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As a professional, a lawyer in charge of the brief, voicing opinions was not within her remit but she hadn’t been able to help herself.
By the time they made it to the shelter, her eyes were bright and there was colour in her cheeks. More to the point, her guard was down. Alessandro felt that he was watching the years falling away. He wasn’t about to be sucked into believing that she was anything but the liar she undoubtedly was, but he was certainly enjoying the hectic flush in her cheeks and the lively animation on her face.
They made it to the shelter on time. He immediately understood its potential for investment.
The large Victorian house, clearly in need of vast sums of money for essential repair, sat squarely in the midst of several acres of land. For somewhere that was accessible by bus and overland rail, it was a gem waiting to be developed.
The car swung through iron gates that were opened for them only after they had cleared security and they drove up to the house which was fronted by a circular courtyard, in the centre of which stood a non-functioning fountain.
‘Beth was left this property by her parents,’ Chase told him. ‘It’s another reason why she’s so reluctant to sell. It was her childhood home. She may have converted it into the shelter, but there are a truck load of memories inside.’
‘Is this when you begin to repeat your mantra that I have no heart and that my only aim in life is to make money at other people’s expense?’
‘If the cap fits...’ Chase muttered under her breath in yet another show of unprofessionalism that would have had her boss mopping his brow with despair.
Alessandro raised his eyebrows and she had the grace to blush before stepping out of the car into the sunshine.
Alessandro was more than happy to follow her lead. He had never been to a place like this before. They were greeted at the door by Beth, who was in her sixties, a woman with long, grey hair tied back in a ponytail and a warm, caring face. Whatever she felt for the big, bad developer who was moving in to sweep her inheritance out from under her feet, she kept it well hidden.
‘Some of the girls who come to us are in a terrible way,’ she confided as they toured the house which was laid out simply but effectively inside. ‘Chase knows that.’
‘And that would be because...?’
‘Because I’ve taken an interest in the place from the very start,’ Chase said quickly. ‘This sort of thing appeals to me. As I told you, I was very tempted to go into Social Services or the police force, some place where I would be able to do good for the community.’
Alessandro personally thought that it was priceless that she could come over all pious and saintly in his presence but he kept silent. He made all the right noises as he was shown through the house and introduced to girls who looked unbearably young, many of whom had nowhere else to go and were either pregnant or with a child.
‘I try and keep them busy,’ Beth told him as they went from room to room. ‘Most of them don’t see the point of continuing their education and it’s very difficult for a fifteen-year-old to go to classes when they have a baby to look after. Many of my dear friends are teachers and volunteer to hold classes for them. It’s truly remarkable the goodness that exists within us.’
Alessandro’s eyes met Chase’s over the older woman’s head and his lips twisted into a cynical smile. ‘It’s not a trait I see much of in my line of business,’ he said.
‘I’m sure,’ Beth concurred with a sad shake of her head. ‘Now, Chase tells me that you’re a very busy man.’
‘And yet,’ Chase inserted blandly, ‘he’s managed to make time to come here and see what you’re all about. Although, I guess that mostly has to do with him judging the potential for knocking down the house and developing the land as soon as the money changes hands.’
Alessandro was cynical enough to appreciate the underhand dig. No one could accuse her of giving up without a fight. Their eyes tangled and he gave a slight smile of amused understanding of where she was heading with that incendiary statement.
‘I will personally see to it that your...operation is transferred to suitable premises,’ he affirmed, raking fingers through his dark hair.
‘Not the same. Is it, Beth?’
‘I will certainly miss the old place,’ Beth agreed. ‘It may not seem much to you, Mr Moretti, but this is really the only house I’ve ever known. I’ve never married, never left the family house. You must think me a silly old woman, but I shall find it very difficult to move on. Well, in truth—and I haven’t said this to you, Chase, and you must promise me that you won’t breathe a word to anyone else—my thoughts are with retiring from the whole business once I move on. Of course, I shall make sure that some of the money I get from the sale goes towards another shelter—perhaps smaller than this—and Frank and Anne will run it.’
