After All - Part Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

 

Dylan loved this hotel, whenever he came to London he loved visiting, the food was second to none, Adam Costrel had good taste, he’d give him that. Then he shook his head, the man was sat next door with Matilda, he didn’t want to think about that in any great detail. Nevertheless, true to his word, he sat patiently waiting the outcome of their meeting, after his earlier outburst he’d walked into this adjacent lounge and ordered a meal as he’d announced. As usual it didn’t disappoint, and he sat back in his seat after finishing the perfect rack of lamb, his hands clasped over his rather satiated stomach. He sighed as he knew he’d have to move at some point, but from this room he had a gorgeous view out over a small park, the quieter side of Mayfair compared to the hectic Park Lane. Idyllic.

He closed his eyes, it was a long time since he’d last slept, then there was the time difference, he’d woken in New York that morning. Thankfully his apartment wasn’t that far away. He dreamed of the relaxing familiarity of his bed. But first he had to ensure that Costrel didn’t get his hands on Matilda...or the hotel.

It was then he sensed someone close. Opening his eyes slowly he was rewarded with a rather fraught looking Matilda standing across the table from him. But the pleasure of seeing her there without Costrel was short lived. The pain in her eyes was once again due to him, he wanted to finally stop being the one who hurt her.  With his foot he kicked out the chair opposite him, “sorry too tired to be chivalrous. Sit.”

He signalled to a waiter who was there within seconds, “can you get Miss Davies...?”  He paused and looked at her.

She sighed, “I’d really like a coffee, if that’s ok?”

The waiter nodded, then Dylan smiled at her, “you never were much of a drinker, were you?

She shook her head, “hate hangovers...”

                “And we’ve got a busy day tomorrow,” he glanced back at the waiter. “Can you make that a pot of coffee? I could do with one too.”

As the man retreated he passed a file of papers to her, “these are the people meeting us tomorrow, we need your best pitch. You up to it?”

She nodded, “I’ve got a forty minute presentation that I can adapt to ten minutes!”

He chuckled, “very resourceful.”

                “You look tired.”

He lifted an eyebrow, “you sound concerned.”

That made them both laugh. And they relaxed a little more. Neither of them mentioned the debacle that had occurred in the other restaurant, and instead they planned how they were going to charm every man and his dog the following day.

An hour or more later they stood, “let me drive you home.”

She shook her head, “you don’t look like you’ll make it to the parking garage you’re that tired. I’ll go to the hotel first thing, sorts things out then meet you in the Docklands?”

He shook his head, “get Sarah to courier anything you need straight to the City hotel, there’s no benefit in you fighting your way out of town for literally an hour. Let it go, that’s why you have an assistant manager. Ok?”

She nodded ruefully, “so I’ll see you there at half nine?”

Laughing he closed his briefcase, “yep, I’ll be the one hopefully NOT looking like death!”

                “You don’t look like death...just tired, that’s all.”

And on those words he watched her skip outside into the already dark evening.

The City hotel was a modern glass number, like so many of the new Docklands buildings. But it was close to the station and a huge step closer to her home than their work. So as she approached reception at nine am, Mattie had a spring in her stride and a smile on her face. She wasn’t worrying too much about the previous evening and the disaster with Adam. Instead she was plastering on a smile and taking on the new day. She could spend a day with Dylan without arguing, that was easy. Today she was filled with optimism.

A pleasant receptionist showed her through to the conference room, there were two young suited men setting up boards around the room. As she moved into the room she realised that they were photos and posters advertising the hotel. She had no idea that they’d been made.

She was staring in wonder when a voice appeared at her ear, “you’re not the only one who’s resourceful.”

Turning slowly she smiled at Dylan, he did look far better than the previous evening, he was wearing yet another stylish suit, this one charcoal grey and a royal blue shirt, he could carry a suit very well, she forgot just how well over the years.

                “He’s alive.”

He laughed at that, “definitely alive, and definitely on London time.” As he moved to the desk at the back of the room the door opened again and a trolley full of breakfast pastries, fruit and of course gallons of coffee. She lifted an eyebrow and was rewarded with him laughing.

                “So I have an appetite. Get over it!”

The morning flew by, half a dozen people attended all asking questions, most showing genuine interest. After a lunch break where Dylan led her to a nearby sandwich bar, they had another eight groups lined up.

It was well after five when they showed the last person out, Mattie had reeled off the spiel that accompanied sales figures, annual turnover, prospective usage figures,  so many times that she was hoarse.

Dylan came across and patted her on the back, “you did good.”

She laughed, “you sound surprised.”

He shook his head, “not at all. You were always hard working and SO committed, just nice to know that things haven’t changed.”

She sighed for a moment, SO much had passed since he knew her, she’d become jaded, she’s had to grow up. Before she’d relished work and challenges, now she needed money, it was a big difference. But she still had standards, a professional level that she would never want to jeopardise.

Dylan must have spotted her becoming morose, that he’d lost her to thought, because his hand cupped her elbow and led her towards the door.

                “The guys here will clear up, come for dinner...” he spotted the protest on her lips and smiled, “we need to debrief, compare notes. Selling the hotel isn’t about the highest bidder; you need someone who is not wanting to change things, as that would see you of everyone out of a job. Ok?”

