Chapter 20 East London
CHAPTER TWENTY
east london
MARK
The driver pulls my electric Bentley up to the curb by the canal opposite the street Alice wants to meet on. I’m on unfamiliar territory in more ways than one. Uncertainty grips my insides, something I’m about as used to as going to a cafe that has wooden stools instead of proper chairs.
In fact, I’ve not dined anywhere but private lounges and Michelin star restaurants since I made my first few millions. This is a different world.
“I’ll park up here and follow you,” my driver says, nodding to a spot that we’ll make ours for the day. He’s a big man and serves as my security detail as well. Despite his size, he’s adept at staying in the shadows, so I never feel crowded.
“Thank you, Neil.”
Aiden’s waiting on the corner, earning more than a few stares as he rakes a hand through his black hair, flexing a tanned arm. I remember when he used to get paid to sit outside bars simply to attract women to them.
“Hey,” he says when he sees me approaching. “Quite the location she picked for you. Right up your alley.” He laughs and gestures down the busy market road.
We’re in Hackney.
I’ve not set foot here in … ever, actually. I’ve never been to East London. I look around. It’s a classic English street of sandstone and red brick. Low buildings neatly lined up on both sides of the cobbled high street, currently packed with rows upon rows of stalls.
There’s graffiti on the end walls of the bridge that crosses the canal. They’re large murals of faces, birds, and flowers. It’s … colourful. I can see what Alice might like about this place.
We round the corner and I spot the cafe she’d named. I wipe my hands on my thighs. Why is my heart beating so fast?
“Bloody hell, mate, I’ve never seen you like this. You’re really not kidding about this girl, are you?”
I groan. “No, and I hate it.”
Aiden laughs heartily. He’s yet to rub it in my face, but I know it’s coming.
“What’s the deal? Is she carrying a book with a rose in it like in You’ve Got Mail?”
“I’ve no idea what you’re on about.”
“Of course you don’t. How will you know it’s her?” He waves a lazy hand towards the crowded streets.
“Just look for someone with long dark brown hair looking around? She said she’d be in a yellow—”
The crowd shifts.
“—dress.”
“Her?”
My stomach does a weird lurch, and I feel sick with nerves.
There’s a woman standing in front of the cafe, currently facing the other way. Long brown hair falls down her back, in contrast to her light-yellow summer dress. Its skirt billows in the breeze, showing off tanned, sculpted legs.
But those tattooed arms … Why do they look so familiar?
“So that’s her?” Aiden asks, and his head moves back and forth between us in my peripheral vision. I’m not taking my eyes off her.
Turn around. Turn around.
She turns, and the breeze catches the heavy waves of hair. She pushes a lock out of her eyes, squinting into the sun.
It’s her for sure.
It’s Alice.
And it’s Rey.
The girl I yelled at in the office yesterday.
The insolent intern at my company.
Intern.
Ice fills my stomach. I turn abruptly around the brick wall corner and dry heave.
“Jesus Christ, are you okay?” Aiden puts a hand on my back and I keep my head down, leaning on my knees.
This is a nightmare.
The woman I’ve been fantasising about, talking to, masturbated to (and with) multiple nights; the woman I’ve touched in the dark and can’t imagine not touching again … is an intern. Did she lie about being twenty-nine?
I stand up again and wipe the cold sweat off my brow. “She works for me. She’s an intern.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“Yup.”
I rub my chest where it feels like my stomach has come up into my lungs. It’s hard to breathe.
“I can’t make his mistakes,” I whisper.
I don’t dare turn around to look at her again yet.
My head is swimming as I try to reconcile the two women.
Yes, I’d noticed their similar features, but their attitudes?
There’s the woman who scoffed at me when I said it’s more than a job, with the one who …
who what? Alice said she’s trying something new.
Did she mean this intern role? Is this the role she said has sparked her creativity again?
Have I been blind?
Looking through the memories I have of Rey in the office and all the things about her that have been annoying me, they’re what I adore about Alice.
Her energy, vibrant nature, and delightful laugh.
How did I not hear it? And her voice? How did I not see those dimples in the office?
Or recognise her scent that hit me and instead fuelled my anger for her?
“It’s not the same,” Aiden says, his voice tender.
“She’s the girl I told you about. The one that was pissing me off in the office.”
“Right. Pissing you off, eh?”
“What?”
