What about you? - 13

Chapter 13

Mason had watched the whole interaction whilst hearing about the almost downfall of his whole business world via the phone at his ear. And he could honestly say there was only one of the situations that he was really concerned about. He silently gestured a ‘she’s ok’ in reference to his mother to his Aunty, then agreed to fax some information to Brandon asap. It was long minutes before he hung up the phone and literally ran after Kate.

There was no sign of her in the corridors, or the downstairs reception when he got there, so he ran out into the street. In the distance at an almost running pace he saw her, just about to disappear from view.

He’d never run so fast, his lungs felt like they were imploding, the cold air assaulting his body with every snatched breath. He knocked into at least a dozen people, each time registering amazement that so many people were suddenly up and about so early on a Sunday morning. Rounding the corner, he slowed a little then again spotted the flash of her red coat between two parked trucks. He’d closed on her considerably. Again at a full pace run, he crossed the street and was rewarded with the view of the back of her just a few yards away. He could barely breathe, his whole body screamed at the abuse it was suffering, but he needed to talk to her, needed a chance.

                “Kate, stop...please!” He gasped as he closed on her.

She stopped dead and then turned slowly to look at him, and the expression on her face, the pain, the hurt and the devastation almost cut him to the core.

                “I tried to talk to you...” he could barely string half a dozen words together because of his breathlessness. “I wanted to explain...”

Kate snarled at him, “explain? Talk to me? Just when exactly?” She sighed, going from angry to resigned, “I knew it was all too good to be true.”

As she turned to walk away he saw red, reaching out and he grabbed her upper arm, “don’t just walk away Kate, for god’s sake! That’s all you ever do is leave!”

She stopped and looked at him, hating that she was so transparent. All she wanted was to run home, throw herself on her bed, and rue the fact that she’d opened up to him, that someone had finally got close enough to upset her life, her balance. Instead, she was in the street, in the worsening rain, facing him as her heart felt like it was breaking.    She’d spent so long protecting herself from this, from other people, from pain. How had he got past her defences? How had she let this happen?

“Ok Mason, let’s talk. Did you come to the wedding purely to find out who I was? Did you stage it all? Is this another ploy to discredit me? I know Peter’s father never thought I was good enough for him. Is this him still thinking I’m not good enough from beyond the grave?” Mason stuttered in amazement, but now Kate was in full swing, “I have done everything to please the bloody Wightman’s, and now I have THIS! You worming your way in to my life, for what reason Mason? What do you get out of this? And why the hell are you doing it?”

He was still floundering, he hadn’t expected this, had no idea that this relationship was so precarious. Suddenly he was speechless. How the hell could he answer a question on a subject he knew nothing about?

                “I don’t know anything about that...”

                “Typical!” she snapped trying to walk away again but once more he restrained her.

                “You asked me a question! What do I get out of this? Time with you! Don’t you see that? It’s all I want. Why am I doing it? Because I haven’t felt so alive in the last ten years. All I need is you to believe me, to trust me.”

Kate scoffed, “Trust you? Ha-ha-ha! I wish I could believe a word you say, but you’ve had ample opportunity to explain things, to make it just a little bit easier to cope with than this. Instead you’ve lied to me. How can I believe a word you say? What evidence is there that you are anything more than a liar?”

He was silent for a moment, digesting the situation and how awful this all appeared to her. “There’s so much to say Kate, I agree, so much that I haven’t told you yet!”

                “’Yet’?” she repeated the word, “a single word that can mean thousands. You had so many opportunities to tell me that you’re related to Peter. You KNEW this was a very emotional subject for me, that all the guilt I feel is because of me betraying him, and now I find out it’s with his cousin?” She shook her head in disgust at both him and herself.  “There was also time to tell me more about yourself, your family, your job...I know as much about you know as when I left the hotel room four weeks ago. You keep telling me you want more than a one night stand, but honestly...do you?”

Mason was struggling to find solid ground, Kate was asking more questions than he could process, and he was unable to formulate an answer that wouldn’t incense her more.

                “Come on Kate, neither of us has talked anything of real substance, but that’s because we’re at the beginning of something new, it comes with time. I was honestly hoping that later today I’d be able to sit with you and talk...but up until now we’ve both been unable to keep our hands off each other. This was definitely NOT pillow talk. We have something special here, you and I both know that.  I was wrong to get this far without telling you about my family, but I honestly didn’t know back in your brother’s wedding. You blew me away that day, and you still do now! Don’t think I don’t see that your using this as another opportunity to hide, run away...when are you going to get past this? You have NO future with Peter, he offers you nothing. Why can’t you see that?”

The words hit Kate like sharp knives to the chest, until then he’d almost started to make sense, but those words were so hurtful, so brutal that they instantly rebuilt the animosity. It took her more than a deep breath to calm her nerves and her anger, “so you see yourself as some sort of Romeo do you? You’re better than Peter? Or are YOU the man to finally bring peace and happiness to my life? Is that it? Are you the ‘Catch of the Century’? There’s nothing worse than a conceited and egotistical man!”

                “Kate! This is such a ridiculous argument, we’ve both got a past, we both know that. None of this is as you think. We just need to calm down and talk.”  At that moment his phone rang and despite everything he had to check. A glance down confirmed his worst fears, with THE worst timing, he saw Brandon’s name there, flashing with urgency.

Connecting the call, he simultaneously tightened his grip around her arm, stopping her running.

                “Brandon?”

                “I need you to get to the Paris office asap, the documentation is being prepared there. It has to be faxed before this evening. Can you get make it? It’s the only way we can stop this, and I don’t have to tell you what that means.”

Mason groaned, legal jargon, it had wound up one of their employees, and if he didn’t sort it now, it would not only be devastating to his and Brandon’s business, it could ultimately bring them down. He hated the word bankruptcy, but with the financial world being so precarious he knew anything was possible. He had a few hours to act on this, then he could give Kate all his time. It wasn’t ideal, but it was all he had.

                “I can be on the Eurostar in an hour. It’s just over two hours to Paris.” He glanced at his watch, “I’ll be in the office by two pm, that’s sixish with you. Is that ok?”

                “It’ll have to be!”

Mason sighed at the anger in the other man’s voice. He should be with his wife and new baby son, instead he was fighting to save their company, doing things that he should be doing. He had every right to be angry, abrupt. “I’ll call you when I’m en route. I’ll have my laptop with me, ok?”

Brandon hung up with a grumble, and as Mason glanced down at Kate he groaned, her eyes were wide, there was the slightest look of concern there. This was his chance to get through to her, but he had to go, he couldn’t delay in getting to Paris. The last few weeks the business, his career was meaning less to him. He was almost thirty four, he’d lived a very happy, productive live as a bachelor, but the last month, with Brandon having a baby, moving on, his time with Kate...he knew he wanted more from life, knew that he was looking to head in a different direction. At this second stood looking down at Kate, he knew this was the turning point, for him anyway. But he owed it to his employees, to Brandon and Lydia, he had to sort this problem out, then he could make the life changes he wanted.

He only hoped that Kate didn’t hate him too much by the time he returned.

                “I can’t leave...” He offered, but already he could see she was resolved, determined to keep herself removed from the situation.

                “I don’t want this, and I don’t want you. So I suggest you go back to Dubai and sort out your emergency. I won’t say I didn’t enjoy the last two days, I did. You’re a great lover...but that’s as far as this goes.”

With a smile she walked away. And Mason let her.