Chapter Three #2
For people who lived in his rarefied world, money was merely a means to get whatever you wanted. Nothing was impossible. Not even hiring a convenient girlfriend for a few weeks. So that he could gain more money and success.
In a way Hope felt sorry for him. He seemed to have a pretty soulless existence outside his obvious ambition to rule the world.
But then, she knew pity was the last thing he would accept.
He probably pitied her for her meagre existence and her paltry effort to retain some sense of pride by not letting him buy her a house outright.
As if that could disguise the fact that she came from nothing and no one.
And then she lambasted herself for thinking like that. Just because she didn’t know who her parents were, it didn’t make her any less worthy than someone like him, whose lineage went back into the times of the Greek gods.
Because looking the way he did, he was definitely descended from a—
Ping!
Hope looked at her phone and saw another message: Hope. Are you there? A.
Before she could even reach for her phone it started ringing. She picked it up. ‘Hello?’
‘Hope.’
His voice, low and accented, right in her ear. It felt almost erotic after those dreams last night. Hope gripped the phone. ‘Good morning, Axel.’
‘Have you come to a decision?’
Hope stood up. She was still in her dressing gown. It was very early. Just after dawn. ‘You’re impatient, aren’t you?’
‘I’m not used to waiting.’
Hope huffed a little laugh. He was honest at least. And then before she could change her mind, and feeling as if she were stepping off the edge of something into a massive void, she said, ‘Yes, OK. I’ll do it. Be your…fake girlfriend.’
‘Good, I’m pleased to hear it. I’ll send Derek over to you. He’ll be there to pick you up within the hour.’
‘An hour?’ Hope squeaked. She’d kind of thought that he might say, OK, see you in a week. Or, I’ll have my assistant get in touch…
‘Yes, there’s a lot to do if we’re going to make this convincing. There’s an event this evening that we can attend, and while we’re doing this I think it’s a good idea for you to stay at my property.’
‘Now, hang on a second—’
‘It’ll be entirely above board. You’ll have your own private suite of rooms and my property is fully staffed.
I don’t intend for you to feel uncomfortable.
This is purely for practical reasons. We will also need to travel, which I’m assuming won’t be an issue with documentation as your work already involves travel? ’
‘Um, no, I mean, yes…that’s all in order.’
‘Then you don’t need anything but your passport. I’ll be here to meet you when you arrive.’
And then he was gone. The call terminated. Hope lifted the device away from her ear and looked at it. A whirlwind had just happened and she was in the eye of the storm.
She couldn’t stop the rush of butterflies in her gut even as she belatedly registered the way he’d said there’s a lot to do if we’re going to make this convincing. She couldn’t really be insulted. He was right. She had no clue about his world.
Had she just made the most rash decision of her life? Undoubtedly. Was it ethically questionable to transgress the boundaries like this? Without a doubt. Did she regret it? She waited a second for regret to hit, but it didn’t.
Stifling a little semi-hysterical giggle, she realised she now had less than an hour to pack up her life for an indefinite period of time, and raced for the shower.
* * *
‘We’re here, Miss Smith.’
Hope didn’t need to be told. She looked out of the car window to see a grand white stucco house. Three stories. It was on a quiet leafy residential street in the kind of London neighbourhood Hope had no business visiting. There had been a security hut at the entrance to the street.
The house was set back behind formidable-looking gates and there was a wide generous area in front of the house with enough room for a bus to do a circle.
Derek opened her door and Hope got out, feeling seriously intimidated. There were steps leading up to a massive front door painted in immaculate glossy black.
Then the door opened and a woman in a black and white uniform appeared, smiling and holding out her hand. ‘Good morning, Miss Smith. I’m Rachel, Mr Drakos’s housekeeper.’
Hope shook her hand and said, ‘Please, call me Hope.’ She immediately felt shabby even though she’d dressed in what she considered one of her smartest outfits—a pair of slim-fitting straight trousers in black and a sleeveless cream silk shirt, paired with flat open-toe sandals—but now she realised she could be mistaken for staff.
It was late summer and still muggy and she could feel a bead of sweat at the small of her back.
‘Very well, Hope, come with me. I’ll show you to your rooms.’
