Starr Destined (Starr Series) (26 page)

“Oh come
on Liam, I haven’t any experience of that kind of thing,” she protested.  “I’d be a liability rather than anything else.”

“Don't undersell yourself.  You have an uncanny knack for convincing sceptics.  Don't forget, you convinced me that I should use your designs, and there couldn’t have been a much bigger sceptic than me, could there?” 

“That was different.  I was just thrown into that situation by chance, and it was just luck that you happened to like my designs.”

“No luck about it, Sera - talent, that’s what it boils down to.  All I'm asking is that you come along to a few social gatherings with me and see what happens.  I’ll prep you in advance about who I'm trying to win over, and then you just have to be yourself.  We’ve got nothing to lose, have we?”

“I suppose not.  Let me think about it.  But in the meantime, let’s get back to normal.  I really would feel better about things if you’d start doing all your usual trips again, because I can't stand the thought that Scott’s affecting your business as well, on top of everything else.”

Very reluctantly, I agreed to attend the scheduled conference in Birmingham the following week.  It was really only to keep Sera happy, because recently I'd found most meetings could be just as easily handled via conference calls or Skype, and it made far better use of my time to travel less.  Of course there would always be occasions when it was better to handle a deal face to face, but I realised in the past I'd used a lot of my meetings as an excuse to get out of the office, to alleviate the boredom and ease my itchy feet. 

But now I no longer had itchy feet, because the day I thought would never come had arrived. 

I wanted to settle down. 

I wanted to get married. 

I wanted to buy a forever home and live Happily Ever After with the love of my life. 

With Seraphina. 

It was just a shame that she wasn’t on the same page as me, because she was so much younger and only just starting out.  But that was okay.  I could give her space to stretch her wings.  I had no intention of holding her back from her dreams.  Quite the opposite.  I wanted to give her everything she ever wanted.  I just wanted to be alongside her, to hold her hand while she was living her dream. 

“I'll only go if you promise to keep in touch the whole time I’m away,” I finally agreed, because she was right - we had to get back to some sort of normality or Scott had won.

“Liam, it’s just one night.  I’ll be fine.  You’ll be back on Saturday afternoon, and then we’ll have the rest of the weekend together.”

And so I went up to the conference and dinner in Birmingham, where I finally met up with Roy a
fter cancelling on him previously.  His breath hadn't improved any, but to be fair, he did put a very lucrative deal my way, which meant I had no need to bother with the breakfast meeting we’d tentatively set up for Saturday morning.  Instead, I got up early and drove straight back so that I could surprise Sera by arriving back sooner than expected.

We both officially had keys to each other’s apartments now, so I let myself straight in, hoping to catch her still in bed, or maybe in the shower - either would be fine by me.

But the first thing that hit me as I walked in was an unusual smell, and I felt the hackles rise on the back of my neck.  From years of experience, my nose immediately assessed it as a mixture of tobacco, alcohol and weed.  What the fuck was this about?  What was going on?

And then I walked into her bedroom.

Having convinced Liam
he should go away on his business trip to Birmingham, I still had to tell him to stop calling and texting when he kept interrupting the karaoke evening Abbey and I were having at my place.  Stopping half way through belting out Ellie Goulding’s ‘Burn’ to take Liam's call was the final straw, because I really love that track.

“Liam, Abbey and I are trying to have some fun right now, so just stop pestering me and go talk about work with all your business buddies - that’s what you’ve gone up there for, isn’t it?”  I told him in exasperation.

“Okay, okay,” he reluctantly agreed.  “I’ll see you tomorrow then.  Don't forget I’m taking you to Harvey Nichols in the afternoon - the personal shopper is booked for three o’clock.”

“Yep.  I haven’t forgotten.”  How could I, when he’d already told me several times as well as putting reminders in my phone.  He wanted to buy me an outfit for a special function at The Dorchester he insisted I accompany him to next week.  Apparently, it wouldn’t take long, because Liam had given my size and explained the kind of outfit I needed to the personal shopper, so she’d do all the le
gwork and then bring me suitable outfits to try on, rather than us having to traipse round the store.  This I liked the sound of - it’d make a nice change from my usual Topshop changing room scrum experience.  I was also pretty curious to see the kind of dress Liam had instructed the shopper that he wanted, even though part of me wanted to rebel, kick back, and tell him that no one controlled what I wore.  But the grown up part of me won over the immature teenager, as I reminded myself that I’d be representing his company at this function, so I should take his wishes into consideration, especially as he was paying. 

“But I'm not wearing anything I hate,” I warned him.  “I get the final veto.”

“Of course.  I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he’d agreed smoothly, but with a glint in his eye that told me he was confident he’d get his own way.

“He’ll go for a classic LBD,” Abbey predicted when I talked to her about it. “Divinely cut and he
llishly expensive.  Elegant, tasteful and not too revealing.”

“Ugh, and totally boring if you’re right.  Perhaps I’ll have to adapt it with some scissors and some safety pins to tart it up,” I mused.

“You can’t do that - it’d be sacrilege, especially if it’s a designer piece - maybe something like a Stella McCartney classic,” Abbey insisted, clearly horrified.

“I imagine she’d be too out there for him,” I shrugged.  “I’m sure he’ll go for something far more conservative.  Just seems such a waste of money to me, a wasted opportunity.”

“Well, you never know.  Liam might just surprise you.  And I wouldn’t say no to having a boyfriend buy me a cocktail frock from Harvey Nicks, even if it did mean having to sit through some business dinner sucking up to a load of boring old farts going on about ‘blue sky thinking’ or ‘monetising their assets’  or whatever it is these moguls prattle on about.”

