Chapter 14
The Darlington dress code: Men are required to wear a jacket and tie in our in-house restaurant, Darlington Dining.
Women are expected to dress elegantly. In all other areas of the hotel, tasteful attire is required.
Please note that shorts, jeans, trainers, and sportswear are permitted only when leaving the hotel, and should not be worn within it.
The Darlington house rules
Henry
Kate appeared to still be asleep. Not a sound came from the guest room.
I knew this because I’d been standing at my kitchen counter for the past five minutes, sipping my coffee and listening to the silence.
I’d hoped to see Kate before going to the office, but waking her was out of the question.
It was probably the first time she’d slept in a proper bed in weeks, maybe even months, and I didn’t want to rob her of that.
Our conversation the night before had kept me awake for a while.
Especially what she’d said about homeless shelters and the fact that she was always hungry.
It was unimaginable to me. Although we hardly knew each other, I couldn’t shake the ridiculous urge to ease her troubles, simply because I could.
But perhaps the feeling was also driven by the guilt that had been gnawing at me for months.
I wasn’t my dad, and I was disgusted by what he had done to those women.
Yet because I ran the hotel now, people seemed to think I was on his side.
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to pack my bags and leave as Logan had done years ago.
The hotel was part of me. It was my home, a place tied to my most cherished childhood memories.
I wanted to save it, even if that meant appearing to support my dad, which couldn’t be farther from the truth.
If it were up to me, he’d have no say in anything.
But he had shares in the hotel, and given the recent drama and media attention, now wasn’t the right time to force him out of the business.
I swore silently and rubbed my forehead.
It was too early for these kinds of thoughts.
I gulped down the rest of my coffee and decided to leave Kate a message.
I tore off a note from the magnetic notepad on the fridge and hoped that she’d be able to decipher my handwriting.
Logan was the only person who had no trouble reading it, and he joked that it was his god-given talent.
I put the note by the sink and hoped that Kate would find it.
After unplugging my phone from the charger, I made my way down to the morning meeting about the Pearl Gala.
When I checked my emails, I saw that I had received several in the night.
Unfortunately, none of them were spam I could simply delete.
I resolved to reply to them later and read my personal texts as I walked. I had a new one from Olivia:
Olivia:
You listened to me.
Me:
What do you mean?
Olivia:
You met up with Kate.
Me:
Who told you that?
Olivia:
James. Ethan told him.
Me:
And how would Ethan know?
Olivia:
No idea. But is it true?
I resisted the urge to swear. So Mr. Hammond had recognised Kate after all.
And if Olivia already knew, it was only a matter of hours before the entire hotel did too.
By the end of the day at the latest, every member of staff would know that Kate had spent the night with me.
Great. Discretion and privacy were apparently too much to ask for when you were a Darlington.
Me:
Yes, I brought her to the hotel yesterday.
Olivia:
Oooh!
Me:
It’s not oooh-worthy. I just didn’t want something to happen to her in the storm.
Olivia:
Awww, you were worried about her.
Me:
Looks like it.
Olivia:
You like her!
Me:
I just wanted to help.
Olivia:
Sure you did. And it’s pure coincidence that she’s super cute and totally your type.
Me:
I don’t have time for this.
Olivia:
So you’re not denying that you like her?
Me:
I don’t not like her.
“Henry!”
Against my better judgement, I stopped. The shrill way my mother called my name, insistently and an octave too high, was a good indicator of what she wanted to talk about.
I turned to see her striding towards me in her high heels.
She was ten years younger than my dad, but whereas his age showed, she looked a lot younger than her fifty-two years, thanks to the cosmetic work she’d had done.
Not to mention the considerable time and money she, like Olivia, dedicated to maintaining her appearance.
She dyed her hair blond as soon as there was even a hint of grey, and her weekly facials were a sacred ritual.
As were the green smoothies in the morning, the mud masks in the evening, and the afternoon yoga sessions to stay in shape.
If my dad took a leaf out of her book, he might be more balanced and less of a bad-tempered jerk.
“Good morning.”
My mum stopped in front of me. She was a tall woman, and thanks to her heels, our eyes were almost level. “Don’t you have something to say to me?”
