Chapter 22
Next morning, Nic travelled to London and spent the day at the office.
Later on, he made his way to his Earl’s Court flat, noticing for the first time how grimy the pavements were and how slow the traffic moved.
A car backfired, belching smoke into an already choked atmosphere.
Whipping off his jacket, he paused outside his own front door.
The white paintwork of the ground-floor apartment was coated in black dust. Someone had thrown a half-eaten apple behind his fence and a fox had been at the bin next door.
He breathed in and surprised himself by longing for the clean lakeside air.
Listening out for urban birdsong, he heard only the rant of a man who’d been on the bottle.
Even though Nic owned the place, he rang the doorbell out of respect.
Then he worried about Theo being mobile enough to open it.
But his brother seemed fine as he let Nic in and led off down the hall, walking slowly but steadily, using crutches to help.
‘Want a cuppa, or shall we crack open the wine? I got a bottle of the Pinot I know you covet. I discovered a new shop three streets down – an Aladdin’s cave of extortionately priced grape juice.’
Nic hadn’t been expecting such a cheerful welcome, and he definitely wasn’t expecting the cheese board, fresh bread and wine laid out on the breakfast bar. Everything was tidy in the kitchen and the dishes were done.
Theo asked him to carry the food. ‘I can get around the flat without crutches, but I’d hate this to be the one time I toppled.
’ As he slowly made his way over, and eased himself into a chair, Nic looked away.
‘Not you too?’ Theo exclaimed. ‘Come on, you’ve seen the leg plenty of times in rehab.
Don’t be polite. Take a good look and then we can ignore it.
And I am fine, before you ask. Climbing into a cab is a marathon each morning, but I’m managing.
Stairs are still almost impossible, even with a technique they taught me.
Things I used to do on automatic pilot, like showering and getting into bed, take a while, but I’m getting there.
That disabled room in Mum’s hotel really helped in those early weeks. ’
‘You’ve bought cushions,’ Nic said.
‘I had to. Your sofa was hard as hell and your spare bed was a cross between an army bunk and an IKEA sale piece. I know you’re pretty minimalist, but still. I needed a few home comforts.’
‘Oh, right, well done…’ Nic tried not to show how surprised he was.
‘What did you expect? A cripple crying in a corner? In other news, I’ve been house hunting and found the perfect flat to rent until mine sells.’
‘But you can’t–’
‘Oh, I can. I chased you out of your home, but you can have it back in a couple of weeks. I will be moving out and moving on.’
‘Oh!’ Nic let out a breath. The truth was, he’d been delighted to open his home to his brother, and couldn’t work out why they hadn’t bought a property together in the first place.
‘I like having you here,’ he said, feeling depressed at the idea of returning to these four walls alone.
Or at all. Despite the cool welcome in the Lakes, he’d been seduced by the life, his initial sense of injustice overtaken by a feeling of contentment.
In the last few days, he’d been enjoying the company of a deer nibbling at his borders and a moor hen inadvisably constructing a nest on the slats of the rickety jetty.
He’d kind of made a friend with the barman and was looking forward to going in for another pint.
And then – Aria. What a complex thing he had going with her.
‘Let’s see if you still like having me here tomorrow after you experience my snoring,’ Theo chuckled, refilling Nic’s glass.
***
Nic rose early. The snoring had failed to materialise, but he had been disturbed by Theo crying out in the night. The limb was gone, but the dreams weren’t? Or else he’d been experiencing more ghost pain.
Without saying anything to Theo, Nic quietly left the flat.
His brother had enough to worry about and it was up to him to get them out of the hole they were in.
Rocking up ten minutes before the arranged time, he grabbed a takeaway coffee and headed down to the dock.
The tide was receding, and the mud was deep.
Nic sipped the drink, feeling the heat on his tongue.
He had no idea why his father chose to meet here when his offices were so close.
But he’d long ago given up trying to work him out and, for the most part, he chose to steer clear.
That wasn’t a difficult task – Dad had left them years ago for a new family.
Giorgos Castellanos was punctual as ever, walking like a man who had all the time in the world.
Dressed in a light-blue blazer, he looked cool and comfortable with life.
Too content maybe, thought Nic, checking out the beer belly.
‘Nicolas.’ Giorgos was one of the few who used his full name.
His father held out his hand as though greeting a business contact.
When Nic shook it, he found it slightly damp, which brought him a little comfort.
Clearly, he hadn’t been the only one sweating it about their meet-up.
As they walked along the river, the two men made a little small talk about politics, a subject his father loved to preach about.
He didn’t ask about Theo, no surprise there, but he was in a nostalgic mood.
