Jake didn’t want anybody else finding out about his discovery – not just yet. He waited by the lift, thinking about the tea leaves he’d found in the tins. Aubrey was a tea connoisseur. It was that fact that had given him away. Jake found the nerve of the man quite simply astounding. This was William’s apartment, the head of the company. How had Aubrey got away with it all this time? As far as all the other occupants of the building were concerned, Jake included, Aubrey was located somewhere on one of the forty-eight floors. Jake wouldn’t know for sure which floor or which apartment because Jake had never actually seen it – until now. Why had that never struck him as odd?
The apartment being empty did not give Aubrey the right to live there instead. Unless … Jake was thinking about giving Derrick permission to live in the apartment below. Had William given his permission? It was possible – he and Aubrey went way back.
Jake got out his mobile phone. He wanted to speak to Williamand find out if he had given Aubrey permission to use the apartment in his absence. Jake caught sight of the clock on the wall in the kitchen just above the shelf with the tins of fancy tea. He had a flight to catch. He really didn’t have time to get into it all just then. He put his mobile back in his pocket. It would have to wait.
He had the impulse to ring Aubrey’s number – Aubrey’s mobile phone was always switched on, whatever the hour. But until he knew the truth, that would have to wait too. Jake didn’t want to blindly stumble into something he knew nothing about until he got his facts straight.
Jake stood by the lift, his eyes drifting to the adjacent door. Behind that door was a flight of stairs leading down to the forty-ninth floor. Jake knew about those stairs. They were there in case the lift failed. There were similar stairs down to each floor, as with any building, for fire safety reasons.
While he waited for Derrick’s return, he thought about Aubrey riding up in Derrick’s lift and exiting on the forty-ninth floor, supposedly to see Marcus – who in truth was hardly ever there. He must have then taken the flight of stairs up to this apartment, unbeknown to anybody else in the building.
If he’d taken the lift straight up to the fiftieth floor, the concierge might have noticed. Similarly, anybody using Derrick’s lift, or Derrick himself, might have heard the other one moving up and down in the adjacent lift shaft. The fact that Derrick looked just as anxious as Jake felt when they had got into this lift suggested that in the time Derrick had worked there, he hadn’t once heard or seen this lift being used.
Thinking about it now, it made perfect sense. In his role as a trouble-shooter for the company, dealing with some of the more unsavoury issues as they arose, Aubrey would undoubtedly have access to all areas of the building with impunity, including the top floor. For this reason, Aubrey could have easily taken it uponhimself to live up there with or without William’s permission.
Was Aubrey one of those people, full of his own self-importance, who had ideas above his station? Did Aubrey think that his close association with William over the years made him part of the success story of the Ross Corporation, even though William had founded and built the company from scratch and Aubrey was merely along for the ride?
Jake scratched his head. Until he spoke with William or Aubrey, he really had no clue.
The sound of a lift door on the floor below told Jake that Derrick would be back at any moment with the letter. As soon as the lift door opened, he handed it to Jake without setting foot outside the lift. Derrick looked anxious to leave.
Jake took the letter and placed it on the sideboard next to the phone. He hesitated. The idea was that by leaving the letter there, Aubrey would realise that Jake was on to him – he now knew that Aubrey was living on the top floor. On the one hand, Jake thought what did it matter? He loved the guy dearly, and didn’t really care whether he had William’s permission or not. He bet William wouldn’t really care either. Aubrey worked tirelessly for the Rosses, always had done. On the other hand … he glanced at Derrick. Aubrey wasn’t the head of the corporation, and he never would be. Unlike Derrick. Jake didn’t know how long Aubrey had been living up there, but he didn’t want Aubrey getting too comfortable ensconced on the top floor. Jake had it earmarked for his prodigy – the young man standing before him, who he had no doubt would make it to the top.
Jake decided to leave the letter there. Aubrey needed a reality check, and Jake had just given him one. This discovery was for the best. Perhaps it was time Aubrey found an apartment that suited his position.
Jake swore Derrick to secrecy. Derrick promised not to breathe a word of what he had seen. Ross employees wouldhave enough to deal with when they found out about the new occupant of Jake’s apartment without finding out that Aubrey was already ensconced on the top floor.
They reached the ground floor. Jake picked up his bag and held out his hand to Derrick. ‘Good luck, Derrick.’
‘When will I see you again?’
Jake smiled at Derrick and left him to finish the longest day at work he would ever experience. It would be seven long hours before he could tell his family the incredible news; they would be moving in as soon as possible.
Jake was just turning to go, when he had a thought. ‘Oh, by the way, Derrick. I have some news for you.’
A few minutes later, Jake turned away from the lift, smiling. Derrick was whooping with joy outside the lift at the news that he had secured the new position within the company.
Jake saw the concierge throwing Derrick a look as Jake passed by the desk. Jake walked resolutely past the concierge, aiming to make a quick exit.
Harry the doorman proved more difficult to avoid. He had spotted Jake’s approach; he was already holding open the door, and he was looking at Jake’s bag.
‘Goodbye, Harry,’ said Jake walking straight past him out of the door and down the street.
‘Goodbye, sir,’ said Harry to his departing back, a question hanging in the air: the question of Jake’s return.
Chapter 20
Jake boarded the plane. He felt a twinge of anxiety, and it wasn’t about the flight. He had to admit that he was hoping fate would deal him a good hand and he would find they had double-booked his seat, or the plane would break down before take-off. But in Jake’s experience, fate never dealt people the hand they wanted. None of these things happened.
Jake settled into his window seat and leaned forward to look out at the runway. At least it was going to be a short flight. He closed his eyes. Maybe fatewasdeliberately dealing him a hand. There he was, on holiday, going to the last place he’d usually consider, all because of a phone call. The weird part was that he had agreed to go at all.
Jake looked at his watch. In around an hour, he would land at Inverness. He needed the bathroom. Checking the seatbelt sign was switched off, he got up and made his way cautiously to the back of the plane, trying to keep his balance and his stomach contents. He was not a good flier.
He made a mental note to take a moment to re-consider next time he jumped in to be a good Samaritan. He knew that William would not venture back to Scotland to meet Martha. And in his experience, Aubrey wouldn’t come to Scotland either.He never once accepted William’s invitation to Christmas dinner with them at their Highland holiday home, The Lake House, in all the years they’d been spending Christmas there. William and Aubrey went way back, but he’d never heard either of them mention Martha or Arnold Wright. This wasn’t too surprising when Jake thought about it. Aubrey was an enigma; he’d known Aubrey all his life, but knew very little about the man. Aubrey kept his past close to his chest. His life was a closed book.
Still, before he caught his flight, Jake decided to phone Aubrey and let him know about his trip. Perhaps he knew this person called Ralph. Maybe he’d decide to come. Aubrey’s phone had gone straight to voicemail. He’d silently cursed himself for not trying to contact him sooner. Now he was committed to going. It just seemed like the right thing to do, even though he had never heard of Martha in his life.
Jake walked through the centre aisle, glancing from side to side at the other passengers as he went by. A couple who looked around retirement age were engrossed in reading a road map. He smiled, thinking they were in for a fantastic time, guessing they were going on a road trip around Scotland.
