44. KATE
44
KATE
“ Y our phone is ringing.” Charlie stands at his desk, hands on his hips, peering over at me.
I glance at the handset. 'Mum’ flashes on the screen. “I know.”
“Are you gonna answer it? Because your ringtone is really annoying.”
I roll my eyes and pick up the phone, standing and moving over towards the window.
“Mum. Everything okay?”
“Where’s your brother? I can’t get hold of him.”
Typical Mum. I glance over to Jack’s desk but he’s not there.
“I have no idea. If I see him, I’ll tell him to call you. I’ve got to go.”
My thumb is poised over the screen to end the call when she screeches. “Wait. Don’t you dare hang up on me. The darnedest thing just happened.” Mum pauses and I hear men’s voices in the background. Where is she?
“All your Dad’s art just showed up,” she continues. “They’re unloading it now.”
“Who is?”
“A lorry turned up. This great big man knocked on the door. Built like one of those men who live in the gym. Messy blond hair. Said he had instructions to unload here.”
“Instructions from whom?”
“Nico.”
My mind spirals. How on earth has Nico managed to recover the stolen art? I didn’t even know he knew about it.
Mum’s talking to someone else, squealing with excitement. I can’t make out what she’s saying, but suddenly her voice is loud and clear. “My diamonds! The jewellery! It’s all here too. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Thank you ?
“Are you talking to me?” I ask.
Mum’s exasperated sigh is a harsh blast. “Of course I am.”
“I didn’t do anything. This has nothing to do with me.”
“Honestly, Kate. You can be so stupid sometimes. When you told me you were dating Nico, it sounded so outlandish that I assumed you were lying. That you’d made it up for some bizarre reason. But this… Nico tracking Curtis down and returning everything without a word… gosh.” She sighs heavily. “He’s done that because of you, hasn’t he?”
The pulse in my fingertips beats hard against the phone, and my body is suddenly far too hot.
“So, yes,” Mum continues. “I think I do owe thanks to you. And I’m sorry I ever doubted that Nico cares about you.”
I listen to Mum blathering and weeping tears of joy for a few more minutes before I hang up, but my mind is on Nico and the last thing I said to him.
You do not get to choose when this is over… leave me the fuck alone .
Why did I say it? I tell myself it’s because the last thing I needed was Nico telling me more lies.
But did I mean it?
The only thing I do know is that I definitely didn’t expect him to actually do what I asked. When I think back on our relationship, it’s hard to remember a time when Nico asked me how I felt or what I wanted to do before going right ahead and doing what he wanted, and demanding I do that too.
Since the presentation, I’ve been waiting to hear something from him… anything. But there’s been nothing but radio silence.
I thought it meant he didn’t care. It didn’t occur to me that he might, finally, be doing exactly as I’d asked him.
I leap out of my seat so suddenly that Charlie stands, too. “Everything okay?”
“Yup. I just need to…” I don’t finish my sentence before I run through the office, slamming my hand on the button to call the lifts when I reach them. The doors open so slowly, I feel like I might die before they do. When they edge apart, I slip in and hit the button for the twentieth floor.
I need to see Nico, right now, before it starts to seem like a bad idea.
When the lift pings, I step out into the calm lobby. There’s soft music playing and Nico’s PA, with her pristine blonde hair, is tapping away at her computer behind the desk.
I rush over to her, practically slinging my upper body over the desk. She leans back, a mildly appalled look on her face. “Miss Lansen?”
“Yes. Hi. I need to see Mr. Hawkston. Nico. Now. Is he free?”
She glances at the other woman behind the desk, and I’m sure I glimpse a barely disguised eye-roll. “He’s not here. He’s in New York until the middle of next week.”
My adrenaline high crashes so hard and fast I nearly fall to my knees. “Not here?”
“No. Like I said, he’ll be back next week. Can I take a message?”
I stare at her, unable to process what she’s telling me.
“Kate?”
I spin to find Matt Hawkston standing behind me. He looks so like Nico that confusion swells my brain.
“Perhaps I can help?” he offers.
I shake my head. “No. It can wait.”
“Okay.” He stares through narrowed lashes, like he’s assessing if I’m really all right. Then his features relax. “Great news about your spa project though, eh? Bet that feels like a huge relief. Great result. Congrats.”
