Everything to Nothing (48 page)

Another car was
waiting for them which took them back to the medical facility. As
they entered it the doctor was just leaving Sally’s room.

‘Doctor, how is
she?’

‘She’s fine Mr.
Gallagher. She’s young, fit and tough. She’ll be fine to leave
tomorrow morning.

‘Good. Thank
you for tending to her. Is she awake?’

‘Is she awake?
She’s watching television!’

‘Really? Sounds
like she’s doing fine then?’

‘Yes, she is. I
will assess her in the morning presuming nothing happens tonight.
We’ll speak tomorrow morning.’

‘Thank you
again doctor. We’ll speak tomorrow.’

The doctor
stepped round them with a smile and Michelle knocked gently on the
door.

‘Come in.’

Michelle opened
the door and Sally’s face lit up as she saw Michelle and Mr.
Gallagher behind her. ‘Come in, come in, please come in. I’m so
bored!’ They both walked over to her bedside and gave her a hug and
a peck on the cheek. ‘Trust me to end up in hospital on our special
weekend away! Sorry dad, and sorry to you as well Michelle.’

‘Now, now. No
need to apologise. What is most important is that you’re healthy
and recovering well.’

‘I still can’t
remember what happened. I remember coming out of the tunnel and
being a bit dazzled, and then the next thing I can really remember
is leaning on the wall really struggling to breathe. I don’t know
who got me out of the car or anything. Have you heard anything
daddy?’

‘The driver
said you got yourself out of the car and then walked unsteadily
over to the wall. He didn’t call the doctor at first because he
thought you were okay. It was only when the Team Principle found
out that he summoned the doctor to come and tend to you.’

‘Right, okay. I
still don’t remember. Ah well, never mind. I’m sure it will come
back to me.’

‘How are your
ribs? Anywhere hurting that wasn’t before?’

‘No, honestly,
I’m fine. A bit sore, but fine. I’m just happy I can breathe now. I
never, ever want to feel like that again.’

‘Well, unless
you decide to crash on the Nouvelle Chicane again you never
will!’

‘Oh stop! Don’t
make me laugh!’

They small
talked their way through the next couple of hours until they were
interrupted by a nurse who was surprised that they were still there
and demanded they leave. With kisses and hugs goodbye, they both
left and spent the night on their own in their respective cabins,
both of them contemplating how lucky they had been that the
accident had not been more serious and that they had both not lost
someone they cared about greatly.

Chapter 35

The day of the
Grand Prix dawned bright and sunny. To say Mr. Gallagher was
surprised when he got to the pool for a refreshing swim and he saw
Sally lounging by the pool would be an understatement. ‘And what
the hell do you think you’re doing here?!’

‘And good
morning to you too darling father!’

‘If you’ve
checked yourself out of that hospital without the doctor giving you
the all clear you’ll be in more trouble than you’ve ever, ever been
in!’ He stood next to her, hands on hips, staring into her green
eyes.

‘Dad, relax.’
She took one of his hands in hers and started to stroke it. ‘I saw
him earlier this morning. He examined me thoroughly and gave me the
all clear. He said to tell you to call him or you can go and see
him. He will be at the medical centre all day now.’

‘Right, well, I
think I’ll make that call.’

‘Why? Don’t you
believe me?’

A quick look of
surprise flashed on his face, but it was gone before it had really
arrived. ‘Well, I suppose you’re sensible enough not to leave the
centre after an accident like that without the doctor’s
consent.’

‘You know I
wouldn’t do that. I’m fine.’

‘Well your ribs
don’t look fine.’ Sally was dressed in only her bikini and the
bruising on the trunk of her body was clear to see.

‘Dad, thank you
for being so caring, but honestly I’m fine. What time does the
Grand Prix start?’

‘One o’clock.
You sure you’re okay?’

‘Yes! Honestly
I am. Thank you.’

‘Right, okay,
well I’m going for a swim. Let me know if you need anything
though.’

‘I will.’