“You’re painting such a wonderful picture.  I just can't wait for this event,” I rolled my eyes.

“Sorry.  I’m just a bit jaded from all the hoops I’m having to go through to try and get a start up loan for my business,” she sighed.  “It’s taking me ages to put together a professional looking business plan.  Toby was helping me, because he’s just brilliant at all that kind of shit.  Now he’s gone and I'm really struggling with the stupid fricking thing - don't you remember how I always flunked the business studies modules at uni?”

“Yeah, I guess that side of things never was your strong point.  So you admit you’re missing Toby?  You really like him, don't you?”  I’d just been waiting for an opening to find out how she really felt about Toby, so I grabbed at this chance now she’d brought his name up.

“Yeah, well, maybe, but that boat’s sailed.  It’s too late and I royally screwed things up between us before he left,” Abbey confessed.

“Oh?  What happened?”

“He said if I wanted him to stay, not to go to Australia, he would.  But I threw it back in his face and told him not to be so stupid, because why on earth would I want a stupid kid like him around.”

“Abbey!  How could you?”

“It was for his own good, Sera.  I had to push him away, because if he’d backed out of this trip that he and Jamie had been planning for forever, I know he’d have ended up resenting me.  So I made sure he went.”

“By being a total bitch to him.  You didn't need to do that, surely?”

“Yes I did, because I knew if he’d sensed the slightest doubt, he’d have cancelled his plans.  And I couldn’t let him do that.”

“Even though you really wanted him to?”  I persisted.

“Yeah, alright.  Even though I really wanted him to.  Because Toby’s different from any other guy I've known.  He’s not a user, he’s not flaky or unreliable like so many others I've been with.  What you see is what you get with Toby.  He’s just so easy going and laid back, and he’s always been there for me - which meant I knew it’d be so easy for me to take advantage of him, and he really didn't deserve that.  So I made sure I didn't.”

“Oh Abbey, you didn't need to be so brutal about it though, did you?”

She shrugged.

“I had to make sure he got the message.  But he was so hurt, Sera, I felt like such a cow.  You should’ve seen his face,” she whispered, then burst into tears.

“Come here, you silly idiot.  How come you didn't say anything about this when I saw you just after he’d left?”  I gave her a big hug as I passed a box of tissues.

“There’s nothing you could have done, and anyway you’ve had enough going on without having my stupid shit to worry about,” she said, as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

“That’s no excuse.  I'm your best friend and you can always talk to me about anything, no matter what.  Who knows, I might even have been able to talk some sense into you before things got to this stage.  Have you had any contact with him since he got to Australia?”

“No, and I don't expect to either.  I told him he’d just been my latest FWB and that it was time for us both to move on anyway, so it was best to cut all ties.”

“Maybe it’s not too late.  You could still let him know how you really feel.  You could email, or Skype him,” I persisted.

“What would be the point?  In the long run I figure it’s best I just let him go.  Have a clean break, make a fresh start, all that kind of crap.”

“Not if you’re both miserable.  I’m sure you could figure something out.”

“Long distance relationships never work out, and they don't come much more long distance than England and Australia, do they?  No, it’s best I just focus on setting up my business, if I can just get my head around everything I need to do, and get on with finding myself a mentor.”

“Would you like me to ask Liam if he would help you?  He is the supreme business expert after all.”

“Liam?  That’s really sweet of you to offer to ask him, but what the hell would he know about an
ything to do with the fashion industry?”

“That’s irrelevant.  I’ve picked up enough from my time at Starr Capital to understand that business principles are the same regardless of the type of company.  Don't forget, Liam had to work his way up from rock bottom, and you’d be surprised how many different types of companies he has an i
nterest in these days, because he believes in diversifying.”

“Seems like his influence is rubbing off on you, Sera.  You almost sound as if you know what you’re talking about,” Abbey replied with a shaky grin, as she blew her nose again, and heaved a huge sigh.

“Yeah, well, Liam does involve me in quite a lot of his day to day running of things, talking things through with me when he’s getting me involved in a company make over, that kind of thing.  And I actually find it quite interesting - Liam makes it interesting, I suppose.  Because it’s the real grown up world, Abbey.  Not like at uni when we could indulge ourselves in our way-out assignments, all in the name of being creative.  In the real world, you have to be able to prove yourself to a much wider audience, but that makes it all the more rewarding - at least that’s what I've found.”

I surprised myself because I wasn’t just saying this to Abbey - I really did enjoy what I was doing, being able to use creative skills in the cut and thrust of the business world.  Now I wanted to help Abbey to do the same.

“It was so much easier just being a student,” she sighed again.  “No one expected you to be sensible.  I'm not sure I can do the whole sensible and level headed thing.”

“You don't have to all of the time - just now and again.  Leave it with me to have a word with Liam and see what he suggests
- assessing the viability of a business is what he does all the time.  I know you have the talent to succeed - I just think you need pointing in the right direction to help you on your way.”

“Thanks Sera.  I won’t be offended if Liam is too busy to help, but I appreciate the offer.  Now, let’s get on with having some fun,” she insisted firmly.  

“Who the hell is that - do you know him?”  Abbey asked as she stared at the intercom screen.  It was around midnight by then.

“Sera...  me sweet little daarlinn…Won’t you let me in, sweet little Sera…” 

I instantly knew who that unmistakeable voice singing into the intercom belonged to.

“Oh great.  That’s Finbarr - my cousin’s brother-in-law.  I knew he might be coming over to London at some point because of a possible recording contract, but I had no idea he was actually here,” I explained.

“Ah, so he’s one of your Irish lot?  Quite the looker, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, most girls seem to think he’s pretty cute.  And he’s actually really sweet and harmless - most of the time anyway.”