“What about the spa project?” I ask, more confused than ever.
“You didn’t hear? David Webster called in this morning. Spoke to your brother. The Argentum board had a re-vote. They were so impressed by your presentation, they overturned the previous decision. It’s back on the table.” He pauses. “Listen, I’m on my way out. But give Jack a call. He’ll talk it through.”
Matt disappears down the corridor, and for a moment I don’t move, wondering how everything in my life just did a complete one-eighty.
I pull my phone from my pocket and fire off a message to Jack.
Me: Where are you? I need to talk.
He responds in less than thirty seconds.
Jack: St Paul’s. Meet me on the Millennium Bridge? I have an hour before my next meeting.
The sky overhead is thick with cloud, but there’s a dense heat that hangs like fog in the air. I walked here so fast I’m sweating, and my clothes stick to me in places they shouldn’t. We’re halfway across the bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral behind us, the Tate Modern opposite.
I lean on the railing, glancing down into the murky water of the Thames below. Jack stands beside me. There aren’t many other people around, probably because of the sky overhead threatening to break the week-long heatwave we’ve endured.
Jack has just finished catching me up to speed, filling me in on the links between Curtis and Martin Brooks, and how the events all played out. I search my phone for the photo I took of the graffitied van at mum’s drinks party. Now that I look closer, I can almost recognise the handwriting as Charlie’s from all the scribbled notes he takes in meetings and leaves lying over his desk. But I could be imagining it; foisting my new knowledge onto the photo.
“It’s not bad,” Jack says, nodding appreciatively at the image.
I arch a brow. “It’s an erect dick. It’s hardly a work of art.”
Jack laughs, leaning his elbows on the railing, his hands clasped. He lowers his head, still chuckling.
“You’re sure he did it?” I ask. “Martin Brooks orchestrated the theft of Dad’s art collection? And everything else?”
“Yeah. Irrefutable proof. He had some serious demons. Absolutely plagued by the idea that Dad never paid for his crimes, so we ought to instead. All of us. Mum, me, you, even the Hawkstons.”
I can’t get my head around how someone can be so bitter and twisted.
“Although…” Jack continues, drawing me from my reflections. “It was a bit unfortunate that Curtis was also sleeping with Matt’s wife. That seems to have been more coincidence than anything else.”
I can’t keep the shock from my face. “Curtis was sleeping with Gemma Hawkston? At the same time he was sleeping with Mum?”
“Yeah. They met at my birthday party. Torrid love affair, supposedly.”
“Poor Matt,” I say. “He looked fine when I saw him earlier.”
“He’s not about to spill his heart to you in the corridor, is he?” Jack shrugs. “I think he wanted a way out for a while, to be honest. He’ll file for divorce.”
“What a mess.”
“It’s very unfortunate all round,” Jack says. “Mum’s devastated. She thought Curtis was the one, but all along it was a set up. Martin was paying him; they were going to split the proceeds of everything they took from the house. Had a buyer lined up for the Stephen Condar piece and everything. I’m surprised we recovered it all in time.”
“About that… Mum said everything was returned today. And that Nico did it.”
“He did. He sorted everything.”
My throat constricts, and my chest compresses. I don’t want to think about what Nico had to do to ‘sort it.’ “What about Martin? What happens now?”
“He’s resigning from Argentum. He’d been blackmailing David Webster, among others. That’s how he had them swing the vote to renege on the spa deal. I don’t think we’ll be hearing from him.” Jack turns, leaning back against the railing. Behind him, the Thames looks dark and threatening.
“I can’t believe Nico fixed it all.” My heart is beating like mad, knowing there’s still a question I need to ask. “Why?”
Specks of rain begin to fall and thunder rumbles overhead.
“For you. I think he did it for you.”
Relief floods me; hearing it from Mum is one thing, but from Jack it means so much more. He knows Nico in a way Mum never will. “That’s what Mum said as well.”
“Occasionally she knows what she’s talking about.” His gaze drifts like he’s thinking about something else, then he re-focuses on me. “I’m okay with it, you know… If you want to date Nico.”
“I don’t.”
