Love Unbound (Billionaire In Love 2) (3 page)

4

“So what was China like?” she asked.

“It's a nice country. I don't get to do much sight-seeing while I'm in these places though; most of the time it's all business. People think being a billionaire is a life of luxury, but the reality is that it's just a lot of boring meetings with boring people acting like they're the best of friends when really, if it suited them, they'd sell your soul for you.”

“Oh hang on a minute,” she said, and rummaged around in her bag. She pulled out nothing and pretended to play a small violin.

“I'm sure swimming in all your mountains of cash must be such a hard life,” she said with a teasing smile.

“All right, all right. I know I've been lucky, but even I'm allowed to complain sometimes.”

“You must have enough money that you could retire though, and just do whatever you wanted.”

“I could... but I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I was always taught to work hard, and that you had to earn everything you got in this life, and that was instilled in me from an early age. I've never been able to shake it off. I never even set out to make loads of money. All I wanted was enough to be comfortable. Most of the money I earn goes to various charities. But a while back, I did try cutting my hours down and it didn't stick. I just found myself wanting to do something all the time. I guess the only way I know how to relax is to be working.”

“You are a unique man, aren't you?”

“I try,” he said, and they both laughed gently.

“I know where you're coming from, though. I've been the same. I mean, I wasn't always like that. My parents were good and they let us—me and my sister—have a good balance between homework and play. They thought both were important, but when my sister died, I just... I don't know. I wanted to live enough life for the both of us and I don't know if I succeeded. I know my parents don't think I did. They would rather I be off exploring the world and having a load of experiences. But it's difficult, you know? Sometimes I want to, but then other times I think... would I be living my dreams or hers? And I don't know if I have the right to steal hers away, like I'd be doing her an injustice if I didn't appreciate her dreams as much as she would.”

“I guess you have to honor her in your own way,” he said softly.

“Yeah. After it happened, I made so many plans of things I wanted to do. When we were little we had a big bucket list of things that we were going to do together, but then she was gone and I looked at that list... doing it without her just didn't seem right somehow. It didn't seem as fun. So I threw myself into work, which is what I wanted to do anyway, but I don't know if I have the balance right.”

“Well, there's nothing stopping you from being spontaneous. If you want to go on a trip then just go and do it. If you have the means and the opportunity, then there should be nothing stopping you. I'm sorry to hear about your sister though. Lisa, wasn't it?”

Scarlett was a little taken aback that he knew her name. “How did you…?”

“You mentioned her briefly in the break room,” he said. Scarlett's cheeks flushed crimson with embarrassment.

“Ah, yes, the less said about that the better.”

“I don't know. It certainly made you stand out. I’ve never had an employee cry on my shoulder the first time they met me.”

“Well, in my defense, I didn't know that you were, well,
you
. I still think that was unfair. You didn't even tell me your name.”

“You never asked.”

“I wasn't in the right state. Anyway, the less said about that the better! Let's just move on.”

“Fine by me,” he said, and his eyes twinkled with mischief. Somehow, Scarlett knew that she was never going to live that first meeting down.

“How did she... I mean, how did it happen, if you don't mind me asking?”

“No, it's fine,” Scarlett said, although her smile faded and her voice grew flatter. She'd told the story so many times and relived it so often in her head that sometimes it felt more like fiction than reality, but then the horror of what happened reared its ugly head and the anguish and sadness gripped at her soul.

“She was on her way home late at night. Wanted to be with us for Thanksgiving. She could have driven back the next morning but she wanted to be there so she could help cook. She was going down the road and it was dark and late, and I think maybe the streetlights on that part of the road weren't working, and there was a crash. She was taken to hospital. We didn't find out until she was there. We rushed there and she was still alive, but there wasn't anything they could do for her. It was all just too late and she'd suffered too much. The car was a wreck and I couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her to be in that. I don't know anything about the other driver either. Whoever they were, they were brought in at the same time, but they weren't in the same ward, so I don't know if they died straight away or if they were taken somewhere else. Never knew who did it. Just one of those things, I guess. Two strangers going in different directions, end up causing a shock wave that affects so many people.” Tears stung her eyes as they always did, and she blinked them away.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset.”

“It's okay,” she said, sniffing. “It always happens. I'm kind of more afraid of the day when I don't cry over it.” Scarlett was too busy tending to her own tears that she hadn't seen Jack flinch when she talked about the accident. His expression only changed briefly, but had she been paying attention, she would have noticed it. As it was, it was a brief flash and then his face was set in its stony expression again.

“It sounds like the two of you were very close,” he said, and drew her in closer, squeezing her arm with his and making sure that she felt comforted. Scarlett nuzzled her head against his arm, enjoying the feeling of protection that came with him.

“Yeah, we were best friends. She was a year younger than me but everyone thought we were twins. Losing her was like losing a part of myself. There was a point when I didn't know how I was going to go on without her, but in the end I didn't have any choice. Have you ever lost anyone close to you?”

He seemed to consider the question for a long time but eventually answered in the negative. “My parents died when I was very young, so I don't remember them that well, and I don’t have any brothers or sisters. I tend to keep most people at arm's length. It somehow seems... simpler that way.”

“It sounds like a very lonely way to live.”

“It can be.”

They walked on in silence, enjoying the presence of one another. It was one of those times when no words were required. The sounds of the park filled the air around them, but with every step they moved further and further away from civilization. A frisbee soared over their heads, and birds swooped through the sky. The roar of cars could be heard in the distance, but was barely a whisper.