‘I thought I’d bring you back here for old times’ sake,’ he said. ‘Thought we could visit one of our special places then grab brunch.’
‘If I chose to visit a special place, a muddy bank of the Thames wouldn’t feature,’ Nic replied. ‘Although I’d be hard pushed to think of anywhere else either.’ He bet Aria could list off a hundred special places she went with her dad.
His father’s mouth formed a thin line. ‘We came for walks here when you visited my office as children, Nicolas. How is your mother?’
Nic scratched his arms in response to non-existent midges. ‘A while back, you mentioned you might be interested in investing in our company.’
‘Theo told you that?’
‘He said you got drunk one night over the summer and bleated on about missing us, offering to throw money at Castle Enterprises if we provided a return on your investment.’
Giorgos sighed. ‘I don’t throw money at anyone without prospects of a decent return.
But it is true I have some time and money on my hands as I head towards an early retirement.
I have had quite a bit of time to reflect on things, actually.
Should I have invested more in my marriage?
Yes, totally. Should I have spent more time with my sons?
Probably.’ Nic couldn’t help bristling at that choice of word.
A father should definitely be around his kids for at least some part of each day.
He’d insist on it when he had his own children.
‘Having said that, Theo told me great things about your company, and I admit some of my short-term goals are to support your mother as well as to help you and your sibling achieve your career goals.’
Nic almost choked. ‘Support Mum? It’s a bit late—’
‘Better late than never. I don’t know if Theo told you I offered to set him up in a relatively senior position for his age. You could come on board too, if you wanted to learn.’
Nic didn’t let his outrage show. ‘He turned down being one of your minions because at my company he is second-in-command.’
‘Not an equal partner, though.’
Nic folded his arms. ‘That wasn’t how it was set up. And what would we learn from you? How to bribe judges, cheat workers, take on cheap labour from abroad and ban unions?’
‘You could learn how to be leaner and stay afloat. And surely Theo is a bit old to be a glorified PA?’
‘Business manager,’ Nic snapped. ‘He’s no one’s assistant and no fool. I didn’t tell him I was coming to see you, as I knew he would disapprove.’
‘So, why are you here, Nicolas, if I’m so bad at running my business? From the little information you shared on the phone yesterday, I’m guessing you’re in trouble financially.’
‘I don’t want a handout,’ Nic spat, all buttons successfully pushed by his self-satisfied father.
‘That’s good, because I’m not offering you one. You spoke about an investment opportunity.’
Nic considered walking away, but this was a prime chance to get the company on a stable footing.
So, he swallowed his pride and made the offer he’d come to make.
‘As I outlined on the phone, we’re developing a luxury village in a beautiful area.
Its backdrop is one of the world’s most iconic landscapes. ’
‘Fitzrovia?’ his dad sniggered.
‘No.’ Nic shook his head at the weak joke.
‘And not Barnes or Pimlico, either. We have been lucky enough to purchase swathes of land in Cumbria, with a lake view, but far enough outside the National Park boundary to be free from the tightest restrictions. I am confident it will be profitable and want to expand the concept, but other bidders are coming in and pushing land prices up. We’ve re-invested our spare capital into other building projects and need an injection of cash urgently, and as you have a varied portfolio—’
‘Did you bring supporting literature?’
Nic had spreadsheets ready to go, but for now he pulled a one-off brochure from his bag. He hoped this hot-off-the-press publicity might pull his father into the dream.
Giorgos took the booklet. ‘In principle this is interesting to me. Let’s find somewhere to eat and you can talk me through the figures.’
***
As Nic made his way back on the Tube later that day, he noticed his shoes were covered in the kind of claggy grey mud you only find on the Thames – no comparison to a dusting of golden-brown earth from his garden in the Lakes.
But the meeting had been a success with his father tentatively giving his involvement a thumbs-up.
Now Nic just needed to convert that into a solid yes.
The first thing he did was invite Giorgos to come and check out the site, as no human could fail to be captivated by the beauty of the lake.
He also mentioned the Spring into Summer Swim as he knew Dad would be impressed with seeing the Castle name all over the signage and badges.
When Nic thought about the swim, he pictured Aria in a wetsuit, her hair spiralling down her graceful neck, blinking away the water on her eyelashes.
It sent a flicker of interest through his body that even a trudge home from the underground couldn’t extinguish.
He checked his phone to see if she’d replied to his offer but found only a message from Theo asking him to bring in a takeaway after work.
He instantly felt guilty. The cloak-and-dagger nature of the meeting with their father disgusted him, and he felt like he’d sold out.
Was Aria right about his moral compass being way off?
Perhaps he’d lost sight of what true north was. He needed to get back there asap.