Page 46 of The Sisters


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Birdie nodded as tears fell down her face. Start again. She heard the words in her head as they drove away. She wanted to start again but she was with the wrong man and it was too late. She had made her choice and now she had to live with it.

14

Spencer sat with Carlotta and Chris in Chris’s office.

‘The bank meeting is next Monday,’ he said. ‘I tried to put it off as long as I could but they are nervous. The police have been asking them questions about Leon.’

‘Where are we on that?’ asked Chris.

‘He’s in Morocco. With Melanie, as thought,’ he added dryly.

Carlotta rolled her eyes. ‘Christ, she’s a bitch,’ she said. ‘Why can’t they just fly over and arrest him?’

‘The US doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Morocco,’ said Spencer.

‘Well, what can you find out?’ asked Carlotta impatiently.

‘We can get an investigator, if you like,’ Spencer said. ‘It will be expensive though.’

‘Do it. I will pay out of my trust fund.’

Chris glanced at her and then looked away. ‘Does it matter now to Pajaro?’ he asked.

‘This isn’t about the company, this is about my mother who still hasn’t woken up,’ she snapped.

‘Of course,’ said Chris.

Spencer interrupted them.

‘You need to ensure that Grace and Violetta have all their ducks lined up for the bank. We need to impress them.’

‘Absolutely,’ Carlotta replied. The sisters were planning to meet later in the week to go through their presentation together.

Spencer got up. ‘I’m off to see your mom,’ he said, packing up his papers.

‘Violetta’s in later today,’ said Carlotta. ‘Give her a kiss from me.’

‘Of course,’ said Spencer, and he kissed Carlotta on the cheek.

After he left Carlotta sat awkwardly in Chris’s office. ‘I need to apologise to you and to Alexia,’ she said.

‘There’s no need,’ said Chris brusquely.

‘There is a need. I was rude and insensitive and I feel terrible.’

‘We haven’t thought about you at all,’ said Chris, and he turned from her and went to his desk.

The truth was he had thought about Carlotta a lot. He thought about her constantly and this only made him angry. She was a piece of work, he told Alexia, when she asked about her equestrian heroine. But occasionally he saw glimpses of the person she could be, if only she would let her guard down.

‘I would like to help Alexia with her riding if she would let me,’ she offered.

‘Don’t do her any favours. It’s hard enough trying to get the horse set to embrace her and her riding. They don’t seem to believe that a person with no feeling in their legs could control a horse,’ he said bitterly.

Carlotta watched as he sat at his desk. He seemed tired and stressed and she felt even worse for adding to it. His commitment to Pajaro was commendable and she regretted her attitude to both him and his daughter.

‘How old is she?’ she asked lightly.

‘Fifteen,’ he answered shortly.