The path curved around through to a thicket of trees that reached over and touched each others' branches, filtering the sunlight so that Scarlett and Jack were cast in a green glow. Small animals scurried about around them. Jack's hand slid down and took hers. Their fingers entwined together.

“It's a really pleasant day,” he said.

“It's the kind of day that makes you feel glad to be alive,” she said, and when they looked at each other they saw the same look in each others' eyes.

“So what were some of the things you had on this bucket list?” he asked.

“Oh God, it's going back a ways now. Some of them were stupid.”

“Like?”

“Okay, so, one of them was that we were going to go to the Oscars, either as actresses or as the dates of famous actors. Another one was that we were going to meet Michael Jackson, but obviously… well, that's never going to happen. Some of them were realistic though, although I think Lisa took it more seriously than I did. I just wanted to live a good life with a good job so that I had security. Lisa was always the adventurous one. She never had any direction in life and sometimes I thought that was a bad thing, but now I'm not so sure. She was just so... free. She could have done anything she wanted, whenever she got a whim for it. She wanted to see the world, and always wanted to go and sip cocktails on a beach in the Caribbean. That was the big one. That's what she was saving for and then… well, the accident happened.”

“Do you blame the other driver for it?”

“I don't know. I used to, but I really don't know what happened that night. For all I know, it could have been Lisa's mistake. All that matters is that my sister is gone. There's no point being angry at anyone. I don't even know if they're still alive or not.”

“That's a mature attitude to have.”

“You gotta carry on living. That's what we kept telling ourselves, and being angry would just lock us into the past.”

“How did it affect your parents?”

“I think a little piece of them died too. It's different for them. I guess every parent thinks that they're going to die before their children. I mean, they raised us to send us out into the world but Lisa's life ended before she got a chance to do all the things she wanted.”

“Death is a strange thing. I know it sounds entirely arrogant of me, but I can't envision a world in which I don't live. There are so many things that are going to happen and I hate that I won't be here to see them.”

“It never seems like there's enough time to do everything, and there are always so many distractions around.”

“Like your ex?” he asked. The question stabbed at Scarlett.

“Yeah, exactly like him.”

“What's the story there?”

“Oh, the usual, we were happy for a while and then we just drifted apart. I threw myself into work, he threw himself into another woman's bed. Now he wants to talk it through and I'm saying no, and he's having trouble taking the hint. What about you, any crazy exes?”

“Not that I know of,” he said. Scarlett gazed at him.

“No crazy exes, no-one close to you that's died… you know, I really don't know that much about you.”

Jack shrugged. “I just like keeping to myself. There's too much easy information out there. I knew that when I became successful I'd have a lot of people asking me questions and trying to dig for any dirt, so I just live my life as quietly as possible. I never liked the spotlight and I didn't want my business aired like dirty laundry. I've met a lot of people who twist the media. Some of them use it for their own ends, while others get caught up in it and chewed out. I wanted to separate myself from all that. It also means that I can walk through parks like this without being harassed.”

“And what about me?”

“What about you?”

“Are you going to let me in?”

“You'll just have to wait and find out,” he said, and walked off, smiling wickedly. She followed him, eager to know everything about him but not wanting to scare him away. There was something about him that drove her insane. She wanted him to show her the man inside, but there was something he was holding back, and she just wasn't sure what it was.

5

The two of them continued to walk, chatting about everything and nothing. The day seemed endless, and Monday was a far-off mirage that would never arrive. That's what spending time with Jack was like. Time had no meaning to Scarlett as she let the joy of the moment sweep her up in happiness. They walked for a while, until eventually, Jack stopped and rested by a tree. Scarlett tucked her skirt under her legs and settled beside him. The grass was soft and the bark of the tree was rough. There were a few fallen leaves and some mossy ground.

“I like this place,” he said, as though it had only just occurred to him. “I like being away from the city.”

“So, where's your favorite place in the world? I know most of the time you're in meetings, but you must have been able to enjoy some places?”

Jack picked up a few blades of grass and pulled them apart with his fingers as he looked out into the distance. Once the grass had been shredded, he picked up some more and repeated the process.

“I have a cabin in Switzerland. It's set up in the mountains. There's a ski lodge nearby—not that I was ever much for skiing—but it's far away from everything and it's amazing how much brighter the sun seems when it shines against the snowy mountains. The air is crisp and whenever I'm there, I'm surrounded by nature, and it's easy to forget about the rest of my life. I can simply look out at the world... and when it becomes night time, the stars are so bright and big that I can almost touch the heavens. It reminds me that no matter how much money I have, I'm still just a speck of dust compared to the vastness of space. Too many people forget that. We only see what's around us. There's more to the world than that.”

“You're quite the philosopher, aren't you?”

“Not exactly, I just read a lot when I was younger. You might be surprised to know that I wasn't always popular at school. I mostly just kept myself to myself.”

“You're right. I don't believe that for one second. I always had you pegged as the all-star type. You know: quarterback, beautiful girlfriend, everyone wanted to be you, or be with you,” she said, sidling closer to him. She picked up a long strand of grass and brushed it across his thick forearm, but he was lost in another world and didn't seem to notice.

“No, it was never anything like that. I was a late bloomer actually. All this,” he gestured to his muscles. “Is a result of having a gym in my house. Whenever I have some time off, I go and work out. It's a good way to release stress, and to make sure that I get a good sleep. I always struggled with that when I was younger. Could never turn my mind off. So now I just make sure to tire my body out and I'm down for the night.”