2. Theo
2
Theo
‘ H ow did I know I’d find you here!’ Father barked as he burst into the gym in my penthouse.
I wished he wouldn’t just turn up whenever he wanted. I might’ve had company. Then again, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d brought a woman back to my place.
‘Considering this is where I live’—I lowered the weight on the bar, then sat up—‘the chances of finding me here were pretty high.’
‘Enough of your lip, boy!’ he snapped. ‘I’ve been waiting for an update. Why are you not at the office?’
‘It’s six thirty in the morning. And you know I like to work out first.’
‘The early bird catches the worm. I’ve already had two meetings.’ He puffed out his chest, then adjusted his hand-stitched silk tie.
As always, my father was dressed immaculately. His sharp grey suit was custom-made, his shoes were so shiny you could probably see the reflection from the moon and his white skin was freshly shaved. I’d never seen him with a hint of stubble. Even though he was in his sixties, he still had a full head of hair. That was one of the few traits I hoped I’d inherit from him.
‘ Good for you ,’ I said sarcastically. He hated when I answered back. Or had any kind of opinion that went against his, but he’d been here for two minutes and he was already pissing me off.
‘When you start running the company’—he stepped forward—‘you can’t have any more of these late starts. When I founded Eaves Enterprises forty years ago, I was at my desk by five, every morning. And nothing’s changed. You need to get into the habit now. Forget all this gym nonsense.’
‘Working out is important to me.’ I reached for a towel and wiped the sweat from my face.
‘Those ghastly muscles make you look like a thug.’ He wrinkled his nose like my arms were covered in horseshit. ‘Focus on sharpening your mind, not your body.’
I clenched my jaw as frustration bubbled inside of me. Now I’d have to go on the treadmill again to run off this conversation.
‘I’ll be in by seven thirty.’
Luckily my penthouse wasn’t far from our main office in London’s Mayfair, so once I’d shaved and showered, I’d head straight there.
‘I’ll be on my way to my meeting in Paris by then! Just tell me now, did you get it done?’
‘Like I said when I went to view the site last week, it definitely has a lot of potential, but I couldn’t get inside to see it properly. ’
Sunshine Bay had a lot going for it with its sandy beach and quaint little shops. And the sea views weren’t the only thing that caught my eye.
Although I’d locked horns with that woman over that parking space, it hadn’t escaped my attention that she was incredibly attractive.
‘For God’s sake! Just call the vendor and set up a viewing!’ Father snapped, dragging my thoughts away from how those jeans she wore clung to her curves and how sexy she looked, even though she was annoyed with me.
And I’ll admit. She was right to be pissed off. When I walked away, I felt bad about being rude to her. Especially when I spotted the little old lady smiling at me from the passenger seat.
If it was any other day I would’ve gone back and given her the space. But I was in a bad mood. I’d just had another argument with my father, and he’d dumped a meeting on me at the last minute, which meant I was pushed for time. Hopefully she’d found another space quickly, though.
‘I already did,’ I huffed. I hated when he treated me like an idiot. ‘I’ve been calling him constantly, but he only just replied because he said he had strong interest from another buyer. I’ve set up a meeting for next week.’
‘Who cares if they have another offer? Just get the deal done! That building is in a prime location. Get it right and we could easily sell each apartment for a million. And the profit margins would be outstanding!’ His eyes brightened and he licked his lips with excitement.
Some people got their kicks from sex or alcohol. Father got his rocks off from making more money .
‘I’ll do my best.’ I took a swig of water and threw my towel in the laundry basket.
‘Your best isn’t good enough. Securing this site is the one and only option. You need to prove to me and the board that you’re ready to take over the reins. Make it happen. Understood?’
‘Got it.’
Now that the vendor had returned my call, I wasn’t worried about closing the deal. I’d done my research and he wasn’t some hard-nosed businessman, he was a retired teacher who was happy to sell without using a traditional estate agent. That would make my job even easier.
Eaves Enterprises, my father’s real estate company, had deep pockets, so the offer I planned to bring to the table would blow the other buyer’s bid out of the water.
Of course I’d start low, like Father always taught me. He might have money, but the reason he was so wealthy was because he preferred to spend as little of it as possible.
Just as I was about to get back on the treadmill, the doorbell rang.
‘I’d better get that,’ I said, leaving the room and exhaling. I didn’t know who was ringing this early, but I was grateful for the interruption.
‘Good morning, Mr Eaves!’ A tall blonde in a blouse and knee-length skirt grinned as I opened the door. When I saw her clutching a suit bag, I realised that she was from concierge. ‘I’ve brought your suit, which has been freshly dry cleaned as requested.’
‘Thanks.’ I lifted the top of my T-shirt up to wipe away the sweat running down my neck.
‘ Oh, my! ’ She blushed as her eyes fixated on my stomach .
‘You caught me in the middle of a workout,’ I said, hoping she’d take the hint and leave. She didn’t. ‘Anyway, thanks for this.’
