I push through the large glass doors and step into the outside garden area. “What do you mean you got me a job?” I whisper.
“Look, it’s nothing flash. You’re going to be in the admin and mailroom. But it will be easy to do, and the shit jobs are where the fun is normally at, anyway. It’s in the Belconnen Building, so your guards will have no idea you’re not important. That building already has security, so it’s a perfect scenario.”
“You’re serious?” I gasp.
“Completely. I’m coming to get you on Saturday to move you down to London.”
My mouth falls open. “Elizabeth,” I whisper angrily. “I thought you were joking.”
“And I thought you were sick of getting no action,” she hisses right back. “It’s six fucking weeks, Charlotte. Loosen the hell up.”
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “What if I get caught?”
“Then you turn around and come back straight home—no big deal. Your family is not going to disown you for having a working holiday in London.”
“No, I… I mean the new job,” I stammer. “What if I mess it up?”
“Oh, please, you’re probably more qualified than most people in that shitty building. You could be the fucking CEO if you wanted.”
Poor, deluded Elizabeth has such a distorted view of me. She thinks I could rule the damn world. “Beth,” I sigh.
“Don’t Beth me. I’m coming to get you on Saturday, and we’re going out clubbing on that same night. I’m buying you a huge box of condoms, too, because you’re going to fucking need them.”
I put my hand over my eyes. “Oh God.” Nerves swirl deep inside my stomach.
“You want to have fun, Charlotte, and daring to do something different is the first step. You need to call your father and Edward tonight and tell them that you’re working in London for a few days. They need to organise security, and then we’ll just keep extending it so that it doesn’t seem suss.”
“This whole damn thing is suss,” I whisper.
“Oh, and I called the Four Seasons to confirm they have a penthouse that takes up the entire top floor. I booked it out for six weeks. You’ll have to pay on arrival, though.”
I blow air into my cheeks, then blow it back out. “I can’t believe you actually think this is going to work.”
“Do you want to have a holiday from being Charlotte Prescott or not?” she snaps.
I stay silent for a moment before answering. “You know I do.”
“Then stop being such a baby. See you on Saturday.” She hangs up the phone and the line is dead.
I drop into a chair and stare at a tree in the garden for a moment. What the hell did I just agree to?
Edward is going to flip his lid.
The line rings, and my heart is thumping hard. It doesn’t feel right to be lying to my father.
“Hello, my dear Charlotte,” he answers.
I smile at the sound of his voice. I hadn’t realised until now just how much I miss him. “Hi, Dad.”
“How are you? What’s been going on at home? You’re up late, dear. It’s after eleven here.”
“Ah, yes.” I hesitate. Lying to him is going to be harder than I thought. “I just wanted to speak to you and tell you something. I have to go work in London for a few weeks.”
“Why?”
I wince. “There are some things that need to be taken care of in London, and I thought…” I twist the edge of my shirt between my fingers. “I thought now was a good time to go, while you’re away, so I can spend some time with Elizabeth. It’s just for a week or two.”
“Can’t it wait until we get home? I worry about you being in London on your own.”
“I know, Dad.” I bounce my leg as guilt fills me.
“I could come and stay in London with you when I get home, if that’s what you want? I don’t mind.”
“Ah.” Why does he have to be so damn nice all the time? “No. If I go alone then I’ll be home when you get home and we can spend some time together where I don’t have to work.”
He remains silent, and I know I haven’t convinced him yet.
“I’ll take the guards, of course.”
“Have you spoken to them?” he asks cautiously. “It may not suit them to go to London.”
“I have, and they’re both fine to come along. I’ll book them into the room next to mine.”
“I’ll speak to Edward,” he says sharply.
“Dad.” I sigh. “You know Edward won’t want me to go.”
“Only for your own safety, Charlotte. You are my most prized possession, and if anything happened to you...” His voice trails off. “You are a target now, love.”
“I won’t take stupid risks, Dad, and I’ll take the boys with me everywhere I go. I’m just going to be working through the day and going out to dinner with the girls at night. Nothing extreme.””
He inhales sharply.
“Please, I need some time with my girlfriends.” An unexpected wave of sadness rolls over me, because it really is true. “I’m lonely, Dad. I’ll go crazy locked up here at the house alone for six weeks.”
“I’ll speak to Edward.” He sighs.
“Thank you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I hear the rustling of papers, and I imagine him sitting at his large mahogany desk, ruling the world from New York. “When do you want to go?”
“I have to be there for Monday, so I will go on Saturday, if that’s okay.”
“And where will you be staying?”
“I booked the Four Seasons penthouse so that I’m the only room on the entire floor. Nobody will be able to get in without a key.” I smile to myself. “See, I really do listen to you.”
“Okay.” He inhales again, and I can imagine him leaning back in his chair. “Are you really all right, Charlotte?”
My eyes fill with tears, because I honestly don’t know if I am. “Missing Mum,” I confess in a whisper.
“Me, too, darling. Me, too.”
We stay silent on the line, both lost in our own grief.
I smile sadly. “Thanks, Dad. I love you. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I love you, dear. Sleep well.”
After hanging up, I make my way to the kitchen and put the kettle on. That wasn’t a hard phone call, after all. However, the next one definitely will be, and if I know anything for certain, it’s that Edward will call me in approximately fifteen minutes and begin freaking out.
My phone begins to vibrate on the kitchen bench, the name Edward lighting up the screen. Five minutes—a new record time.
“Hello, Edward.”
“Charlotte, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m going to London.”
“Why?”
“I have to work.”
“Send someone else instead.”
“I can’t, I need to do this.”
“I’ll come home and go with you. I’ll only be a week.”
“Edward,” I sigh, exasperated. “I’m fine. I’ll be with Elizabeth.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better. Beth is out of control.”
I get a flashback of him from the other night, and I want to blurt out the question, Are you sleeping with Lara? Why is it a secret from me? but I hold my tongue.
“Where will you be staying?” he asks abruptly.
“The Four Seasons penthouse. The only room on the floor.”
“You’ve spoken to Anthony?”
“Yes, Anthony can come, and so can Wyatt.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s just for work, Edward, and I’ll have the guards with me the entire time.”
“I don’t like this.”
“I know you don’t, but you can’t stop me going. Dad said it was okay. I’m going to London for work, not Ibiza to party. Lighten up.”
“Hmm.” He groans.
I smile, because I know I’ve got him. “I love you.”
“Fine, but I’ll organise their rooms at the Four Seasons myself. And I’m calling Alexander to keep an eye on you.”
I smile. Alexander York is his best friend from school, and he just so happens to live in London. “Fine,” I reply.
“And if I hear of you in London running amuck, I’m coming straight home and dragging you back to Nottingham.”
I chuckle. “You’re so dramatic.”
He exhales heavily. “See ya, Lottie.”
I grin with victory. I can’t believe this plan is actually working out.
“Goodbye, Edward, I love you.”
“Yeah… I love you, too.” Then he hangs up. I stare at my reflection in the kitchen window and smile. How the hell did I just pull that off?
*