Page 33 of A Billionaire for Christmas

SOCIAL HELL

As everyone settled down to their appetisers, Toby took a seat next to Lucca, explaining that he couldn’t get the generator to work. Lucca offered to help him. Molly noticed again the ease with which the two men were able to talk.

‘I’m not surprised. It’s probably overloaded with the number of lights and decorations there are in this place. Do you want me to see if I can help?’ Molly asked Toby. She’d do anything to escape this dinner.

Valerie shook her head. ‘Leave the men to get on with it. I doubt you could help anyway. You’re not an engineer. What would you know?’

It was all very dismissive.

‘I don’t know much about generators, but I do know?—’

‘Toby will fix it later, won’t you?’ Valerie said, cutting her off. ‘Now, tell me about this restaurant. How much do you want for it?’

‘It’s not for sale.’

Valerie erupted into peals of laughter. ‘Don’t be silly. Name your price, girl.’

Molly was running out of patience with the older woman and wished she could find an excuse to leave the table. ‘It has sentimental value and it’s also my career and my home.’

‘Everything has a price,’ Valerie said, reaching over to dip a celery stick into one of the creamy dips. ‘You’d be surprised what people are willing to sacrifice in return for lots of money. Isn’t that right?’

To say that the ensuing silence was thorny would be an understatement, as those around the table appeared to inwardly question the matriarch’s shallow belief system.

‘Some people will go to extraordinary lengths,’ added Levi.

Not wanting to get into a discussion about values and attitudes to money, Molly scraped back her chair.

She doubted Levi nor Valerie would like what she had to say.

‘It’s not for sale. Now, if the generator is out, I guess we should move the food from the freezer and put it outside in the snow otherwise it will start to defrost.’ The cupboards were well stocked and the freezer chests bulging with delicacies from around the world.

Molly knew that they could be snowed in for months and she’d still be able to feed them, but there would be a day when it might come to crisp sandwiches or beans on toast, and she doubted any one of them could handle it.

She surveyed the heavily laden table. The lobster tails, the Alaskan salmon and vacuum-packed Beluga caviar must be saved, or life would not be worth living.

She glanced out of the window to see snow thwacking against the pane.

It was the last thing she wanted to do and apparently, she wasn’t the only one. She got up but nobody followed her to help.

‘Do what you must,’ said Valerie, waving her away. ‘It’s all very inconvenient.’

* * *

It took Molly twenty minutes to lug things from the freezer to just outside the boot room door, piling them in the snow.

When she returned, Levi was exuding frosty vibes aplenty, even though Freda and his mother were bombarding him with questions about the wedding, about employment in the company and about his love life.

Molly kept her head down while Valerie grilled him.

‘Oh, come on. You must have women throwing themselves at you all the time.’ Valerie was speaking to Levi the same way you’d fob off a child. ‘I refuse to believe you spend all of your time working and none of it enjoying yourself.’

This was the most excruciating family dinner Molly had ever endured.

‘I do enjoy myself. I enjoy work,’ Levi replied tightly, leaning his elbow on the cluttered table.

‘Please stop trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. And don’t think I don’t know what this is about.

I’m not going to allow you to marry me off to some second cousin with big teeth and a large forehead just to protect the family fortune. ’

Valerie pretended to look innocent. ‘I have no idea what you mean. It doesn’t matter who any of you marry. Just make sure they are from the designated gene pool and preferably titled. And not too opinionated. Is that too much to ask?’

‘We all know you are after grandchildren, Mother.’ Freda chuckled. ‘Something to do. I mean, seriously, how bored are you to want children to look after? You could just volunteer at a school or something. Buy an orphanage.’

‘Pardon me for wanting the best for my children. I just want to see you all settled and happy instead of sowing your wild oats all over the place.’ Valerie gave Lucca a piercing stare before she turned back to Levi. ‘At least tell me you’ve met someone.’

Levi flicked Molly a look. ‘No. No one special.’

Molly rolled her eyes. He was going to make her suffer.

‘I’m very happy, Mother! In case you were wondering,’ yelled Lucca down the table. He and Toby clinked glasses. ‘ And I’ve met someone.’

This caused everyone to stop what they were doing.

‘You have?’ Valerie beamed. ‘Who is she?’

Lucca looked from Toby to his mother. ‘Someone we already know. Someone talented. Funny. Warm. Kind. Clever. Surprising.’ He took a long swig of his drink. ‘Someone just like me.’