Hope hesitated. She’d packed a small wheelie case, but even as she registered that thought she saw Derek take it out of the boot and almost winced at its shabbiness just as a young man appeared from seemingly nowhere and Derek handed it to him.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Rachel cheerfully. ‘It’ll be delivered to your room.’
Hope dutifully followed the woman into a black-and-white-marble-floored hall. In the centre was a circular table and in the middle of that was a huge vase containing a profusion of colourful blooms.
Hope stopped in her tracks. ‘The flowers are stunning.’
Rachel said sotto voce, ‘The boss usually never has flowers in the house but for some reason he ordered them first thing this morning.’
Hope’s insides felt squishy. Was that because of her? Well, he had ended up wearing a flower she’d put in a vase. And also, how on earth could you order flowers literally within the last two hours and have them here?
A door opened on the far side of the hall and a slim woman in a suit with her hair back in a sleek chignon came out, pulling the door behind her again but not before Hope had caught a glimpse of a long table and people in suits and not before she’d heard the familiar deep timbre of a voice.
His voice. It sent something else through her, like a frisson of electricity.
‘Hope? This way.’
Hope came out of her stupor and hurried after the housekeeper, who was walking up a grand set of stairs leading off the hall. They were carpeted, a deep almost silver-grey colour, and Hope’s feet sank into the luxurious pile. She whispered at Rachel’s back, ‘Should I take off my shoes?’
The woman glanced back at her. ‘Oh, that’s not necessary.’
No, because some staff member would probably be right behind her hoovering in her wake.
She had to hurry to keep up with Rachel’s brisk walk as she led her down a long corridor and then opened a door and stood back to let Hope precede her inside. Hope couldn’t help gasping. She’d never been in a five-star hotel but this was how she imagined it would be.
It was a vast space with a four-poster canopied bed on one side, dressed in the most elegant pale linens. The decor was classic and understated in earthy muted shades. Two doors off the bedroom led into a bathroom and adjoining dressing-room.
There was also an area with a couch, armchairs and a TV.
A coffee table laden with hardback photographic books and current magazines.
One of Hope’s guilty pleasures was glossy magazines but she could rarely afford them.
She was lucky if she got some left behind on a flight.
Her mouth drooled. And then drooled even more when she saw that the bathroom was stuffed with an iconic beauty brand’s toiletries.
The kind of stuff you’d find only in a spa.
An open bay window looked out over the immaculate lawns at the back of the house. You could almost be fooled into thinking you were in the centre of the countryside. It was quiet. Only the sound of chirping birds.
‘Your suitcase will be delivered presently. Can I get you any refreshments?’
Hope looked at Rachel, who didn’t seem to notice that Hope felt as if she’d just been beamed down from another planet. ‘Um, maybe just some water?’
‘Of course, I’ll have one of the staff bring some up. Please, make yourself comfortable. Mr Drakos said to let you know that he’s in a meeting at the moment but he’ll be with you as soon as he’s free. He’ll fill you in then.’ Rachel left.
Fill her in on what, exactly? wondered Hope.
She was beginning to also wonder if in fact she’d made a massive mistake.
This felt very real all of a sudden. There was a soft knock on the door and Hope opened it, half expecting to see Axel, but it was a young girl in a similar uniform to the housekeeper, black trousers and a dark grey polo shirt.
It was only now that Hope noticed the insignia stitched into the fabric of the shirt.
She recognised the Drakos Solutions logo—a serpent intertwined with the letters D and S—because it had been on the private jet.
The girl had a tray in her hands with bottles of water and glasses. Sparkling and still. Hope took it from her. ‘Thank you so much.’
‘If you need anything else just use the phone by the bed.’
‘Thank you.’ Hope brought the tray in and put it down on the coffee table and poured herself a glass of water, taking a big gulp. Maybe that might restore some sense of reality. But then she figured she might need something much stronger than water for that, and she wasn’t much of a drinker.
There was another knock at the door and it was a different girl with her suitcase.
Hope took it and tried not to feel as though she were sullying the perfect decor with her battered case.
She brought it into the dressing-room and opened it.
Her belongings looked very meagre against the pristine backdrop.
A couple of dresses, skirts, jeans and a pair of shorts.
Some shirts. Trainers. Sandals. Nightclothes. Toiletries.
Another knock on the bedroom door. Hope went out fully expecting to see another solicitous staff member so it took her a second to realise she was looking directly at a waistcoated chest. A very broad chest.