He dove into
the pool and spent the next hour or so doing lengths and in the
meantime a surprised Michelle had joined Sally on the loungers
which is where they stayed throughout that morning. At around ten
they both left the pool area and went to freshen up before a car
picked them up to take them round to the team’s garage where they
would watch the build-up to the race.

For an hour or
so they watched with interest from a discreet distance in the
garage, watching the drivers receive their last minute briefings
and watching the cars receive last minute tuning. The cars were
ready to go out onto the grid forty-five minutes before the start
of the race and in the confines of the garage the young women could
not believe the noise of the engines as they were started and
driven carefully out of the garage to form up on the grid.

At the
suggestion of the Team Principle, he led them onto the crowded grid
and talked them through the preparations that were happening to the
cars at this time. After a short while he left them to return to
the garage and they were free to wander amongst the cars.

Sally estimated
that about eighty percent of the people on the grid that day had
nothing to do with the racing teams; therefore she always
considered what happened that day to be remote odds to say the
least. That she would be picked out of all those people for an
impromptu interview with the British broadcasters of the race.

‘Hello, may I
have a quick word? We’re live going straight back to millions of
people in England!’With a look of surprise, and before Sally could
dodge past him, he had her boxed in between the cameraman and a
group of people. ‘Who are you and who are you here with?’

‘Hi. My name is
Sally and I’m with my father, who appears to have wandered off, and
my friend Michelle.’

‘Great! And
what team are you supporting today?’

‘It had better
be the British team because my dad sponsors them!’

‘Really?
Excellent! And have you ever thought of doing some modelling?

‘Erm no, not
really.’

‘You should. By
far you are the most beautiful woman here today, and there are
plenty of Hollywood stars on the grid today!’

‘Thank you for
saying that, but no, I haven’t.’

‘Thank you for
taking the time to speak to us.’

Sally managed
to quickly dodge past the cameraman and rejoined Michelle who had a
look of surprise on her face. ‘Crikey Sally! You were just on
television in England!’

‘Yes, I know.
And I know one person who will be definitely watching the race who
will be very, very surprised to see me pop-up on television...’

*

David had just
taken mouthful of his orange juice as the commentator introduced
the random person he had stopped to speak to. His orange juice was
sprayed all over him and the sofa as he realised that his
girlfriend was being interviewed on the grid of the Monaco Grand
Prix.

*

Sally felt her
phone vibrating in her pocket so she took it out and saw David’s
name flashing on the screen. ‘Michelle, it’s him. What am I going
to say?’ They had both returned back to the team’s garage after the
interview, Sally’s face etched with worry and concern. ‘What the
hell am I going to say to him?’

‘The
truth.’

‘Right. Great
help.’

‘I’ll leave you
to it.’ Michelle wandered back into garage and started to chat to
one of the engineers.

‘Hello David.
You shouldn’t be calling me, it costs a fortune!’

‘Considering
your dad has got enough money to sponsor a Formula One team you can
pay me back!’

‘And here I was
hoping that right at that moment you’d be making a cup of
tea...’

‘Unfortunately
not. You have mere moments to explain yourself before I hang up
this phone and you’ll never hear from me again.’

Sally felt like
a lead weight had landed in the bottom of her stomach when David
said those words. She did not want to lose him. ‘David, I’m so
sorry I lied to you, but this is neither the place nor the time for
this conversation. Can we please, I beg you, speak tomorrow about
this? I’ll come and see you as soon as I get back.’

‘If there’s one
thing I cannot stand it’s being lied to and being made to look
foolish.’

‘I lied to you
yes, but I never intended to make you look foolish.’

‘Who are you?’
David’s voice was beseeching, straining for Sally to give him an
honest answer.

‘You’ve got a
computer right?’

‘Yes, of course
I have.’

‘Google my
dad.’

‘Your dad?’

‘Yes, you know
his name, google him.’

‘There’ll be
millions of Gallaghers with his name. Don’t be ridiculous.’

