The Deal (33 page)
Authors: Tony Drury
“Tell me you don’t love me.”
“Is it that simple?”
“Perhaps not,” she replied, “but it’s not a bad starting point.”
Oliver tried to slow the pace but Amanda carried on without hesitating.
“Your dream is coming true, Oliver. You texted me in Paris saying you wanted to walk down the Mall holding hands.”
She continued to look straight ahead as they maintained their pace. Buckingham Palace filled their vision as they looked up.
“Relationships are much more than just holding hands.”
“Are they? We’re together. We’ve always wanted to be with each other. We’ve wanted to go to bed but I was trying to help Alistair. You’ve been distracted with your new business and with what’s-her-name, Sara. I’ve been charmed, foolishly, by Zach.” She paused and turned to face him. “I was needed and it was seductive. I loved the boys but they never really wanted me. I’m not sure why Zach came back. His wife recovered so quickly and he started going round to her house more and more often.”
“It serves no purpose, Amanda, going on about it,” said Oliver. “This needs to be about us now.”
“Yes, it is about us. It was always about us, really. So, do we begin again and try to rebuild our relationship? It’s all I’ve ever really wanted.” She put her hands up to his face. “No man has ever excited me the way you do.”
They had reached the end of the Mall. Amanda honestly did not know whether he would commit. She had agonised about how to approach him. Night after night, after the tears of frustration had dried themselves out, she had considered her options. She had made several attempts at writing a letter but she lacked Zach’s literary talents. She thought of texting and wrote a number of emails, none of which she’d been able to send. She’d called the taxi in a rush of spontaneity, after remembering the single line text Oliver had sent her. She would recreate his fantasy; she would appeal to his romantic instinct. And when he’d responded immediately and opened the flat door, her morale had soared. But now, after walking down the Mall, Oliver was simply not reacting. She had nothing more to offer.
“Let’s find a bench in the park,” he said.
They did not have to walk far and were soon sitting beside each other on a hard wooden seat. A few people milled around.
Oliver turned to Amanda and gazed upon her face. Even now her beauty dazzled him as her face caught the rays of the early morning sun.
“Would you like to know something?” he asked.
“What?”
“There was no need to walk down the Mall – although I’ve enjoyed it.”
“Why? Why was there no need?”
“Because I had already made up my mind as we went under the Arch.”
“Made up your mind?”
Oliver stood and lifted Amanda to her feet. The dress hung naturally over her hips and he looked at her and saw only her lips. He put his arms around her and pressed her towards him. She immediately responded and he felt her fingers probing his back. They stayed there for some moments. He then stepped back and put his hands tenderly to the sides of her face.
Slowly he moved towards her and brought his lips down upon hers. She responded and he felt her tongue slowly enter his mouth. They stayed together for several minutes, getting closer and closer.
Oliver pulled back, holding both her hands.
“Time to make a life together at last,” he said.
Amanda looked at him and gave a half smile.
“I’ve made a mess of this.” She wiped her eyes. “I’ve been lying in my flat wondering if you’d ever take me back.” Tears continued to well, threatening to spill onto her cheeks. “I’ve been hurting, Oliver. Do you believe me?”
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he said. “And I want to make you the happiest too. I want us to share our lives.”
“You really mean that?”
“Yes, Amanda. I really mean what I’m saying. We’re together now and this time, that is how it’s going to stay.”
“Because we love each other.”
“Right,” said Oliver, “but there’s another reason.”
“What?” she asked. “What other reason could there possibly be?”
“Amanda, a deal’s a deal!” he laughed, as he threw his arms around her.
The End
Postscript
A week later, when Amanda was showering after another night spent at his flat, Oliver received the following text message:
“You English have an expression: ‘a bitch.’ Well, Oliver, I am not a bitch. The music was composed by Shostakovich and is called ‘The Assault on Beautiful Gorky’. Did you find her? Love Christina.”
More city adventures featuring Sarah Rudd and her special brand of policing continues in
Cholesterol.
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The Deal
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The Deal.
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Tony
Also by Tony Drury
Sarah Rudd City Thriller series
Megan’s Game
getBook.at/Megan
Cholesterol
getBook.at/TDCholesterol
A Flash of Lightning
getBook.at/Lightning
The Lady Who Turned
getBook.at/TheLady
Sarah Rudd short Stories
On Scene and Dealing Coming in 2015
Stories written for HEART UK – The Cholesterol Charity. (All publisher’s profits are paid to the charity)
Hannah’s Choice
Joanna’s Choice
getBook.at/JoannasChoice
Mark’s Choice
getBook.at/MarksChoice
The Dinner Party
About Tony Drury
Tony Drury is the author of five fictional novels: ‘Megan’s Game’, ‘The Deal’, ‘Cholesterol’, ‘A Flash of Lightning’ and most recently ‘The Lady Who Turned’.
His main character is Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Rudd. Her early career is being told in ‘On Scene and Dealing’ due for publication soon.
He is a corporate financier working in London, Hong Kong and China. He has been described by the financial newspaper ‘
City AM
’ as ‘the City’s most prolific author.
His first book ‘Megan’s Game’ is to be made into a film starring Lauren Maddox as Megan. It is hoped to start filming later this year. The film script for ‘A Flash of Lightning’ is also being prepared.
Tony is an ambassador for ‘HEART UK – The Cholesterol Charity’. He writes short stories (‘Hannah’s Choice’, ‘Joanna’s Choice’, ‘The Dinner Party’) with all the publisher’s profits benefitting the charity.
Connect with Tony online:
Twitter:
mrtonydrury
Facebook:
facebook.com/tony.drury.author
Goodreads:
goodreads.com/TonyDrury
Published by
City Fiction
Copyright © 2012 Tony Drury.
All rights reserved
The right of Tony Drury to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying, electronic, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the rights holder, application for which must be made through the publisher.