She stared at him for a moment, as much as she didn’t want to give in to him, as much as she knew she’d insist black was white just to get one over on him, he was right, they needed to talk, and she was bloody starving.

                “You owe me dinner, at the very least!”

That stunned him, with wide eyes, he opened the door into the lobby and finally smiled, “your chariot awaits.”

Dylan slumped back in his chair and sighed, another great meal, and tonight it was shared with great company. It was a long time since he’d had a meal with someone like this, no agenda, just dinner. And Matilda was great company. Somewhere in the last few days she’d buried some of the animosity towards him, and left in its place was the funny charismatic woman he remembered from their five year relationship.

                “You enjoy?”

She looked up from the remains of her Dover Sole with a coy smile, “you know I love food. Especially good food.”

He nodded, there had always been something so very pleasing about watching Matilda eat with such enthusiasm, she couldn’t place a morsel in her mouth without accompanying it with an almost orgasmic moan of pleasure. It made him smile, and made him appreciate the food in front of him almost automatically.

                “It’s great to see someone so enthusiastic, I imagine your reaction is what chef’s live for.”

She slid the last few pieces of fish onto the tines of her fork then popped them into her mouth with a little groan. “It’s so good, how could anyone ever not enjoy it?”

Dylan reached across and filled up her glass with the bottle of Sancerre, it was a perfect drink for fish. Then Dylan watched as she sipped at it, her eyes wide, her cheeks pink from pleasure. His body gave a little surge; it was almost erotic watching her. He averted his eyes, looked across the dining room to the man playing Tchaikovsky at the grand piano in the corner, but the passion on his face as his fingers slid over the keys only reminded him of Matilda’s reaction to the food.

She’s everywhere he thought, how have I never been inundated with thoughts and memories of her every moment of every day?

He had thought about her over the years, the first few with anger, but more recently more amiable, more revered. But none of those occasions had ever truly reproduced the vibrant and beautiful woman who sat opposite him, as unaware of her beauty and presence as she had been when he first set eyes on her more than almost twelve years earlier.  

                “Dessert?”

She shook her head, placing her cutlery across her plate, “nope. But I do fancy a coffee.”

He nodded and gestured to the waitress.

An hour later Dylan didn’t want the night to end. They’d got on, nether had argued, and he’d not thought of her as the woman who spurned him. She was a woman with similar interests, and they had a pleasant dinner. She was good company, and it had been one of the best evenings he remembered having in ages.

                “Do you fancy a stroll? There’s a nice pub down the road.”

Matilda stared at him for a moment, “I have to work tomorrow...you’ve already plied me with expensive wine.”

That made him laugh out loud, “I didn’t see you fighting it off, you wolfed that Sancerre down your throat.”

She gasped in faux shock, “that was until I saw the price!”

                “You’ve worked hard, and we can charge this to Paul. He owes us both.”

He could see her relax at the thought that it wasn’t him footing the bill, it would be, but she didn’t need to feel she owed him anything.

                “I’ll have one drink,” she finally agreed as they left the restaurant, and didn’t argue as he tucked her hand into his elbow.

                “Good.”

Her head throbbed as Mattie travelled south of the city towards the Sunset Club. She’d enjoyed sharing another bottle of wine with Dylan; he’d been charming, funny, and genuinely interested in hearing all about her. They talked about her father, and how he was coping without her mother, then his mother’s latest marriage, that seemed already doomed to failure. Then there were the funny stories of events that had happened in the hotel since she’d started there, fairly neutral topics that didn’t impact on either of their lives, or what had gone wrong between them. When they left the pub it was after eleven and she was all set to take the tube home, but he wouldn’t hear of it.
The thought of him escorting her home, their lives mixing on that level unsettled her, and he was wise to that. So at his insistence he paid for her taxi, which turned out to be pretty expensive so she couldn’t be angry at him. Plus she could relax for the journey, in a way she couldn’t on public transport, and she had been almost asleep when the car pulled up at her home. As promised she’d dropped him a text, ‘Just got home...this is the confirmation as promised.’

Before she’d unlocked the door he’d replied, ‘Good, I can sleep now. See you tomorrow.’

Now as she travelled at the speed of a train back to the hotel, she was more nervous than she had been for ages. She wanted their relationship to continue, friends and colleagues. That she could handle, she was glad to bury the past, it was too painful to rake over all over again. But would that continue when she stepped into the hotel?

She’d changed in her office, into her favourite suit, a tailored dark blue dress and matching tailored jacket, with her heels and her hair piled up into a topknot she felt efficient, that was always a help. She was in the restaurant discussing plans for an upcoming wedding with Dan when she felt eyes on her. Turning she saw Dylan smiling.

                “Can we meet to discuss yesterday? I’ve had a few emails.”

She nodded, “can you give me an hour? Got a few things to work out before the weekend.”

Nodding his head he started to retreat, “I’ll be in the boardroom, need the space.”

Mattie smiled, this was what she wanted, she could deal with him, could rise above it all.  Turning back to Dan they double checked the orders for the following days and Mattie knew she was smiling for the first time in ages.

So when she entered the boardroom, the last thing she expected to see was Dylan sat there with a grim look on his face. Something wasn’t right.

With a quick deep breath she stepped into the room and looked at him, “what is it?”