‘You’d like that wouldn’t you? For me to drop dead. Well don’t think you’re getting a penny when I die. You and that idiot brother of yours don’t deserve a red cent from me. After all we’ve done for you! This is how you repay us!’
My nostrils flared and my blood boiled beneath my skin but I calmly stepped forwards and with an even tone I told him, ‘You gave me life, and for that I’m grateful but that’s where it ends. I don’t want your money if the truth be told. I don’t need it. I’m my own man now and I make my own decisions. You’ve never been happy with anything I’ve done so, quite frankly this is the reaction I expected and is precisely why I have avoided coming home. Now, please leave so these good people can get on with their work.’
‘Good people? That’s a bloody joke! This man not only tried to steal my fiancée but now he’s stealing my son!’ He glanced around to ensure his audience were getting the full impact of his story.
Alasdair shook his head. ‘For the record, Campbell, Isobel wasminefirst, remember?Youdid the stealing. But that’s fine because now I have a good woman in my life, one that isn’t so easily distracted by shiny and sparkly things. And as for your son, perhaps if you’d showed him any kind of love or encouragement over the years he’s been on earth, you would still have him in your own employ. Now kindly leave before I have you removed.’
My father’s face was beetroot red and his chest heaved. He waved his stick at me. ‘You haven’t heard the last of this Finlay,’ he snarled through gritted teeth. ‘Not whilst I have breath in my body.’ And with his final words he stormed out of the office and headed for the elevator.
Alasdair turned to face me and a smile spread across his face. ‘I see what you mean about the use of your full name. I don’t know about you but I’d say you were definitely in trouble.’ There was a pause before we both began to laugh.
* * *
My new secretary, Fiona, was a whirlwind. And a mind reader, so it would seem. It was as if she knew what I needed before I even voiced the request. Dressed smartly in a navy blue pin striped suit, and with her grey hair in a neat knot at the back of her head, she had the appearance of a school headmistress. She was uber efficient and smiley, but not in a fake, annoying way. I got the feeling from our first day working together that things were going to run like a well-oiled machine.
At the end of my first day, Alasdair insisted on taking me for a drink across the way to a place called The Voodoo Rooms. We claimed a curved booth opposite the bar and I took in the surroundings of the place I had never been to before. The ornate carved ceiling and padded seating gave it the feel of an exclusive gentleman’s club.
‘So, how are you feeling after your first day? In spite of your father’s visit, that is.’ Alasdair’s direct and to the point question caught me off guard.
‘Oh... great. Great. A little too easy though, if I’m honest.’
Alasdair assessed me for a moment as he took a long draw from the amber liquid in his glass. ‘Tooeasy? What were you expecting? Walking over hot coals? Being thrown in at the deep end?’
I let out a long breath and pondered my words carefully. ‘I don’t mean thecasesare easy. I’m not arrogant enough to feel that. I just mean settling in was easier than I expected. Everyone’s been so respectful. Nice even.’
Alasdair’s responding laugh was genuine. ‘Well, I’ll get them to throw rotten tomatoes and hurl abuse tomorrow then, if it makes you feel at home.’
His laughter was contagious. ‘No, no. Don’t get me wrong, it wasgoodto be enveloped in such a positive atmosphere. I can’t say it’s something I’m used to.’
He frowned. ‘What the hell were you subjected to at your father’s firm?’
‘Oh, you know, he made a point of there being absolutelynofavouritism where I was concerned. In fact, I think he maybe went to the opposite extreme now I think about it. Nothing I ever did was good enough. And I don’t just mean at work.’ My mouth was running away with me, and the easy-going nature of my new boss made opening up far too easy.
Dammit. Too much information.
Alasdair clenched his jaw and he leaned towards me. ‘Well, let me tell you now, Fin, you deserve to be treated with respect and to be acknowledged for your talent as a lawyer. I hope you believe me when I say that. I don’t tell lies.’
I nodded and swirled my drink around in my glass, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed for sharing so much of myself with him. ‘Thanks. That means a lot.’ Why did I feel like I had been rescued on more than one occasion recently?
‘Look, I know your family life has nothing to do with me, Fin. And I know that I was seen as the enemy for so long, but I just want you to know that how you were treated before, nothing ever being up to standard, your relationship with Elise... If you’d beenmyson, things would have been completely different. My daughter, Eleanor, runs a fashion boutique in the city.’ His eyes softened with fondness. ‘When she was growing up, all she ever wanted to be was a fashion designer. She’d sit for hours making dresses from scraps of fabric for her Barbie and Sindy dolls. Then she’d make me and her mother sit and watch her fashion shows. Bless her heart. She knew how to put an outfit together though, I’ll give her that. She studied fashion at university for a while but then decided it wasn’t for her so she dropped out.’
I gasped. In my family, failure wasn’t an option. Dropping out wasn’t an option, and choosing your own career path wasdefinitelynot an option. ‘Oh. You must have been disappointed.’
He scrunched his brow and shook his head. ‘Why would I be disappointed? She used her brain and made a decision that made her happy. She put a business plan together and went to the bank. She got a loan and opened up a vintage clothing boutique. Shehasmade a great success of fashion just like she wanted to. It just wasn’t the route she initially expected to take. But she’shappy, Fin. She’s doing what she loves, and that’s great as far as I’m concerned.That’swhat’s important. Whatever she decided to do, I didn’t care as long as it was right for her. That’s what I’m trying to get you to understand. A parent should want their child’s happiness aboveanything else. Success alone means nothing. This is why I feel it’s so important for you to be withmyfirm. I think you could be fulfilled here.’
‘I... I don’t get why you’re so concerned with my happiness. Anyone would thinkyouwere my father and not Campbell.’Oh shit.A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. ‘You’re not my father, are you? This isn’t some kind of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader situation, is it?’
Alasdair burst into laughter and held up his hands. ‘No, no. I can assure you, Fin, I’m not your father. And I’m not trying to get you to join the dark side. Quite the opposite.’ He shook his head, still laughing. ‘I think I got the lines wrong there somewhere. That’s not how it goes in the film at all.’
A wave of disappointment rushed through me. I think every kid, at some point, goes through the whole ‘Am I adopted?’ thing, and Alasdair sounded like the kind of dad I would have liked growing up. I could have been a musician with a dad like him. If only we could sometimes choose our family as well as our friends.
27
Star
Fin’s nerves almost got the better of him, and it took all of my feminine wiles to get him to attend his first get together with Mr Hyde. I hadneverknown someone so mercurial. One minute he was the shy, sweet guy who blushed when ordering coffee, and the next he was this amazingly sexy, confident singer with the stage presence of Freddy Mercury. In a strange way, it was nice that I got to see the sweet, tender side of him, but the stage persona of my very own Jekyll and Hyde was amajorturn on. He brought a whole new, and positive, meaning to the wordduplicity, that’s for sure.
We made our way across the city to an old warehouse on the outskirts, and as we sat there in the back of the cab, Fin clung to my hand so tightly I was sure my fingers would drop off. I glanced sideways at him and my heart squeezed in my chest. He was chewing the thumbnail on his free hand, his knee bobbed up and down, and his jaw was ticking.