‘You’re welcome! Will you be driving to the office this morning?’
‘Yes.’
‘Will you be using the Porsche, Ferrari or the Range Rover today, sir?’
‘The Porsche will be fine.’
‘Excellent! Please call down when you’re ready to leave and I’ll make sure it’s at the front waiting for you.’
‘Thank you.’ I started to close the door.
‘Oh!’ she jumped in, still not taking the hint. ‘I’ve arranged for the cleaner to come this afternoon, so the penthouse will be sparkling by the time you arrive home this evening.’
‘Fantastic, thank you.’ I plastered on a smile. ‘Now I really must go.’
‘Oh, right.’ Her face fell. ‘Of course. Well, if there’s anything else you need. Anything at all, day or night … please call me and I’ll personally take care of it.’ She tilted her head and wrapped a strand of hair around her finger. ‘I’m Sally.’
‘Noted,’ I said flatly. From the way she was staring, I assumed that when she offered to help, she wasn’t referring to the professional concierge services.
Hard pass.
I had no intention of getting involved with a woman who worked in my apartment building. And definitely not one who was employed by my father.
I was about to close the door, but then I remembered something .
‘Actually, Sally, there is something you can help me with.’
‘Anything!’ She beamed and her eyes widened.
‘Is Harvey working this morning?’
‘The doorman?’ She frowned.
‘Yes.’
‘No, he’s not here until this afternoon.’
‘That’s what I thought. Could you give him this?’ I opened the cupboard in the hallway, pulled out a gift-wrapped box, then handed it to her.
‘Let him know it’s for little Freddy—his son. Tell him I wish him all the best. Just in case I don’t get to see him today and tell him myself.’
During one of our chats last week, Harvey had mentioned that Freddy was going in for an operation tomorrow to have his appendix removed and was scared, so I’d got him a cuddly toy to keep him company whilst he was staying in the hospital.
‘Oh. That’s all you want me to do?’ Sally’s face fell.
‘Please. Thank you. I really must go. Good day.’ I closed the door before she could offer me more of her services.
‘Who was that?’ Father asked as I returned to the gym.
‘Just a woman from the concierge delivering my dry cleaning.’
I wasn’t going to tell him I’d given one of his staff a gift for their son. He’d tell me that it was inappropriate. Father didn’t do anything to help people unless it benefitted him.
Recently I’d suggested the company set up an ongoing donation to the housing and homelessness charity Shelter. I’d had a monthly direct debit set up for years but wanted to do more. It always felt wrong that we sold properties worth millions to the rich whilst some people couldn’t afford to put a roof over their heads. But of course Father declined.
‘Sounded like she was interested in giving you more than just your dry cleaning. You need to be careful of those types of women. They’ll deliberately trap you to get your money. That’s why it’s important to only associate yourself with women of the right calibre. Speaking of which, have you set up that meeting with Penelope?’
‘It’s on my list.’ I groaned inwardly.
He called it a meeting, but it was a date. Penelope was the daughter of one of the richest men in London, which in Father’s eyes automatically made her my perfect match. Whether we had anything in common was irrelevant.
‘Time is of the essence, Theodore! You’re already thirty-three. You need to get married and have a son soon so that by the time he’s gone to Oxford, then done a stint at Harvard Business School, he’ll still have time to learn the ropes and be ready to take over. The longer you leave it, the later you’ll have to retire, and whilst you could continue running the business in your eighties, it’ll be best all round if your son could run it for you.’
I blew out an exasperated breath. I didn’t even know why I was surprised that although it hadn’t been conceived yet, my unborn child already had its whole life mapped out.
Then I reminded myself that it was just the Eaves way . As the first-born son, it’d been the same for me.
I was tempted to ask why my child had to be a boy and not a girl when a woman could run the business just as well but decided against it. Before we debated the gender of the heir to the Eaves empire, I needed to find a woman who’d be willing to have sex and a baby with me.
Well, the finding the woman part had already been organised.
My stomach clenched.
I’d hoped I’d get to find my own wife and choose who became the mother of my children. But Father had chosen Penelope. And as he liked to frequently remind me, he called the shots.
I’d met Penelope a few times. She was pleasant enough. A bit too docile for my liking, but I could do worse. And like Father said earlier, when I took over the business, I’d be at the office from dawn until dusk, so we wouldn’t spend much time together.
The relationship would be transactional. We’d have separate bedrooms and would only sleep together by arrangement so that she could produce the heir that Father so desperately wanted.
She’d live her life and I’d live mine.
Just thinking about it made a shiver shoot down my spine.
Even though I didn’t believe in love, the whole thing sounded so cold and calculated. But if I was going to run the family business successfully, this was just how it had to be.
‘I know.’ I sighed, trying to ignore the bitter taste in my mouth. ‘I’ll set something up with Penelope.’
As Father left, I stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the panoramic views of London and reminded myself how fortunate I was .
I had a job and apartment that most people would kill for. And my collection of sports cars would also make them green with envy.
So why did I feel so empty inside?