared at me like I was an idiot. He clearly wasn’t there – but why was she? And what was she doing?
‘He’s up at his villa,’ she said eventually.
‘What’s that?’ I nodded towards the paper in her hand. I had no real authority to challenge her – unless having been married to her boss and her boyfriend counted, which it probably didn’t – but she was obviously up to no good. I had to say something.
‘He asked me to check some delivery manifests,’ she replied smoothly, holding my gaze. The explanation sounded plausible. Too plausible.
‘Right,’ I said, ‘thanks.’ I backed out of the office, pausing at the doorway, unsure whether to close the door behind me. In the end, I left it open – just a crack – and headed back to Niki’s office.
‘Hiya, me again,’ I said, feigning cheeriness.
‘What’s up?’
‘Just wondering where Julian’s villa is? He’s not in his office so…’
‘Oh, uh…’ She suddenly looked stricken, as if I’d asked for the password to his bank account or something – also odd. ‘Is he expecting you? Did you have a meeting or something?’
Niki was gatekeeping. What the hell was going on?
‘Not exactly. But Julian won’t mind if I show up unannounced, I promise.’
She still seemed unconvinced, licking her lips before trapping them between her teeth.
‘How about this? You give me directions, and if he does mind, I’ll tell him I found it on my own.’
She sighed. ‘Yeah, okay.’
I got the directions, but I couldn’t ignore how guarded Niki had been. I hadn’t known her long, but it seemed out of character. Maybe Tommy wasn’t the only staff member who suspected something untoward was going on.
Well, it was time to find out.
As I walked uphill along meandering paths, I contemplated the best approach with Julian. If I came right out and asked if everything was all right, he’d likely fob me off with vague reassurances. No, I’d have to be more strategic.
Then it came to me.
I’d tell him I was embroiled in a professional arrangement that had sprouted more red flags than summer has dandelions. Then I’d ask for his guidance about how to disentangle myself.
Fingers crossed that Julian would see the parallels to his situation – whatever it was – and seek my counsel. Then I could help him. Or at least convince him to seek help elsewhere. Perfect.
At the top of the hill, I passed a sign that read Private Property, then Julian’s villa came into view. I stopped to gawp at its magnificence, then climbed the front steps and knocked on the wooden door, a twin to my villa’s.
‘Come in,’ Julian called out, his voice muffled by the door.
I pushed it open, peeking around it. Good god, Julian’s villa was palatial!
‘Ally!’ he exclaimed, leaping off a sofa the size of a bus. ‘Good morning!’
He broke into a sort-of jog across the expanse of the lounge room, joining me in the entry.
Clearly delighted to see me – the grin and the twinkle in his eyes gave him away – he grabbed me by both shoulders and planted a fat kiss on my cheek.
I searched his face for any hint of strain, a shadow of worry, but there was nothing.
If Julian was on the brink of disaster, he was hiding it well.
I looked about for Dale, but he must have already left.
‘Come in, come in,’ said Julian, turning away from me and beelining for the kitchen. ‘I was just about to make coffee – would you like one? And there are pastries from the restaurant,’ he added before I had a chance to reply.
I wandered over, pulled out a stool at the breakfast bar, and climbed onto it. Not an easy feat for someone of my stature, and Julian tossed me an amused look as I slid my arse onto the seat. I studied him further for signs of stress, but he seemed genuinely relaxed.
I eyed the plate on the counter, piled high with pastries. After Trudy had erupted into laughter, incredulous that I’d been married to both Tommy and Julian, I’d abandoned my breakfast. So, now I was very hungry.
‘Yes, please – to coffee and a bougatsa.’
His eyebrows leapt.
‘Did I say that right?’
‘You did.’
He pushed them closer. Was I just supposed to help myself or was a fork and a plate forthcoming?
Oh, sod it, I thought, picking up a pastry and taking a huge bite. Did flaky pastry break off into tiny bits and fall all over the counter and down my front? Absolutely. Did I care one iota? I did not.
I munched happily, taking bite after bite, my cheeks bulging like a chipmunk’s.
‘Jules, this place,’ I said when I’d devoured the pastry, ‘it’s gorgeous. And huge.’ At a guess, it was four times the size of the villa I was staying in. ‘Is it just the one bedroom?’ I asked, peering down the hallway that led off the lounge.
‘The primary plus two more,’ he replied.
I turned back to him. ‘Why do you need two guest rooms when you have all of Aetheria? Surely, if friends come with you on holiday, they can stay in a villa?’
He eyed me over the espresso machine, and realisation struck.
‘Oh my god, Jules, you are planning on living here.’
‘I was going to tell you.’
‘Were you now?’ I asked, surprised by the sting of hurt.
‘Was trying to find the right time.’
‘Now will do.’
‘I’m retiring and moving to Greece. Well – I am retired, and I’ve already moved here.’
I nodded, giving him a weak smile. ‘It’s a long way to travel for lunch, Jules.’
‘I’ll be back in London from time to time. I wouldn’t miss our lunches, Ally.’
The pain eased, but only a little. Bi-monthly catch-ups aside, it had been reassuring knowing Julian was nearby if I needed him. There was nothing nearby about living a day’s travel away.
He pressed the button on the machine and it gurgled, the aroma of coffee filling the air.
‘You know what this reminds me of, us having breakfast together like this?’ he asked over the gentle hiss of the milk steamer.
‘Uh-uh,’ I replied, playing along – I could process his news later.
He turned a dial, and the hissing ceased. ‘Paris.’
I gasped, then broke into a broad smile. ‘That little flat in the sixth.’
‘Yep. Four storeys up—’
‘No lift but—’
‘A sodding good espresso machine.’
‘So good!’ I exclaimed, bursting out laughing. ‘We didn’t even go downstairs to the local café!’
Julian’s smile softened, a little wistful. ‘We barely left the flat at all, if I recall. That bed was huge, remember?’
‘Jules,’ I chided with a shake of my head. I bit into a second pastry, wiping the corner of my mouth as I chewed.
Careful not to slosh it, Julian slid a coffee cup across the countertop, then lifted his in a toast. ‘To Paris,’ he said.
There was an undercurrent of melancholy behind his eyes, echoes of what had fractured between us. But his toast, a reminder of happier times, cut through the sorrow and I was overcome with affection for him – for my Jules, the man I’d once fallen for.
‘To Paris.’
We’d finished our coffees and Julian was tidying up when I broached the real reason I was there.
‘Uh, Jules?’
He shut the dishwasher and lifted his head. ‘Yes?’
‘I need your help… It seems I might be in a bit of a pickle.’
‘Oh? Well, tell me. You know I’d do anything for you.’