I smiled. “You look lovely today.”
She clicked her tongue scornfully. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“Do I?” I replied with feigned innocence, refusing to give her leverage. She could bring up the INsider article if she wanted, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to make the first move.
“The photos, Henry! I saw them.”
“Oh, the photos. They weren’t particularly flattering. It was a bit of a shock, because usually the camera loves my face.”
“Could you be serious for once? What were you thinking?” my mum demanded, her voice dripping with indignation, as if the photos showed not Kate and me at lunch, but the two of us gleefully shooting at chained-up puppies.
My smile faded. “I don’t get the issue. I had lunch with a friend.”
My mum shook her head uncomprehendingly.
“My god, Henry. Did you look at the woman? Did you see what she was wearing? And that dreadful restaurant! What will people think? Let alone the press! Barbara called to ask if we’re having financial problems. And Margaret wanted to know if the photos show you buying drugs. ”
“No, I always meet my dealer in Hyde Park,” I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Henry! This is a serious issue. Are you sleeping with her?”
“No.”
“Thank god. It’s enough that your father is the way he is.”
I gritted my teeth. If Kate and I were ever going to have sex, it would be consensual, unlike dad’s predatory escapades.
But I kept the thought to myself. Things were hard enough as it was for my mum.
Half the world knew that my dad had cheated on her with much younger women—and without their consent. I didn’t have to rub it in.
“What do you want me to say?” I asked instead, eager to end the discussion. “I’m not happy about the article either, but it exists. I can’t change that.”
My mum thought for a moment. “Let me set up a date for you, and the press will see that you’re not involved with that woman. I heard Mr. Walsh’s daughter is back in town. She’s apparently been single for a few months, and she’s open to a new relationship.”
“No.”
“Why not? If you were with a respectable woman . . .”
“I said no,” I interrupted, biting back the urge to defend Kate. She wasn’t a worse person than us, or worth less, just because she couldn’t afford expensive clothes, but my mum would never understand that. At least she wasn’t pushing me to date Olivia again.
“OK, but promise me you won’t see her again.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s in my apartment right now.”
My mother’s expression was a mix of disappointment and barely contained fury. “You just said you’re not sleeping with her.”
“I’m not. She’s just a friend.”
“A friend,” she repeated, as if she wasn’t familiar with the word. I wasn’t sure whether her blank face was deliberate or the result of her latest Botox treatment. “Couldn’t you have found yourself a classier friend? This is Logan all over again.”
“Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“It sounded like one to me,” I said, deciding it was high time to end the conversation. “We should get going. Vivian and Rakesh must be waiting for us, and we have a lot to talk through.”
My mum pursed her lips thoughtfully, as if she had something to add. But instead she nodded, and we made our way to the conference room. My mum was on the Pearl Gala organisation team too.
The TV was on. Vivian and Rakesh barely noticed our arrival, their attention glued to a morning show. The host was interviewing William Hunt, a self-proclaimed expert on high society.
“What do you think his strategy is?” the host enquired. Photos of Kate and myself appeared on the screen as William began to answer. Damn.
“It could be a distraction tactic, to draw attention away from the fact that a solid indictment against Richard Darlington has been submitted to the court,” William replied.
The photo collage disappeared, and the moderator and William reappeared.
“It could also be a message to Olivia Asterdam: I don’t need you.
No one knows if they are currently on or off, and Olivia was recently spotted dancing with another man at a party.
That must have been quite the blow to Henry’s ego. ”
The host nodded, clearly impressed by William’s response.
She let it sink in for a moment while she sorted her flashcards.
“It’s pretty unusual for someone like Henry to date a woman who’s so outside of his usual circles.
No one seems to know who she is, at any rate.
As an expert, can you say how likely it is that this unknown woman is Henry’s one true love? ”
“It’s very unlikely. It would—”
“Hey, I wanted to hear that!” Rakesh protested as I turned off the TV.
“You shouldn’t be watching that nonsense. Anyway, it wasn’t a date. Kate was hungry, so we got food,” I retorted, taking my place at the head of the table. Vivian took a seat, and my mum perched on the empty chair beside her.