Molly noticed two pink spots forming on Lucca’s cheeks and wondered if he was talking about Toby. Surely Lucca’s family would know if he was gay? But then, nothing would surprise her. Compared to her own family, this one didn’t seem very close.

‘Tell me who she is,’ demanded Valerie.

Lucca shook his head, smiling enigmatically. ‘Not a chance.’

‘You’re always gazing at yourself in the mirror,’ laughed Freda, her eyes shining brightly. ‘It was only a matter of time before you fell in love with your own reflection. I think you can legally marry yourself now. Is that a thing?’

Lucca was quick with a retort. ‘I’ve always been madly in love with myself. Someone had to show me some affection growing up.’

‘Who is she then?’ asked Valerie again, topping up her drink.

‘It’s a secret,’ Lucca said, winking at Molly as though she was in on it somehow.

Why? Why drag me into it?

‘Good Lord, it’s not that dreadful woman with the red hair who keeps hanging around, is it?

There’s something very hard about her. She’s nothing but a glorified stripper.

She’s always inviting herself to my charity functions.

If you’re going to waste yourself on the hired help, then at least choose someone who’s respectable. ’

Molly didn’t dare look at Levi.

Lucca straightened in his chair ‘You’re such a snob, Mother. I’m not telling you who it is. Besides, this family is full of secrets. Why should I be any different?’

Poor Toby. Molly wondered if that was the motivation for Lucca’s discretion.

Toby would never be accepted by Valerie into the family.

He wasn’t rich like them. He was a commoner like her.

She dreaded to think what Valerie would say if Levi had given in to temptation.

Maybe this was the real reason he had been so reluctant to start a relationship with her.

It was just as well things had turned out as they had.

Molly was not impressed with the way Levi was behaving and was going off him by the second.

‘I don’t have any secrets.’ Freda pouted.

‘Apart from the secret drinking problem that we all politely ignore?’ Lucca held his hands up as Valerie and Freda began to protest.

Armand laughed at them arguing. ‘Children. Who’d have them? Now, Toby, about that golf tournament. Can you sign me up?’

Within minutes, Lucca, Toby and Armand were back to discussing handicaps, and Valerie was back to meticulous wedding planning, every accusation having been successfully swept under the carpet.

Molly took a peek at Levi while he was in conversation with Freda.

At least he had dragged his irate gaze from her. He seemed furious about her being here.

‘But I don’t want one five-day, colour-themed jackass wedding, never mind two .’ Freda was arguing her point to Levi. ‘So please stop saying yes to everything Mother wants.’

‘What did I do to deserve this? I’m just trying to help,’ Valerie butted in.

‘You do have family in both countries, don’t forget.

’ The conversation round the table was heated enough without the matriarch throwing her weight around.

‘The wedding is going to be in all the magazines around the globe. You have to keep up with trends, isn’t that right? ’

Molly noticed Levi agreeing with both his sister and his mother even though they were on opposing sides.

She was distracted by laughter from the end of the table.

Toby, Lucca and Armand were all easiness and light.

Tucking into the food with gusto and liberally pouring wine.

She noticed Lucca had his arm slung casually on the back of Toby’s chair.

‘How’s your father?’ Armand was asking Toby. ‘Still golfing?’

‘Yes, sir. I don’t think he’ll ever retire from the club.’ Toby dabbed his mouth with a napkin. ‘He loves the power too much.’

‘And when do you think you’ll take over running the business?’

Toby shrugged, lifting his glass to his lips. ‘Not until I’m good and ready. And definitely not until I’ve cracked Le Grand Couloir.’

All three started laughing, and suddenly, Molly realised that Toby wasn’t simply the hired help; he was a friend of the family. Toby was from money. Toby was doing this job for fun.

‘Did you know Levi did it at five years old?’ said Armand, giving his son a proud look. ‘At the time, he was the youngest to conquer Europe’s most difficult ski run. No fear at that age.’

‘He has no fear at any age,’ added Toby, popping another of Molly’s delicious creations in his mouth.

‘Except for his fear of women,’ said Lucca, raising a glass to Levi stuck at the end of the table surrounded by women. ‘Isn’t that right, bro?’

Levi slid his eyes to the men enjoying his discomfort and shook his head playfully. ‘Only some women.’ Molly had not expected him to then pin her to the seat with a heated look.

Awkward.

She scraped back her chair. ‘Time for the next course, I think.’