43. Theo
43
Theo
‘ C ongratulations!’ I shook my business associate and friend Nico’s hand.
He’d just purchased the entire development of apartments that I was overseeing in Paris before they’d been finished. They’d be added to his already extensive real estate portfolio in the city. No wonder he was a billionaire.
‘ Merci .’ He slapped my back affectionately. ‘As always, it is a pleasure to do business with you.’
I’d met Nico a few years ago when he’d purchased another development in Paris that Eaves Enterprises oversaw.
Despite all his money and success, I always found him refreshingly down to earth and we’d hit it off straight away.
Since then we’d kept in touch, mainly through voice notes a few times a year.
‘We should celebrate!’ I smiled. ‘Are you free tonight? If you already have plans with Cassie and Nicola, I totally understand. ’
Considering he was running a huge empire, Nico was probably busy. Especially now he had his wife and daughter. But I had nothing to lose by asking.
‘Cassie has taken Nicola to London to visit her family. I have a meeting tonight, but it is informal, so you are welcome to join us.’
‘I’d love that, merci .’
Once I got back to my apartment, I couldn’t wait to get undressed.
It was funny. For years I’d worn a suit and tie every day to work. But after staying in Sunshine Bay, I’d got used to a more relaxed look. Now wearing a suit felt like being in a straitjacket.
After showering, then changing into jeans and a light jumper, I got a taxi to Nico’s.
When the lift doors opened out into his impressive penthouse, Nico was standing there, dressed in smart blue jeans and a crisp white shirt. His dark hair was cut to perfection, which was no surprise considering he also ran a hairdressing empire.
‘Good to see you.’ He smiled. ‘Come. There is someone I would like you to meet.’
When I stepped into the living room, my eyes widened. Sat on the sofa was the actor, Liam Stone.
‘Hey.’ He stood up. ‘I’m Liam.’
It was decent of him to introduce himself, but unless they’d been living on Mars, I’d imagine there weren’t many people who wouldn’t recognise him.
He had short dark hair and tanned skin, and up until recently there were billboards of him everywhere with his top off either promoting his latest action film or advertising designer underwear .
I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I’d even bought a few issues of the fitness magazines he’d appeared on to read about his exercise regime so I could pick up some tips.
‘Hi, I’m Theo.’ I shook his hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’
‘Theo runs one of the most prestigious real estate companies in Europe. But most importantly, he is a good man,’ Nico said. Technically I didn’t run Eaves Enterprises, but that was typical of Nico. He always had kind words to say about people. ‘And Liam has written a wonderful TV series which we are working on together.’
‘Getting your fingers into more pies, I see?’ I smiled.
‘ Oui . You are lucky that I have an English wife. Otherwise I would not understand this strange pie phrase!’ He laughed.
Nico’s chef, Fabien, invited us to the dining room, and the three of us chatted easily over dinner.
Liam told me more about the TV series, and Nico discussed how much he was loving family life, so much so that he video-called Cassie and his adorable little daughter, Nicola, just to kiss them both goodnight on the phone, which I had to admit was sweet.
After that, don’t ask me how, but somehow he got me talking about my time in Sunshine Bay and what led me to be shipped off to manage the development in Paris rather than from London.
I’d probably revealed a lot more than I should, but I knew that I could trust Nico, and Liam seemed like a trustworthy guy too. If Nico vouched for him, that was good enough for me.
‘So basically, your dad sent you here because he wants to keep you away from the woman you’ve fallen for?’ Liam asked .
‘Yes. And of course he’s still dangling the CEO carrot in front of me.’
Now that the deal had been done in Paris and I’d made my father a load of money in the process, he had no reason to deny me the position. I’d be speaking to him tomorrow and then I was expecting him to announce that he’d be recommending to the board that I officially took over.
‘You do not need him.’ Nico shook his head. ‘You are very good at what you do. And forgive me, but your father is too… how do you say? Brash? He is not the kind of man that I like to do business with. You should start your own company.’
The thought had crossed my mind, but as much as I wasn’t my father’s greatest fan, I knew how hard he’d worked to build the business, and the idea of competing against him seemed wrong.
‘I’m not sure that’s what I want.’
‘Give it time,’ Nico said. ‘The path you are destined to follow professionally will come to you. And in the meantime, if I can help you with something, tell me.’
‘Thank you.’
‘And what about this woman who you like, this Jess?’ Nico raised his eyebrow.
‘It’s difficult…’
Two glasses of the most exquisite wine later, I’d talked them through how we’d got off to a bumpy start and how, despite our attempts to fight it, our relationship had developed.
‘Sounds very familiar.’ Liam took a sip of his scotch.
‘It does.’ Nico smiled. ‘My wife, Cassie, hated me when we first met. She used to call me a dickhead!’
‘No way?’ I laughed .
‘It is true,’ Nico replied.
‘And my girlfriend used to be my best friend, then we had a major fallout when we were teenagers and ended up hating each other too.’
‘So what changed?’
‘Long story. Our romance is enough to fill a book!’ Liam grinned. ‘But you miss Jess, right?’
‘So much.’
Jess still occupied my thoughts as soon as I woke up, whilst I was at work and of course at night.
Even here, hundreds of miles away, whenever I saw a bookshop, library or anyone reading a book or eating an apple, I thought of her.