‘Trust me.
Google his name and he’ll be the first one out, right at the top.
You might even find my name near his.’

‘This is nuts!
Right, I’m going to call you back in five.’

‘I won’t be
able to answer.’

‘Why not?’

‘I’ll be with
my dad, erm, watching the race.’

‘Right, of
course you will. I’ll call you after the race. To say I’m
disappointed is an understatement.’ Without waiting for a reply,
David hung up the phone and ran upstairs for his laptop. He brought
it back down with him and as instructed he googled Sally’s
father.

The first link
that he selected took him to a site he had never heard of before
called Forbes. From what he could tell, it seemed to be a website
of lists, the best this, the richest that. When he clicked the link
it took him to a page entitled World’s Billionaires, and there,
just off the top ten was her father’s name. ‘Holy… shit!’ David
muttered to himself. He spent the next few moments reading the
summary about his girlfriend’s father:-

“Born in 1952
in England, Gallagher made his fortune in electronic components and
telecommunications. Son of a coal miner, Gallagher obtained his
first patent for an electronic component in 1970 and that component
went on to become an essential part of any circuitry. From then on
he has not looked back, obtaining lucrative military contracts with
governments around the globe. Often referred to as frighteningly
ruthless in the boardroom, Gallagher contributes to many charitable
organisations. If the ongoing increases in his companies share
prices continue, it won’t be long before Gallagher breaks into the
top ten of the World’s Billionaires.”

David had to
read this twice more before it sunk in, after which he returned to
Google and looked through other sites and his surprise and shock
grew as these sites also placed Sally’s father firmly in the top
twenty of the wealthiest men on the planet.

With his
attention totally distracted, he missed the start of the Grand Prix
and did not watch any of the race. He continued to plough through
the websites and even started to google Sally’s name. Sites that
mentioned her were scarcer, but they were there, stating her as the
sole heiress to the Gallagher fortune. Noticing some pictures he
clicked on images and pictures of his beautiful girlfriend appeared
and even a few of her with her father.

As he looked at
the images, from somewhere a memory scrambled to his conscious mind
and he remembered where he had seen her father before, it was on
one of their first dates, the night when the two men with their
manic grins dressed in tuxedos approached them in the city.

He flicked
through the images and some were clearly taken a few years ago, but
one looked like it was recent, very recent. In the background of
the photograph was a limousine, and Sally and her father were
standing next to Michelle. Both of the young women looked stunning,
and Sally was looking straight into the camera. To say she looked
gorgeous was an understatement, and not for the first time since
they had started dating David slowly shook his head and asked
himself the question what on earth was she doing with him? He
clicked the link which led him to a journalist’s blog and David
read about the many attendees to the Prince of Monaco’s party. Half
way down the page he found Sally’s picture, and he read about how
the reclusive daughter of the billionaire shunned the limelight,
how she was far removed from the typical young females from wealthy
families, the so called ‘it-girls’, who embarrass themselves on a
sometimes seemingly daily basis.

By the time he
had exhausted all links and images about Sally and her father, the
race had finished and indeed the program had changed. He looked on
the BBC website to find out who had won and was happy to discover
that the British driver had won in a pretty uneventful sounding
race. For a few moments he paced around the living room trying to
collect his thoughts before calling Sally.

*

While David was
contemplating what to say to his girlfriend who he had just found
was incredibly wealthy, Sarah was lying in a semi-comatose state in
her bedroom, her head resting on the filthy mattress that was
riddled with fleas and bed bugs. A needle was hanging out of her
foot.

Chapter 36

‘Where are
you?’

‘In my, erm,
cabin.’

‘Cabin? Are you
on a cruise now?’

‘Not exactly,
but kind of.’

‘Not exactly
but kind of? Please Sally, if you like me and respect me as much as
you say you do then please, I beg you, start giving me straight
answers!’

‘Right, okay. I
came here after the race because I didn’t want to attend the after
race party because I was in a car crash yesterday and I’m still
feeling a bit tender.’