Unexpected Romance - 5 Romantic Short Stories (6 page)

Linda sat forward in her seat. "Excellent news. I knew it, I just knew he was going to get us to handle it. That's fantastic. I already have a few potential buyers lined up."

"One other thing, Linda. That guy George Preston left a voice mail earlier. And you won't believe this, he enquired about Mayfair House."

"What? How can he know before me that the house is for sale?"

Karen put the fax on Linda's desk and sat down opposite her. "Apparently, he's very well connected, he heard a rumor last night at his gentlemen's club that you would be handling the sale. That's what he said in the message."

"Well, I suppose the idle rich have a lot of time for gossip. Hey, as long as he's got the liquidity who cares eh?"

"That's the attitude Linda. No surprise you are the undisputed Queen of London property," Karen joked.

"Shh! Don't reveal all my secrets ok?" Linda joked.

"You look much better today, by the way, it looks like you had a good night's rest."

"Yes, I feel much better today, thank you Karen. Our little chat yesterday really helped. You're my angel, you know that don't you? You always seem to know the right thing to say at the right time.

"And you were absolutely right. I have become cynical about men and I hadn't even noticed. It had just crept up on me over the last few years after I split with Richard. It must have affected me more than I realized at the time, my stiff British upper lip didn't pull me through quite as well as I thought. Dumping him was a big mistake. I can see that now so I made a big decision last night. I'm no longer looking for Mr. Perfect. Now, I'm looking for Mr. Right. Seeing as how I'm perfect I don't need anymore perfect in my life," Linda laughed.

"Good for you girl. You do have a glow today. Is there something else you're not telling me? Come on Linda, no secrets ok."

Linda sat back in her chair. "Well, there is one other major realization I had. When I trust my heart over my head I do great. My intuition never fails me. It's how I built my business so quickly when so many people said I had no chance in such a crowded market.

"In matters of love I've been over thinking everything and together with that perfect man silliness I've lost touch with my trusty intuition. I feel much better about everything now that I can see what I've been doing wrong.

"And there was one other habit I spotted in myself. I have been fixated on a type of man. And where does that come from? From over thinking, of course. So, I've decided to cut that out. It hasn't worked for me, so why continue with that madness?

"From now on I'll let my heart choose the guy and I'll take it from there. It'll be fun. I'm surprised to be admitting this but I'm actually excited again about meeting new people. Who knows what the future holds? At least it won't be dull that's for sure. Maybe it's just what I need, someone new and different to the kind of guy I usually meet. For too long I've been going out with the macho rugby man boy. They're fun, there's no doubt about that but they lack a certain sophistication. And I hoped I could find it all in one person. Someone strong, driven, sophisticated and manly. I did'nt think it was too much to ask.

"I see now that I was limiting myself to a small pool of guys. he had to live in London, had to be into physical activities, had to be muscular and so on. I've never even looked at anyone who didn't possess those qualities. Those have always been minimum requirements that had to be met before I looked further to see what kind of personality and interests the guy had. This is all so liberating. I feel like anything is possible."

"I can see that. You look radiant today. Even more gorgeous than usual." Karen laughed as she got up from her chair to leave..

"Thank you Karen. Oh, while I remember it, could you do some initial research on George Preston so I can ring him back within the hour?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. I did some research on him already. My curiosity got the better of me. He's hot by the way but you already know that. Here are the print outs. His bio is quite impressive."

Linda shuffled through the papers. Yes, he was quite attractive, more attractive than she recalled, very good looking actually. George Preston as it turns out is old money, just as she suspected, however, not idle rich as she had guessed. He's a Cambridge professor with a history of developing start up software businesses and quietly selling them to major global players. And all very discretely which is why few people outside of his industry had ever heard of him.

One news report caught her eye. He had recently sold his latest successful venture for an undisclosed sum, industry insiders believe it was in the $400 million ball park. Clearly, it was worth her time showing him Mayfair House.

Very interesting. Then something else caught her eye. George reportedly has a keen interest in the arts. He collects art and he is a patron of both the theatre and the orchestra in Cambridge.

