Forever Fredless

  As the elevator reached the top floor and I virtually ran into Tony and Zara’s place, I yelled out, 'Oh. My. God! You’ll never guess who I’ve just seen!'

  Laughing, the couple appeared from the bedroom at the same time, Zara brushing her long hair and Tony trying to put a pair of socks on.

  'That wouldn’t be Tiffany Chantelle, by any chance?'

  'How do you do that? You always know what I’m thinking?' I gasped.

  'Erm, Tiffany is our neighbour, Kate. She moved in last year. She’s really quite pleasant. Pretty much keeps herself to herself, though.'

  'You have a celebrity neighbour and you just neglected to tell me?! I work for a magazine, you know? We have to know these things. I could have taken some photos. Oh my god. I can’t believe it.'

  'Kate, I think you should just breathe for a moment.'

  I did as I was told and went and sat down at the dining table. Zara took the food from me and I left it to her to prepare breakfast.

  Eventually the three of us sat down to a lovely meal of fresh coffee, croissants, American bagels with jam and Portuguese honey, and orange juice.

  'I still can’t get over the fact that Tiffany lives here!' I said for about the third time in ten minutes.

  'Kate, I think you ought to see this from Tiffany’s point of view. Actually, let me re-phrase this. You are on the verge of becoming a celebrity yourself. As much as we are trying to stop people from knowing your true identity, it will probably be revealed at some stage and the world will want to know everything about you. Can you imagine then, if you lived here in this apartment complex and someone appears with a camera to take photos of you? You would be very upset, wouldn’t you? Tiffany probably chose to live here to avoid people and paparazzi. Think about it,' said Tony.

  'Oh my god, Tony, you’re so right; how stupid of me not to see it like that. Oh, I'm such a moron. I keep forgetting about my ‘celebrity status.’ You’re right. Oh God, what am I going to do? Maybe I could try and have a chat with Tiffany and find out if this is a good place to live if you’re in hiding'.

  By this time, both Tony and Zara were in stitches.

  'Oh, Kate. You’re a bit melodramatic, aren’t you,' said Zara as they both giggled.

  Seeing their faces, I soon realised that I too often took myself far too seriously and so I began to laugh.

  'Oh, guys, what are you going to do with me?'

  That morning’s events had cemented a seed in my mind, though. At some stage or other, it would probably come to light about Who That Girl really was, and I may well need my own bolt hole. Somewhere to live with a certain amount of security – a gated community, at least. I guess it would all depend on whether people would still be interested after finding out the truth about me.

  Whatever happened, I realised that I did need to buy myself a home. My own home.

  As much as I loved it there, I couldn't stay at Jo’s flat forever. If I was going to be hounded by the press, or by anybody, it would be totally unfair and selfish of me to let it happen anywhere near Carly. She was only thirteen. No, I had to find a place of my own. Not Uncle Sam's homes either, somewhere that belonged entirely to me.

  And now that I could afford to have a place practically anywhere, the feeling I'd had that morning in Wimbledon was like fate telling me that’s where I should be. So Wimbledon it would be.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Even though I'd been enjoying sushi for a few years, I still hadn't quite mastered the art of chopsticks. As we sat in Zara and Tony’s local Japanese restaurant, I struggled with a cute little spring roll, before I followed Zara's lead and picked it up with my fingers, dunked it in the sweet sauce and popped it in my mouth.

  Tony shook his head and laughed as he expertly lifted the remaining roll deftly in between his two chopsticks, covered it in sauce and placed it expertly in his mouth.

  'He's just showing off,' said Zara, as she took a sip of white wine and watched the wide variety of dishes slowly make their way round the conveyor belt in front of us before choosing a small bowl of edamame beans.

  'Ooh, I love those,' I quipped as she handed me a few to go with the sushi rolls and sashimi I'd taken for myself.

  'Thanks. You know, Tony, I've never actually asked you what it is that Samuel did for a living?'

  'He actually built up a bit of a hotel empire, back in the late seventies and early eighties. He sold them all in the mid-eighties and made a fortune,' replied Tony just as he dropped a piece of slippery sashimi into his wine.

