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He waited until she had coffee and toast in front of her, and sat down next to her at the breakfast bar. ‘There’s something I want to talk to you about.’
She turned her gaze on him, thoughtful and shot through with golden tenderness. She’d done that last night, when the honesty had got too much to bear, soothing him, letting him know that it was all right.
‘I wanted to talk to you about what I’ve been doing for the last eight months.’
She couldn’t disguise her reaction and she didn’t try. ‘I have been wondering. I’m glad you want to talk about it.’
‘You might like to wait until you’ve heard what it is.’
‘Whatever it is, it can hardly be as fantastical as the hospital gossip.’
‘There was gossip?’ Of course there had been gossip. It was one of the oddities of life that in an institution devoted to the sick, you only had to sneeze and someone remarked on it.
She smiled. ‘What do you think? Opinion was split between you having a secret twin that you’d gone to find and you having inherited countless millions. There was some talk of a treasure map, but that one didn’t run for too long. I think Gerry suggested it as a polite way of shutting everyone up and it backfired on him.’
‘No one said anything.’
‘Everyone’s forgotten about it now.’ She smiled at him. ‘I’m afraid you only get fifteen minutes of fame. Then no one remembers your name.’
He laughed. She made everything so easy. That was part of what had made her such an invaluable part of his team. No expectations, no prejudices. Just find out what the situation is and deal with it.
‘So what was it really, then?’ She was gently prodding him in the right direction.
‘Well, there’s no lost twin. No treasure map.’ He almost regretted the absence of both. In fact, a treasure map might have been an adventure. ‘The countless millions are a bit closer to the mark, although I believe my accountant knows how many there are.’
She was frowning. ‘But, it’s obvious that your father was wealthy—this is a big house. Is there a problem with that?’
‘No, Jess.’ She wasn’t understanding him. ‘My father was a very rich man.’ He put as much emphasis as he could on the ‘very’. ‘Houses on three continents. A multi-million-pound business that I’m only just coming to grips with how to run. A racehorse.’
‘A racehorse!’ This was all taking time to sink in, and the rest was beyond her grasp at the moment. ‘What’s its name?’
‘I have no idea. I don’t really want to know, I might start getting attached to it.’
‘Three continents?’ She was getting there.
‘Yeah. One in Australia, two in America, one in Rome and one here. The one in Rome’s really nice.’
She was shrinking back from him, as if he’d just admitted to being an imposter from outer space who’d taken over his own body.
‘I could take you there for a holiday, over Christmas maybe. I think you’d love it.’
She swallowed hard. ‘But it’s the business, isn’t it? That’s what the problem is.’
She might be feeling acutely flabbergasted, but you could never accuse Jess of not being able to size up a situation.
‘Yes, exactly. My father and I weren’t particularly close and he wasn’t best pleased when I decided to go to medical school. It would have been nice to have a few personal things of his, but I’d always counted on him leaving his business interests to someone involved with the business.’
‘But you’re his son!’ It made Greg smile to hear her assert his filial rights. ‘You’re his only child?’
He nodded. ‘Yeah, no long-lost siblings. Or if there are, they’re keeping quiet and I can’t say I blame them. It’s down to me to sort everything out.’
Jess stared at him. Most people would have been overjoyed to hear of such an inheritance. Most women would already be planning the trip to Rome. Somehow she didn’t seem to be quite on board with that. ‘But isn’t that what you were doing when you were away?’
‘I’ve made a start.’ He took a sip of his espresso. ‘The board of directors is split over practically every issue you can name. My father chose people who were ambitious and who would think out of the box. He was the ultimate authority who kept it all under control, and that worked well when he was alive. Now it’s tearing itself apart at the seams.’
‘And… you mean you’re still running it?’
‘Not the day-to-day stuff. But, yes, I’m running it. I don’t have much choice; there are thousands of people depending on it for their livelihoods.’