Linda sat back in her chair, "Wow! Have you read all this?"

"Yes, he's something else, isn't he? Almost too good to be true.

He is married by the way, in case you were wondering. I checked."

Linda pushed her hair back and nervously moved the papers about before lying, "Oh, I hadn't noticed. He's an ideal prospect for the property. I'll call him right away.

Linda stepped out of her shiny new Bentley at the door of Mayfair House just as George Preston pulled up alongside her in his Rolls Royce. His driver opened the door and the smiling professor climbed out looking splendid in his navy suit.

He walked up to Linda and shook her hand. "Linda, Lovely to meet you again. Maybe we'll have more time to talk this time."

Linda felt weak at the knees as she shook his hand, noticing his firm grip. "Great to see you again. Sorry about the other night at the champagne lounge, it was the end of a long, long day, I wasn't feeling too sociable." Linda sheepishly replied. He was taller than she remembered, definitely better built than she recalled and his steel blue eyes looked straight into hers when he spoke.

"Linda, we've all had days like that. Think no more about it. Let's get straight to business, shall we? I've attended many functions at this property over the years and I've always loved this house and the gardens so I'll cut straight to the chase. Subject to a final review by my accountant I'm ready to make an offer. Let's go inside and chat about it in the library, shall we?"

George led the way to the library, he walked quickly for a man of his age, he was clearly a young and energetic 52 year old. In fact, he looked quite a few years younger than he was. Linda noticed he wasn't wearing a wedding ring.

They sat down in two antique leather chairs by the crackling fire before, nervously, Linda plucked up the courage to ask. "Will your wife be joining us today at some point or would you like me to show her around another day?"

George relaxed into the leather fireside chair. "Oh, that won't be necessary. We recently divorced. I'm quite a private person as is she, and we made a point of keeping the whole matter out of the papers. It's a well kept secret, if you will."

Linda's heart missed a beat and she felt herself blushing. She fidgeted with her jacket and hoped George hadn't noticed.

"Don't be embarrassed about asking, please. You're just doing your job. I understand. Really, it's perfectly ok."

Linda was speechless. For the first time in her professional career she was completely lost for words. She didn't know what to say. All she could tell was that her heart was beating way too fast for a business meeting. And, George did have lovely deep blue eyes.

George continued, "Are you feeling ok? Do you want a glass of water?"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, my mind was wandering, too much on my mind, you know. Is there anything you wanted to ask me about the property?" Linda did her best to snap back into her professional demeanor.

George looked around the room before replying. "Right now, nothing comes to mind, I've stayed here many times as a guest on long weekends so I know the place inside and out. I'll get my accountant to talk to you later today and he'll do all the number crunching and prepare my offer. As far as I'm concerned this is a done deal. My only request is that we keep this between ourselves. I abhor media attention."

"Certainly. This is strictly between us. You can count on the utmost discretion."

"Thank you, Linda."

Linda looked up at the ceiling mural and marveled at the intricate detail. "This is such a beautiful house, it'll make a great home."

George's eyes lit up and a big smile spread across his face. "It is, I'm very excited about it, I have big plans for this place. I've accumulated an extensive art collection and it's mostly in storage, I need a grand house like this to put the paintings and sculptures on display in an appropriate setting to show them off.

"I'm also planning to use the garden for summer concerts. I'm involved with the Cambridge Philharmonic, this would make the perfect venue."

Linda's ears picked up and she beamed, "I'll be there in the front row if you do."

"So you like classical music, Linda?"

"I adore it. I'll be in Vienna next month for the outdoor concerts. I can't wait."

"I'll be there myself. We should meet up."

"For sure, it's a date, er, I meant, it's a deal," Linda giggled.

George laughed and stood up, "I'm terribly sorry but I need to get back to Cambridge for a board meeting at my new start up, my driver will be keen to get on the M25 before the traffic picks up."

"No problem, here's my card with my direct number, I look forward to talking to your accountant later today. Thank you Mr.Preston."