  'Shit,' he uttered seconds before the waitress appeared out of nowhere with a clean glass and a smirk.

  'Thanks,' he said with a slight blush to his cheeks.

  'No problem, sir. It happens all the time,' she giggled while pouring him a fresh glass of wine.

  'So, not that much of an expert with the chopsticks then,' I laughed, relieved that it wasn't just me that had made a fool of myself.

  'Ha ha,' he said, continuing. 'Samuel was very well known in the hotel industry back in his day. His first hotel was just a small place in the Algarve, but it proved to be such a huge success that he opened two more in the region, another in Madeira and one in the Azores. That was when he went Stateside and opened a couple in New York and Boston, and one in Toronto too.'

  'I had no idea he was such an accomplished businessman. To be honest, I'd just assumed that it was old money, you know? I should have known.'

  'Not at all,' said Tony as he leaned forward to take a plate of vegetable tempura.

  'You wouldn't have known. He'd sold most of them by the time he bought the resort at Skegness.'

  'That's the weird thing,' I interrupted. 'If he was such a high flying businessman, with hotels all over the world, why on Earth would he buy a little caravan park in the east of England? I don't get it.'

  'Why not?' answered Zara as she tucked into her second helping of tuna sashimi. 'I've been to Skegness and it does have a certain charm.'

  'Do you really think so?' I asked as I pinched a slice of her sashimi.

  'Of course,' she answered, pinching one of my salmon rolls as I shrugged my shoulders and sat back to ponder it for a while, in silence.

  When Tony laughed at my expression, I realised I was being silly and so I changed the subject.

  'So did Tony tell you about my new car, Zara?'

  Spluttering into her wine, she laughed.

  'Yes!' she cried. 'I love it! A pink Mini. You're a woman after my own heart, Kate.'

  'What? You'd like a pink Mini too?' asked Tony in astonishment.

  'Every woman has to have a bit of pink in her life,' his wife laughed.

  'Really? Women,' he said shaking his head in amusement.

  'But don't get me wrong, I still adore my little Audi too.'

  oOo

  The next morning, the three of us spent a few hours searching online for local property for sale. Although a few houses looked appealing, none of them were situated within gated communities, something I'd convinced myself that I needed.

  So we took to the road in Tony's 4x4, to see if we could find anything suitable with those elusive 'For Sale' signs outside. Sadly, we came back empty handed, not spotting a single property that would suit my needs. Feeling rather sorry for myself as we parked next to Zara's Audi, Tony's mobile rang. As we climbed out and waited for him to finish his conversation with a client, Zara and I wandered around the grounds. As if fate had intervened, a stylish middle-aged woman with a toddler on her hip, appeared from within her townhouse next to a man carrying a sign which he promptly hammered into her front garden (which could easily be seen from the main road ). It was a For Sale sign!

  The man shook her hand and then climbed into his car and drove away.

  With excitement pulsing through my veins, I called out to her.

  'Excuse me. Excuse me!' I yelled as I ran to her side.

  Her little boy had already scrambled back indoors when she turned to me with a warm smile.

  'I just spotted your sign,' I sa
id, almost out of breath. 'I'm looking for a property around here. Would it be possible to arrange a viewing?'

  'Of course,' she said. 'In fact, why don't you come and have a look now, if you have time, that is? My cleaner has been in this morning so it's pretty spotless. It won't be in a couple of hours, though. Harry can create rather a lot of mess,' she replied as she held out her hand. 'I'm Amy, by the way.'

  'Kate,' I answered, immediately warming to her as we shook hands. 'And this is Zara.'

  'Oh hi, I've seen you around,' Zara said with a grin. 'But we've never met many of our neighbours.'

  'I know. We're actually heading out of London. We just bought a place on the outskirts of Bath. Figured it would be beneficial to Harry, to grow up away from all the hustle and bustle, if you know what I mean?' she smiled.

  'Absolutely,' I replied as we walked through the front door.

  I was immediately impressed by their stylish colour scheme of taupes, browns, greens and beiges. Their oversized leather sofas just seemed to fit perfectly into the slightly cosier sunken lounge. On the upper level was a large open-plan kitchen diner, which would be absolutely ideal for me.

