Even After All

Part Two

Part Two

Mattie tried desperately to organise things on her hard drive, if she looked in control then she’d stand more chance wouldn’t she? She was plagued with self doubt, had she always been like that? She couldn’t remember a time when she felt confident, so much had happened in the last ten years to change her as a person.  Maybe losing her mother was the trigger, it had been so hard, she’d felt so bereft, so alone. And her mother had been her greatest ally. Her father was a shadow since losing the love of his life, and with her brother now settled in Thailand, he was spending large parts of the year staying beside the beach with him. She’d lost her friends when she’d lost her livelihood, her money, her future, and her prospects. All that she had left were her clothes and the grim bedsit she rented in Leyton.

How could one have prospects, ambition or confidence when you had no one or nothing to reinforce it? The successes of her teenage years, and her first class degree from the London School of Business seemed such a long time ago, that it was almost like a different life, a different person.

Angry with herself she clicked her fingers, wanted to snap out of it. Now wasn’t the time to be morose, she needed to shake her low mood and focus. She suddenly had no idea what the future would bring, she could be fighting for her life with the arrival of this man, and that was the important thing now. That she proved her value, held things together, there was no place in her life for negativity.

She was as ready as she could be. Checking her reflection once more in her makeshift changing room, she knew she looked as good as she could, considering she’d slept the night on the small sofa. Mattie straightened her jacket over her dark green dress that was demure and she hoped elegant, her dark hair was pulled up onto her head in a neat pleat, her makeup was understated, her heels business appropriate and supplemented her five seven frame. She could do nothing to change her appearance. She was never going to be a stress free teen anymore, and with lumps, bumps and imperfections came strength and diversity. That was the hope. The rest? Well she’d have to find out.

Dylan Wallace looked around the reception of the hotel. He was still gutted that he’d agreed to this, he had SO much happening in New York that the last thing he needed was a time off the beaten track sorting out a small time golf club. In the last four years he’d made some huge big decisions, he’d always been instinctive some would say reckless, but he didn’t agree. In life you had to speculate to accumulate. And whilst he’d had years of struggling, living hand to mouth, the last few years his shop had come in...repeatedly. He was finally living the life he’d always imagined. He had a huge loft penthouse in Manhattan, offices and a personal assistant in both London and New York, and he drank cocktails and champagne in the greatest bars, the most exclusive restaurants in the world. Monday afternoon he was meeting an associate in the Ritz; his diary was filling up daily now that his presence back in the UK was becoming better known.

Damn Maria Simmonds for catching him at a vulnerable moment. And that was all it was, he’d had a few drinks alone in a hotel in Manhattan. Despite his success, his wealth, he still had memories of more difficult times, and it was whilst he was remembering some poignant memories that she had burst in, pleading with him to help her. She was a friend of his mother, and as with his mother, he felt guilty, and obligated to doing the right thing. It wasn’t a huge thing for him to do, not logistically, but it was the wrong time. So instead of managing his time effectively, her husband Paul was paying the ‘going rate’ for him to work his magic on the complex he had just walked into. But for him it wasn’t about money, it never was.

Studying the foyer for a moment, he noted the shabby decor, the dated desk. The receptionist was ending a call, and looked up with a dazzling smile as he approached; she was a ray of light in the dim unassuming building. Plastering on his best smile he walked up to the desk.