The Millionaire Falls Hard (16 page)

'Now you're going to be a Miami businessman, why not spend a few extra days and get to know the business community here? I've a table at the Mayor's ball, black tie affair. All the movers and shakers in business will be there.'

Jake seriously considered it. 'When is it?'

'Tomorrow evening. Suzanne, my partner, will be with me. Between you and me, now that I'm getting out of this, I'm hoping she'll make an honest man of me! She'll definitely want to meet you, to thank you!' Glenn laughed at himself.

Jake forced a smile. Great, yet another one in a happy relationship!

'Sure, it will be good to get some downtime before I go back to New York.'

Chapter 10

Carrie hadn't realised how much she'd needed a hug until she found herself enveloped in the arms of her mother. It felt so good to be there. Being with her mum always made her feel as if she'd come home, even though she loved her home and her life in Scotland.

'You look exhausted love, come on in and sit down, I'll get the kettle on.'

'Thanks Mum.'

They settled into the squishy chairs in the conservatory so they could keep an eye on Charlie, who'd instantly opted to play in the outdoor pool once he'd got over the excitement of seeing his granny again.

'How are you doing love? Really doing, I mean.'

'I'm fine Mum. Honestly.' Carrie looked her mum in the eye to show that she really was.

'I'm mostly recovered from the ordeal and I haven't had a nightmare for ages. All the press interest has moved on.'

'Yeah, I hear all that, and you've told me that each time I've phoned. So why don't you look OK?'

Trust her mum to be perceptive. Carrie tried to fob her off. She wasn't ready to talk about her confused feelings about Jake. Didn't think she would ever talk to her mum on that topic.

'I'm just really tired I think. I lost a couple of weeks work around the shooting, then there was Lynne's wedding and…'

'Oh, tell me you brought some decent pictures with you.'

Successfully diverted! Carrie smiled, her mum just couldn't resist talking about weddings.

'I have. I've brought some general shots of Lynne and Phil and the main aspects of the day. But, oh Mum, there was such a beautiful picture of Charlie taken. I've had it blown up and framed for you. It is just so cute. It's in my bag.'

With one eye on Charlie in the pool, they carried on chatting about the wedding and then moved on to the excitement of her novels being turned in to major films.

'My appointment with the Studio is next weekend. Apparently, that's the earliest they could get everyone concerned around the table. I'll leave Charlie with you, if that's OK, fly over to LA and then come back here to collect him.'

'Darling, I'd love to have Charlie while you're in LA. You know I wish I was closer to you both and could see more of him.'

'I know, that would be nice. Moira's wonderful, and she loves him as if he were her own grandchild, but I know he'd love to spend more time with you as well. I'd love it if you came back to Scotland to live.'

'Well, that may not be such a pipe dream anymore.'

'What!' Carrie sat up excitedly. 'Oh Mum, tell me more. How? When? I thought you were staying here at least until Glenn retired!'

Suzanne laughed. At last, the pale, drawn woman sat next to her looked like her daughter.

'Glenn is retiring early. Well, that's the plan. It all depends on him finding a buyer for the business.' Suzanne started to get excited now.

'He met with a prospective buyer yesterday. He said the meeting went really well. The company seems to be a good fit with this man's existing portfolio of companies.'

Suzanne took both Carrie's hands in her own. 'Oh, darling, keep your fingers crossed for us. Glenn doesn't say much, but he desperately needs to slow down. He's built that company from nothing and worked all his life to make it successful. Then when Mary, his wife was killed in that car crash eight years ago…..' Suzanne paused, remembering the shock and pain of that awful time.

She'd been his PA then and a personal friend of his wife's. Glenn had operated like a zombie for nearly a year afterwards. Along with the managers, she'd tried to keep up a facade of normality with their customers, but how he hadn't lost the business, she still didn't know.

'….. Well, I thought he'd never get his passion for life back.'

'He might not have done if not for you.'

'Carrie, I just did what anyone else would have done. I kept working hard in the background to help keep the business operating and kept one eye on him at the same time. That was easy to do when I sat outside his office. When I thought he was going to sink into darkness and despair and never resurface, well, that was when I went above and beyond in my role as PA. The look on his face when I locked him in his office, cancelled all his appointments, turned off his phone and refused to let him out until he let go and talked about his loss. Thought I was going to lose my job for that!'

'What is it with you and grieving men?' said Carrie making reference to Lord Gemmell, her father, who had turned to her mum when his wife had died.

'This wasn't the same Carrie. I'd held a torch for your father, which I would never have acted on, only couldn't help myself when he needed a shoulder. It wasn't meant to end up the way it did. But I don't regret you for a moment.' Suzanne squeezed Carrie's hands.

'It took both Glenn and myself a couple of years after that long day to see each other as anything other than friends. Now we have a good life together Carrie, built on love and respect.'

'I know you do Mum. I adore Glenn for how he cares for you.'

'Once he's sold the business, not only is he retiring and moving with me to Scotland - I think we're getting married!'

'Oh Mum', Carrie leapt to her feet and threw her arms around Suzanne. 'That's wonderful news.'

*

Carrie still couldn't work out how she'd allowed herself to be talked into going to the Mayor's Ball tonight. Over the last few days, she'd been coddled by her mother while Glenn had kept Charlie entertained, and she felt stronger and happier than she had when she'd arrived. She even had a bit more colour and was losing the gaunt look.