“I bet your brain knew it was her, but you couldn’t tune in on the right channel, so you just assumed your body was feeling anger, but you’ve wanted her from the first time you saw her.”
“Oh, stop it, will you? We’re not in a fucking romance.”
But what are the odds?
“If it makes you feel better, she doesn’t look as young as your average intern.”
“She said she’s twenty-nine.”
“Then she probably is. See, you’re already better than Damian.”
I grimace at him.
“Too soon?” He stifles a laugh.
“Nothing about this is funny.” I breathe in deeply, willing an answer to come to me. The sensible thing would be to walk away. “Do you remember her name?” I ask Aiden. “From when you looked her up at The Orion?”
I need to be absolutely sure before I give up on this. This beautiful budding thing I’ve got with Alice can never be anything with Rey. Not as long as she’s an employee of Infinio Games.
“Rosemary something, but I’m sure Kirsten called her Rey.”
Turning around to look at her again, I blow out a long breath. “She’s gorgeous,” I whisper, more to myself than anyone.
She’s more beautiful than I’ve allowed myself to acknowledge in the office, more beautiful than I imagined when I had Alice in my mind. And she’s not even smiling yet. I want to see that smile.
My stomach sinks and soars again, making me nauseated. What am I supposed to do now? Just leave?
“What’s your move?”
“I can’t meet her. I’m her CEO … and she hates me.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m an arse. I practically yelled at her yesterday.” For good reason, though. Wasn’t it? She was out of line. I think.
The hole in my chest that’s threatening to form at the thought of not speaking to her again tells me I should try. Could I make her not hate me?
We barely know each other, yet I also feel she knows me in ways that no one else does. I’ve changed over the last few weeks. All because of her.
“What are you going to do?” Aiden asks.
“That’s what I’m wondering.”
We stand for a moment looking at her. The market is bustling between us and her like a busy river.
“She’s waiting for you.”
“She’s waiting for Robin.”
“I’ve never seen you look at anyone like that.”
I shove him in the shoulder, but it’s lacklustre, and he doesn’t budge. He’s right. I haven’t. Everything about this is new.
“What would you do?” I ask.
Aiden huffs. I kind of know. He’s a romantic. He’d doubtless give up his entire fortune for the right girl.
“You know we’re not the same, Mark. I would go for the girl and figure it out. But you’re in a pickle, so it’s different for you. You might need to do some damage control first.”
“So do I stand her up? I mean Robin?”
“Yes, Robin should stand her up.” He winks.
What was that about?
Rey turns again, looking around. She puckers her lips, and the dimples show. My heart sinks.
Aiden’s phone rings, and he turns to pick up, putting up a finger to say he’ll be a minute.
I find mine to send Rey my apologies.
Hi, Alice, I’m so sorry, but I can’t meet you today. I hope you will forgive me for not being there as you expected, but I promise I will make it up to you. I need some time.
I watch as she pulls the phone out of her purse, and how the corners of her mouth dip when she reads. She bites her bottom lip and puts a hand to her eyes.
Damn, I want to wrap her in my arms, not stand here and watch as my alter ego makes her upset.
Okay. I can’t say I’m not disappointed. But I’ll be here when you’re ready
“Hey, I’ve got to go. I’m sorry,” Aiden says. “Have you decided?”
“No.”
“Alright.” He doesn’t leave but looks at me, looking at her. “You’re not Damian,” he says, and I shift my focus to him. He’s serious now. “And she’s not multiple people. She’s one person. And you met outside work anyway,” he says, smiling now. “Don’t overthink it, Mark. Just feel your way.”
“What do you even mean by that?”
He leaves with a laugh hanging in the air. Absolute wanker.
I watch as Rey stands still for a moment. She looks around, and then she makes her way into the throngs of people, disappearing out of sight, away from me, and I can’t take it.
I know her, and I need her to realise I’m not the massive dickhead she probably thinks I am. And Aiden could be right. We met outside of work. She’s not a regular intern.
Hope heats me from within, and adrenaline surges through me as I make my way through the market crowd.
Robin might stand her up. But Mark will be there instead. Could she warm up to me without knowing I’m Robin? Without finding out?
I spot her wavy hair and tattooed shoulders up ahead. My size is a definite advantage. People move out of my way while she’s struggling to squeeze through.
Time to orchestrate a coincidence.