Every day I logged on to the library’s social media page, hoping to see a photo of her.
And ever since she’d started working with the architect I’d recommended, I’d been checking in with him to make sure that everything was running smoothly.
As Nico topped up my wine glass, I went on to explain how I was keeping my distance to allow her to focus on the library opening and that I planned to call her in a few weeks once it was up and running.
‘Wait. What’s the name of the library again?’ Liam frowned.
‘The Romance Library. It’s in a town called Sunshine Bay. Why? Have you heard of it?’
‘It’s opening next week, right?’
‘Yes.’ Now I was the one who was frowning. It wasn’t normal for a world-famous actor to be familiar with the opening of a romance library in a small seaside town.
‘That’s crazy! My girlfriend’s opening that library!’
‘She is? ’
I briefly remembered seeing Liam and Mia on the cover of a magazine in the supermarket, but I didn’t read gossip magazines, so I wasn’t aware of what she did for a living. Maybe she was an actress too.
‘Yeah! She loves romance novels and she’s a professional matchmaker, so the woman running the library, who I now know is your Jess, reached out and asked if she’d open it for her.’
‘That’s brilliant!’ I smiled. ‘Jess needs to raise as much awareness as possible to help make the library a success, so I’m really glad Mia’s able to lend a hand.’
‘Do you think it’d help if I went too?’ Liam asked as he picked up his phone and started scrolling through his calendar.
‘Really?’ My eyes widened. Having Mia and Liam open the library would be perfect. Nothing screamed romance better than a happy, loved-up couple. And the fact that they both had a high profile would generate lots of publicity.
‘I have some stuff on that day, but I could make it work. I’d need to check with Mia too, but I’m sure she’d be fine. The option’s there if you want it. I know how happy I am with my lady, so I want to spread the love, y’know?’
‘Thank you! I really appreciate it. And I know Jess will too.’
‘This is wonderful!’ Nico clapped his hands together. ‘I love to see my friends help each other.’
‘Just paying it forward, man. Like you did for me. We gotta get Theo back with Jess!’ Liam slapped my back. ‘But if you really like Jess, you can’t wait until after the library’s opened to win her back. You need to fight for her now . This library sounds like a big deal, so she’ll need you there to support her. To rub her back and tell her everything’s gonna be okay.’
‘This opening is important. But I don’t want to get in her way and distract her.’
‘I hear you, but I don’t think she’ll see you as a distraction. Despite how things ended that night, I reckon she has strong feelings for you too. That’s why she ran to her room. If you’re going through hell right now, I’d put money on the fact that she is too.’
I wondered if that was true.
‘I agree with Liam,’ Nico said. ‘She will be happy that you are there. Your presence will of course be the most important thing, but you could also do something special for her, that you know she will love.’
‘Yeah!’ Liam nodded. ‘You need a grand gesture ! Every romance book or movie has them!’
‘You mean the moment at the end where she’s leaving town and the hero runs to the airport to tell her to stay because he loves her?’
‘Exactly!’ Liam slapped the table excitedly.
My face crumpled. I couldn’t think of a grand gesture that would work for Jess. The amount of wine I’d consumed probably wasn’t helping.
‘And if you really want to win her back, when you’re doing the grand gesture, you should wear grey sweatpants and a backwards cap, stand in a door frame and growl!’ Liam laughed.
I understood the growling thing. Men seemed to growl a lot in romance novels, but the rest was lost on me.
‘Grey tracksuit bottoms? Why grey? ’
‘No idea, man! All I know is Mia goes wild when I wear them. Same with the backwards cap.’
‘Right.’ I rubbed my jaw with confusion. ‘And I thought it was the billionaires in smart suits that women loved, like Nico?’
I remembered that Rocco in Office Delight was a rich and powerful billionaire and Jess couldn’t get enough of that book.
‘Nah.’ Liam shook his head. ‘Nico’s not like the billionaire alpha-holes in a lot of the romance novels. He’s more like a cinnamon roll.’
‘Cinnamon roll, as in the pastry?’ My face was now more creased than a tumble-dried linen jacket.
‘Or is it a golden retriever? I can’t remember,’ Liam said.
‘So in romance novels men are either like dogs or pastries?’
I’d read about half a dozen romance novels since I’d left Sunshine Bay, and whilst one or two had pets, the only mention of pastries I remembered was in a book where the character worked in a bakery. But she made cupcakes, not cinnamon rolls .
‘It’s not literal!’ Liam chuckled. ‘ Cinnamon roll or golden retriever heroes are just ways to describe the men that have layers and are sweet on the inside or have that kind of golden retriever happy energy, you with me?’
‘Ah, right. Got it. I thought I was getting a grasp on the romance terminology, but clearly I still have so much to learn.’
‘Don’t worry, man,’ Liam said. ‘We’ll help you.’
‘Thanks.’ Sounded like I needed it .
‘Wait!’ I sat up straighter. ‘I’ve thought of something. For the grand gesture.’
‘Well, come on, then! Spill!’ Liam shouted.
As I told them my idea, Nico and Liam’s faces broke into large smiles.
Yes. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that Jess would love it.
And if I also needed to wear grey tracksuit bottoms and growl like a hungry bear, I’d do that too.
Anything to win Jess back.