“Hmm.” He inspects my face, I assume for any sign of a lie. I don’t know what he finds there, but he concedes, “Fine.” His cheeks deflate as he blows out an exhale. “I’m going to take Mum away. Not for long. But I want to take her mind off things. Do you want to come with us?”
God, the idea of nursing mum through heartbreak sounds horrendous. “Sure. I could do that.”
Jack peers at me.
“What?”
“You look like I asked you to shovel shit.”
I press my lips together to contain a smile. “That obvious, huh?” He tilts his head in agreement but says nothing to reprimand my reluctance. "You’re too good to her," I add. "She doesn’t deserve you."
Jack grimaces. “I know she can be difficult, but she’s the only parent we have. People can be gone like that.” He snaps his fingers, and the spark of sadness in his eyes hits me in the heart. He's thinking about Dad . He collects himself and says, “Try not to let her get to you. What matters is what you think, and you can be proud of everything you've achieved. I know I am, and if Mum could see beyond the end of her own nose, she would be, too." He grins, teasing me as he says, "You're an incredible woman, Kate."
I wince at the reminder of Nico's words in this context, but Jack has the decency to ignore my embarrassment.
"Look, you don’t have to come," he continues. "But if you want to take some time off after everything that’s happened, say the word. I’ll book us all in. Somewhere plush.”
“Plush?”
Jack rolls his eyes. “Oh, come on. She got robbed and duped and heartbroken all at once. I’ll pay for the lot. Your own room and everything. Take her for a few massages and treatments or whatever she wants. Whatever you want.”
“Is this you looking out for the heartbroken women in the family, then?”
His eyebrow flies up. “Are you heartbroken?”
I swallow, unable to meet his eye. “Nothing a good massage won’t sort.”
He looks at me like he doesn’t believe me. “You know, Nico’s not a bad guy. Everything he did was for us. To save the company, to protect Dad, protect you. If I’d had the money back then, I’d have bailed Dad out, but I didn’t. I had to go cap in hand to Nico. And you know what? He didn’t even blink before he agreed to help. It cost a lot of money to repay all those debts.”
“Not a lot when you’re a billionaire.” Even as the words leave my mouth, I hate myself for speaking them, for being so ungrateful, so bitter . I don’t want to be that person, holding tight to a grudge that will only eat away at me.
Suddenly, I hear Nico’s voice in my mind.
I’m yours, Kate. Do you want me?
A cloying feeling stirs in my lungs, and my next breath doesn’t come easy. God, how I want to go back in time, to that moment when he was mine.
“I know you don’t mean that,” Jack says. “It doesn’t matter how much money someone has, they’re never obligated to help someone out. Never . He didn’t do it because he could, he did it because he cared.” Jack stares at me, a world of emotion in his eyes when he adds, “He told me he loved you.”
My heart clenches, and a lingering unease settles inside me, like a bad aftertaste on the back of my tongue. I’ve made a mistake. I have to make it right with Nico.
I must have been silent too long, lost in a whirl of memories, because Jack’s voice crashes in like a moon-landing. I tune in just in time to hear the tail-end of the question I missed. “Do you?” he asks.
“Huh? What?”
“Nico. Do you love him?”
Do I ?
I open my mouth, but the sound that escapes from between my parted lips is not a word. It’s a low, pitiful, aching noise.
My pulse roars in my ears. My vision blurs and my cheeks are wet, and I don’t know if it’s tears or rain. Jack’s arms are suddenly around me and I’m breaking my heart.
Nico did everything for me, for my family. And I screamed at him for it. I flash back to smashing the picture of my father that he had framed. Shame floods me, choking my throat and forcing yet more tears to stream down my face. But the pain of being lied to, of knowing that every time I was with him he was keeping the truth about my father from me... that hurts .
I cling tighter to Jack, nuzzling my tear-streaked face into his coat. After a few minutes, the sobs subside.
“Hey,” he says, and I tilt my face up to look at him. “Does this mean you’ve forgiven me?”
I clench a fist and thump him on the chest. “God, you’re a prick sometimes.” I laugh through the heartache, because I do forgive him. Of course, I forgive him. And if I can forgive Jack, I can forgive Nico, too.