  'There's a downstairs cloakroom over there,' said Amy as she opened a door to reveal a little toilet and sink, cleverly hidden from view. 'And a small room which Jack, my husband, has been using as an office, just here. This is one of my favourite rooms,' she said as she pushed open another door just off the kitchen to reveal a large pantry and utility room.

  We followed her up a flight of stairs where there were three good sized bedrooms, one en-suite and a family bathroom. And then an additional room in the converted loft space.

  'Which we haven't really used to be honest, other than for storage.'

  As we walked back downstairs, I couldn't wipe the grin from my face.

  'I don't know if this is the kind of thing you're looking for or not but I'm sure you'll need some time to have a think about it...'

  'No, there's no need. I'll take it,' I said without even giving it a moment's thought. I knew I wanted to live there. It was perfect. It just needed a few tweaks to make it more me but I loved it.

  Zara gasped at my enthusiasm. 'But, but you don't even know how much it is?'

  'It doesn't matter. I'll take it,' I repeated, almost like I was buying a used car.

  'Really?' asked Amy in shock.

  Nodding avidly, I smiled. 'How much is it? I have the cash available whenever you need it. How long will you need to move out?'

  'Gosh, erm, I don't know. I need to speak to Jack. He's gone out for a run, this morning. But the price we'd already discussed. We were going to put it on the market for £895,000.'

  'Furnished or unfurnished?' I asked.

  'Erm, unfurnished, unless you want to buy the furniture too?'

  'I'll offer you 900,000 for the property, the sofas and the dining suite?' I said confidently. 'But I understand if you'd rather speak to your husband first.'

  'Erm, yes, I should really. But that sounds good. Can I give you a call when he gets back?'

  'Of course,' I said as she scribbled down my phone number on a piece of paper, which she stuck to the fridge with a child's magnet.

  'I can't believe you've practically just bought a house,' said Tony a little while later, as we sat having a cup of coffee in Starbucks, not far from their apartment and my soon to be home.

  'I know, it all happened so fast,' I said, taking a sip of my soy caramel latte. 'I just didn't want to lose that place. I hope her husband agrees.'

  'He will. They were probably expecting to get around 860 or 870, so for you to offer more than the full asking price… Well, you've probably just made their day,' Tony said with a smile.

  'But they haven't called yet, so maybe not.'

  'I'm sure he's just out taking an extra long run, that's all,' suggested Zara.

  Sure enough, an hour later my mobile rang. It was Amy. They were agreeing to my offer. We arranged to meet with our lawyers the following day in the city.

  That was it. I was almost a house owner! My very own home!

  Sadly, my good mood was spoiled rather dramatically the following morning with the arrival of the day's newspapers.

  My face was plastered all over the front page.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  'What am I going to do now?' I groaned miserably as my mobile phone began ringing non-stop. Tony had taken to answering it whenever the number was unfamiliar. Somehow, members of the press had managed to get my number and were ringing me for comments.

  'It's okay,' he said after the twelfth time. 'It's just Julianne. She picked up Syd's mobile this morning by accident.'

  'Julianne?' I said unhappily. 'What happened? How did they know? Who told them? What am I going to do? I'm just glad I'm still at Tony and Zara's place. I don't want to go home in case they're there.'

  'Honey, I'm so sorry. We've no idea who told them. I've been reassured by all the staff here that they had nothing to do with it. Somebody must be telling porkies though. I'm so sorry. Look, lie low for a few days and we'll try and keep them off your back. Perhaps you ought to stay in Wimbledon a little while longer?' she asked.

  But I shook my head, not wanting to cause problems for Zara and Tony.

  'No, I should go home. I doubt it's that much of a big story. I'm sure they won't be there.'

  How wrong could I have been?

  As we turned into the road where Jo's house was located, I was shocked by the sight ahead of me. Crowds and crowds of reporters stood waiting for my arrival.

  'Duck down, Kate,' said Tony. 'I'll turn around. We'll go back to our place.'

