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“Got it. See you soon.” Ending the call, Broderick sits back in front of me on the coffee table that is now minus one expensive statue.
“We have a man on her, she just got back on the train heading for London with a bag. She is safe.” Before I can even attempt to get up, his hands are on my knees. “We aren’t sure where she is headed, but I don’t think it’s back to your place. Otherwise, she never would have left.”
“I want a woman too.”
Broderick looks at me, confused.
“I want a woman security guard with her. I don’t want her alone, not for one moment.” And I mean it. I don’t think she is in danger from those two idiots trying to destroy her reputation, because they don’t have enough brains between them to organize something so sophisticated, but I don’t want to lose sight of her, it’s as simple as that. A woman guard is not restricted about where she can follow her.
“Okay, okay, I’ll get Rem on it. Flynn dropped Lou to Victoria’s house, and her guard just reported she is walking back the few streets to her own home, and she’s been crying, makeup all over her face.”
It’s the words that confirm what I suspected. She isn’t on her way back to me.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but we actually think Victoria is doing you a favor. If she is out of the picture, we can deal with this drug problem without having to fight the side battle of these two spoilt children. And from now on, there will be mandatory drug screening of all staff. I don’t know what Jocelyn’s on or how often she is taking them, but maybe it explains a bit of her hostile attitude. Either withdrawal when she is at work, or it is something that brings out the worst in her. Something we will eventually get to the bottom of.”
“I don’t give a fuck what she’s on. She will never work another day in a Darby business. Period! If she wants to screw up her life, that’s on her, but she’s not taking me down with her.” I take another sip of water from the bottle that Broderick got me as I come out of my fog.
“Agreed. Now we need to get you home. Rest is what will be best while we sort this out.”
He has to be kidding if he thinks I can sleep knowing that Victoria is leaving me, and I can’t do a damn thing about it.
As I stand and walk with him to the elevator, he throws the words at me that make me want to run too.
“Oh, and I can confirm your mum is on her flight and will land here early Monday morning.”
“Shit, get ready to watch a sixty-year-old woman want to kill her son when she arrives.” Running my hands through my hair, I can feel the disappointment already that she will try to hide when she arrives. She and Victoria connected in that first initial call, and Mum will have been planning a wedding in her mind and counting future grandkids. “The women in my life drive me batshit crazy!”
The elevator doors start sliding closed, and I’m put in my place by his fatherly voice. “Don’t speak about your mother like that, she deserves your respect.”
“And she has it, but it won’t stop her from ranting at me how much I fucked up by losing Victoria.”
The silence as we descend is broken as we reach the ground floor. “Not yet, son. I told you we aren’t letting her go, just giving her a bit of space… for now.”
And that gives me the tiniest splinter of hope.
* * *
The last two weeks have been the worst of my life, with my mum being here, trying to mother me to death and fix my broken heart. She forgets I’m not six anymore where she needs to fix a scraped knee. Don’t get me wrong, that first hug from her when she arrived, I needed more than I realized, but now, I’m in full asshole mode and just want to be left alone. Even the guys have worked out they should stay clear of me unless I want to see them.
I think Mum finally got the message when she arrived at my office this afternoon unannounced while I was in a meeting with Broderick. He was in the middle of calming me down and telling me to be patient with the case. He seems to be positive that things are about to change soon, and all will be resolved. I wanted to push him further because I think he is hiding something from me, but with Mum here, I let it go for now.
Mum wanted to make plans for Friday-night dinner, but that’s the last thing I want. What I really need is to sink myself deep inside Victoria and not let her go. But that is a long way from happening and my greatest fear is that it may never.
Broderick took Mum out for a drink, saving me from saying something I would regret later. At least one thing that has helped me to settle somewhat is having her finally tell me what the hell is going on with her. I had visions of terrible things, and although I’m still concerned, it wasn’t what I was expecting. She has been diagnosed with diabetes, and the day she forgot the handbrake on the car and let it roll into a tree was when she finally accepted she needed to get serious with what the doctors were telling her. So, watching her sugar levels is a constant thing until we get her stable, and she hates the insulin injections, but there are worse things in life. This I can handle, and although she tells me it may as well be death if she isn’t allowed to eat chocolate or my desserts, I make her follow her diet. I reassured her that I will find a way for her to still be spoiled with good food, but not the type that will kill her. Stubborn woman!
Knowing she needed to eat, Broderick’s timing was perfect, and I know he is all over what is going on with her. He knew before I did that something wasn’t right, admitting he took a quick trip to Australia to check on her without me knowing. At first, I was so angry that he didn’t tell me, but I understood once he reminded me that it wasn’t his news to tell but that she is always safe, he makes sure of it. It seems he has taken a personal interest in her, and if I had more mental space I would question why, but I just don’t right now. That can be for another time.
After they left my office, instead of heading out to the estate for the weekend where I just want to be left alone, I have spent the last thirty minutes sitting in an interview room down in the police station with my lawyer, after receiving a phone call that I was required for more discussions. Although I think the word they meant to use was questioning, which to me means interrogation.
The door opens and the original two officers we spoke to enter the room with absolutely no expression on their faces. This can’t be serious, otherwise surely, they just would have turned up at my office and charged me, carting me away in handcuffs. Oh, wouldn’t that be a sight for the paparazzi who camp outside my offices. They think I don’t know they are there, but the same guy sitting in the same seat every day, all day, at the café across the street is a little obvious.
All I can think about as they sit down and start rustling through papers is Victoria and how I’m glad she isn’t here if this goes sideways quickly.
The last update I had from Broderick is that she is working in a café near the Eiffel Tower that is a popular spot for expat Australians. Quite ironic really, maybe she misses my accent, which I’m clinging on to hope that it’s that. But realistically, it’s probably that they had a job opening and she needed money. I hate that she is staying in a backpackers’ hostel, but Broderick keeps telling me I need to stay out of this and let her live her dream adventure. That coming from a man I’ve never seen with a woman the whole time I’ve known him. This staying away and not interfering is torture.
I haven’t messaged, called, or reached out to her in any way because I know she doesn’t want me to, and I’m trying to respect that. I know if I sent a message and it went unanswered then it would break me more than I already am. I have to let her do this her way, as hard as that is for me.
But maybe that’s the point. I need to learn something from all of this, in more ways than one. Which was made abundantly clear when Flynn arrived the morning after the charity dinner with Elouise, and she left nothing unsaid about what she thought of me and what had gone down with Victoria. I tell you, those two women together are a force to be reckoned with. She didn’t hold back, and for a little woman, she packs a punch. I could see the smirk on Flynn’s face but know he didn’t disagree with some of the things she was saying. Including that I needed to talk to someone to finally get past my inability to treat a woman the way I should. I don’t know how much Victoria told her about me or if it was Flynn, but she seemed to know enough to be reading me well.