When Glenn had arrived home the previous evening with the news that the business was sold, they'd broken out the champagne. In an alcohol induced haze, Carrie had had no defence against a dual onslaught to get her to make up the table number.

Now she was out of the shower, she had to admit she was getting excited about dressing up for the evening in a posh frock and jewellery. It had been a while since she'd felt really feminine, not since that Awards dinner/dance in London in fact.

She'd gone shopping this afternoon, and urged on by the shopkeeper, had bought a gown that felt divine on, if a little bit naughty. Suddenly, she had a desire to feel really, really naughty. '
Well Jake Calderwood, what would you say if you saw me tonight?'

Ha! Even her embarrassment over Jake seemed a long distant memory now. Part of her confidence came from knowing he was on a different continent. This trip had definitely been good for her.

She applied a glittering burnished brown eyeshadow and brown mascara to her eyes, and a high shine pale red lip gloss to her lips. Her hair was piled on top of her head with wisps left hanging all around to soften the look.

As she looked at herself in the mirror, she started to feel sexy. That was a new feeling for her, which she didn't understand. She wondered how she would feel once the gown was on. Well, only one way to find out, she thought, and reached for the dress hanging on the back of her bedroom door.

Carrie had a momentary lapse in her newfound confidence as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She almost didn't recognise the woman looking back at her. '
Oh. My. God. Can I really wear this gown?'

Her confidence started to wain but before she could do more than question her sanity, her mother knocked at her door.

*

Jake had mixed feelings about being here. It would certainly be an expedient way to meet the movers and shakers in the local business and political scenes, but he wasn't sure if his focus for GB Dynamics would stay local when he planned to merge it with the New York operation. He was thinking the focus should be the length of the east coast. Still, he'd gone out and hired a dinner suit for tonight, and for convenience, moved into the penthouse suite in the hotel, so he was committed now.

As he adjusted his cufflinks, the private lift pinged its arrival in the lobby. He parked his thoughts, put on his professional face and stepped out.

With the ticket stating seven for seven-thirty, he'd cut it fine arriving at seven-twenty but he'd succumbed to a surprisingly refreshing nap. He glanced around, looking out for Glenn. There were a lot of people milling around, many in pairs and small groups. He noticed a good few men without a partner, who were making the most of their 'single' status by eying up others' partners. A quick glance round at the array of females and he could understand why they were looking.

The back of one tall female caught his eye. He took a moment to admire the view. Wow! He might consider himself off the market, but he could still admire the female form.

Wow, again! Bare skin from shoulders to waist, highlighted shapely shoulder blades and smooth skin over a straight back. At the waist, the shimmering bronze dress hugged hourglass hips as it fell straight down to the floor. A calf-high slit exposed sparkly gold stilettos. Jake chuckled, it looked like her partner was in for a treat later on tonight, if he could get through dinner first without salivating!

'Jake! There you are.'

Jake's head turned slightly to where he'd heard his name called. He realised it hadn't turned far from the golden goddess. Glenn started walking towards him with his arm around a slightly smaller, attractive woman.

'Nice partner Glenn',
he thought.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the golden goddess turn and also walk towards him.

Jake momentarily froze with a welcoming smile fixed to his face as he realised that the golden goddess, was
his
golden goddess. From the look of shock on her face, she'd had no more idea than him that they were to be spending the evening together. Well, well, this evening just got very interesting. Business be damned, Jake had a new mission now.

Two words. Carrie. Bed.

'Jake, I'd like to introduce you to Suzanne, my partner and my rock. Suzie, this is Jake Calderwood, the new owner of GB Dynamics.'

As Jake took Suzanne's hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss, Carrie caught up with them.

He adjusted his focus. 'Carrie.'

'Jake.' Carrie's reply was forced from her mouth.

'You two know each other? Well how about that, it's a small world. When you said you lived in Scotland Jake, I nearly asked if you knew Carrie, but I figured Scotland covers a lot of land for a small country and your answer would just be 'no'. Next time I'll just ask and be damned. Honey,' he said, turning to Suzanne, 'these two know each other.'

As Glenn stated the obvious, Jake and Carrie continued to look at each other. Suzanne, too, was looking and found the palpable rise in tension extremely interesting. She'd known there was something that Carrie hadn't shared.

Carrie couldn't believe her bad luck that Jake was the man who had bought the company. All her new found confidence plummeted to the soles of her feet and squelched out of her killer heels. Suddenly feeling self-conscious she moved her hands up in front of her.

Her movement broke the moment.

Jake turned to Glenn and Suzanne. 'We're neighbours. I bought the Gemmell Estate around Carrie's land.'

'Oh, Calderwood,' Suzanne mused. 'That name rings a bell. There was a couple who once worked on the Estate called Calderwood, they had a little boy they called Jake. She died I think…..'

'My mother.' Jake intercepted. 'Carrie mentioned you'd worked for Lord Gemmell. It didn't click that you might have known my parents.'

Suzanne showed surprise. If Jake knew where she'd worked, they obviously knew each other quite well. Carrie wasn't one for sharing personal information.

'I didn't know them well. They were very private people, but I do remember their little boy, er you. You always had such a smile for everyone. What's your father doing now, is he retired?'

'He died too. A long time ago.'

Carrie listened to this exchange and realised that her mother was putting two and two together. She was a perceptive woman and had probably already worked out that Jake was the cause of much of her tension and tiredness.

'Well, come on ladies, Jake, it's probably time we took our table.'

Grateful for Glenn's intervention, Carrie started to move towards the ballroom.