‘Thanks, Grace,’ said Violetta. ‘I think getting Calypso will make all the difference.’
Carlotta squeezed her youngest sister. ‘You are amazing,’ she said.
Grace beamed. ‘I have to thank my bike courier.’
The sisters laughed as they left.
Grace went inside her apartment again, looked at the mess her sisters had created and realised she had never felt happier. Now all she had to do was get through the presentation tomorrow and hope her mother would regain consciousness. She picked up her mobile phone and looked at it. No messages from Frank. Then she dialled his number.
‘Hi.’
‘Hi yourself. How did the homework go?’ he asked.
‘Great, it was really helpful,’ she said, pausing. She had never invited a man over to her apartment before. Was it too forward? Then she remembered her and Frank in the hotel room in LA. She blushed and began to feel butterflies again. ‘What are you doing now?’ she asked shyly.
‘Waiting.’
‘For what?’
‘For you to invite me over.’
‘Well then, hop on your bike and pedal over my friend,’ she laughed. Why was it so easy with Frank and so hard with other men, she wondered.
Frank arrived in about twenty minutes. He must live closer than she realised. ‘Is your apartment nearby?’ she asked as she buzzed him in.
‘Yeah, kinda,’ he said vaguely and he pulled her into his arms. ‘I missed you.’
‘How can you miss someone who you saw five hours ago,’ she laughed, not wanting to admit she had missed him also.
Frank looked around the apartment as he hugged her. ‘Nice crib.’
‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘I like it here.’
‘You have great taste,’ he said, looking at the wall of paintings above the sofa.
‘I know, especially in couriers.’
Grace pulled his face down towards her and kissed him. She took his hand and led him to the bedroom and pushed him onto the bed. ‘I missed you too,’ she said, her eyes sparkling.
Frank laughed. ‘Ah, I see, I’m your booty call.’
Grace looked horrified. ‘No, I thought you were my boyfriend.’
Frank smiled at her. ‘I’m teasing. Of course I am your boyfriend, as you so quaintly put it,’ he said and pulled her to him. ‘Now come here, lady, and show me how much you love me.’
Grace tumbled onto him, laughing. For a moment her mother flashed before her eyes and she felt a pang of guilt but then Frank undressed her and all thoughts of Birdie left as she let Frank make love to her slowly and surely, as he learned her body. Then they slept, entangled in each other’s arms and hearts.
At the hospital early the next morning, Grace visited her mother before her meeting.
‘Mom, I met someone. Now before you ask, he’s a bike courier but he's very well connected and I really, really like him. Actually, I love him. His name is Frank. He’s kind and has good taste in photography. We met at Cranfields. He was very persistent and I would never have usually gone out with him but I did and now I can’t wait to see him again. I wish you would wake up, Mommy, so you can meet him. I think you would love him. I have to go. I love you.’
She leaned over, kissed her mother and swept out of the room, missing the tear that fell from Birdie’s eye.
20
The de Santoval sisters stood at the front of the boardroom. The chairs and the spaces around them were filled with executives and bankers. Spencer sat at the front, beaming with pride at their presentation. It had gone seamlessly, and each of them was clear and inspiring in their own way. The star power of Calypso Gable had helped enormously, just as Chris had predicted, and Carlotta saw the board members breathe a sigh of relief at the end of their presentation.
Spencer stood up. ‘As you can see, the family is still in charge of the company and we have an exciting and profitable direction to head in.’