  'No,' I said firmly. 'I can't run away from this lot. They'll track me down wherever I go. I just want to get indoors. Even if I do run away, there are things I need from home,' I sulked.

  'If you're sure?'

  I nodded as we slowly made our way down the road, eventually pulling up outside my little apartment. Curtains all along the street were twitching, with neighbours eager to find out what was going on.

  Carly and Jo suddenly appeared from their home next door to mine, opening the car door for me and protecting me from the over-zealous reporters, all shouting at me, asking questions about my newly acquired fortune, and the boy I'd lost as a child. I could barely breathe as we eventually made our way through the throng and down to my front door. My fingers shook as I tried to unlock it, but I failed, dropping the keys on the floor, fully aware of the camera flashes that continued to click behind us.

  Carly picked up the keys and unlocked the door, pushing me in before she and Jo, Zara and Tony followed, closing the door behind them and then rushing to close the curtains in the lounge.

  'What the hell?' I cried. 'Why are they so interested in me? I'm not like… Madonna or something, Jeeze...'

  'Well, you're the news today, kiddo, whether you like it or not,' said Jo with a smile.

  'Inheriting close to 150 million pounds is going to get you noticed - and that magazine article? Well, I think it made everyone just fall in love with you a little bit. You're going to have to get used to this, I'm afraid. At least until, I dunno, Madonna has another baby or something,' she laughed.

  I cringed but saw the funny side. Jo had the ability to always make me smile, even when I didn't want to.

  'I feel for all those celebrities out there who have to deal with this every day. I used to think they deserved it, that it was just part and parcel of their jobs and lives, but now I understand, nobody deserves this,' I said throwing myself on to the sofa as the doorbell rang. Pulling a face, I went to stand up but Tony stopped me.

  'I'll deal with this.'

  After a few moments he returned, handing me a business card.

  'Greg Malone would like to organise an interview with you for next week's edition of State of Life Magazine,' he smiled.

  'State of Life Magazine?'

  'Oh, that reminds me,' Jo said as she pulled out a huge bunch of cards from both her back pockets and her front ones. 'These
are all cards from other reporters out there, all wanting exclusives with you.'

  'No way?' I said shaking my head. 'Were they banging on your door this morning?'

  'Afraid so. It started at 6am.'

  I felt sick. 'Jo, I'm so sorry. 6am? Jeeze,' I said putting my head in my hands.

  'It's not your fault, my love.'

  'Of course it's my fault. Tony, can you contact Amy and Jack and see if they can speed up the moving process. I need to move out of here as quickly as possible.'

  He nodded, 'Our meeting was scheduled for this afternoon, though. Let's just go to it as planned and then we can talk to them there, okay?'

  My head was all over the place as I nodded.

  'I don't know what I should do now. Anybody have any ideas?'

  'How about going and talking to them?' suggested Carly.

  'No darling, she's not going to do that. But maybe Tony could just go out and tell them she's not ready to talk to the press just yet. Maybe tell them that she will speak to them in her own time?'

  'Sure, I can do that,' he answered.

  I held out my hand to him. 'Thank you,' I whispered as Zara sat beside me and made me drink a cup of hot, sweet tea.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Thank God for anti-perspirant, I thought as I sat on the couch and waited for the countdown to begin. I clutched at my hands until they were white and looked across at the two people sitting opposite, both completely at ease in front of the cameras.

  Five, four, three, two, one...

  'Welcome back to this morning's edition of Good Morning GB,' announced Ireland Rothschild, the blonde-haired, blue eyed darling of morning TV.

  'I'm here with Fergus O'Reilly and we've a special guest with us this morning. None other than Britain's love-struck multi-millionaire, Kate Robinson. Welcome, Kate,' she said with a dazzling smile aimed more towards the camera than at me.

  As my cheeks began to heat up, I was so grateful to the make-up artist, who had insisted on caking on the foundation before the show had started. In fact, I had so much make-up on that I was hoping once I'd removed it, nobody would recognise me when I headed to the airport in my now rather stupidly chosen car. I couldn't exactly blend in driving a pink Mini could I?