"Oh please, call me George," George laughed with a twinkle in his eye as his driver closed the rear passenger door before driving off into the afternoon traffic.

Linda leaned against her car with a silly grin on her face. She'd have to compose herself before heading back to the office or Karen would know exactly what was on her mind.

One month had passed and at last Linda was walking by the Danube, the sun warmed her bare shoulders and she looked fabulous in the white summer dress Karen had helped her to pick out. The dress made the most of her slim figure and she felt as good as she looked. There he was, she could just now make out George taking a seat at the riverside cafe. She walked a little faster and felt that flutter in her heart again.

"Hello George, we're both right on time as usual," she joked.

"Yes we are, great to see you again," George enthused as he firmly kissed Linda on both cheeks. "You look beautiful, Linda. Absolutely stunning. I've been looking forward to seeing you again for weeks. And you look even better than I expected."

"Oh, thank you. That's very nice of you, George." Linda tried but failed badly to contain her excitement. She dropped her purse and bumped into the table as she bent down to get it, nearly knocking over the vase of yellow flowers.

"Sorry, I'm so clumsy today. Better not invite me around your new house," she giggled.

George released his grip on the flower vase and laughed. "Oh, you must come and visit. I've put a lot of work into the house and most of my art collection is now hanging. I'd value your opinion. I have a few pieces I'm undecided about. Maybe you could help me."

"Certainly, I'd love to. How about tomorrow?" Linda flirted, surprising even herself. She never talked like this.

George smiled, "You know something, I've been thinking about you a lot lately, you made quite an impression on me. I have a very good feeling about you. And if I might be so bold, I 'd like to ask you out on a date."

Linda beamed, "I thought this was a date. In fact this is the first time I've dated a client so I've broken the golden rule to see you, so, yes, now that I'm breaking the rules, I'd love to have another date with you."

"Great, I'm delighted you said that, Linda. You see I don't have much recent experience with women, I was married for a long time. So, I hoped I hadn't misinterpreted any signals of interest. But for once I thought, what the heck, lets throw caution to the wind. Thank God you said yes."

George looked into Linda's eyes and moved closer to hold her left hand, "You're a very beautiful young woman, I haven't stopped thinking about you since we last met. The whole time I've been fixing up the house I wanted to phone you, to hear your voice, to have you call around for afternoon tea, simply, to spend some time with you.

"I stopped myself because I thought it would be inappropriate so soon after doing business together. I was delighted when I finally found the nerve to text you to see if you were still going to Vienna."

Linda felt her breathing quicken as she looked into George's blue eyes. "Oh, me too. I was looking for reasons to phone you, I drove past your house many, many times on the way to meetings but I remembered how important discretion and privacy is to you so I forced myself to remain professional. Professional at all times that's me. I'm so, so pleased we've moved on from that," Linda confessed, feeling the lovely warmth of his hand.

George moved closer, he squeezed Linda's hand and softly kissed her on the cheek, "You're wonderful. Honestly, I never thought I'd meet someone special after my marriage ended. I thought that was it, I'm too old to move on, too set in my ways to start all over again, but then you walked into my life and I haven't felt the same since.

"It was pure fluke we met in the champagne lounge that night. I rarely go out. And then when I met you again to buy the house I knew I couldn't ignore fate. It was just too much of a coincidence. For a hard nosed scientist like me it was hard for me to do this but for the first time in my life I decided to trust my heart. Thank God I did," George whispered.

"Tell me about it. I am the world's greatest over thinker. When I met you at the house I felt scared, confused and so happy all rolled into one. I couldn't stop giggling," Linda laughed. "This is the only way you've ever seen me, I can assure you this is not the way I usually am."

George spoke softly and slowly. "There is something about you, I can't quite put my finger on it but it's like I've already known you for years. That day when we sat in the library of the house, that's when I felt it. Talking to you is so easy, so effortless, I never need to explain what I mean. That almost never happens when I meet people. Somehow, you just get what I'm about."