United State of Love (6 page)

‘Tex. It's about my daughter's wedding. Would you give her some advice on the menu?’

Tex looked from Graeme to the door and back again. Much as he wanted to tell Graeme that his daughter's wedding menu was the last thing on his mind at that moment, and that it was something he really should be asking the caterers, he couldn't be rude.

Making polite but short work of discussing the best dishes for large parties, Tex managed to usher Graeme out of the building in ten minutes with the promise of putting some ideas down on an email for him. As soon as the door closed behind the architect, Tex took out his cell phone and called Anna's.

She wasn’t answering it. Perhaps it was in her handbag and she hadn't been able to get to it in time. Listening to the ringing tone and willing her to answer, Tex wandered over to the trestle table where Graeme had left a revised set of drawings taped to the table. It was then that he heard a vibrating sound coming from the direction of the window. He looked over and saw a phone jiggling away on the windowsill. Anna’s.

Tex checked his watch. She could only have just made it to the station by now. If he was quick he could be there in five minutes, hopefully before her train arrived. He patted his back pocket. Yes, his keys were there. Without looking for his jacket, Tex dashed out to his car.

It was still raining as he drove out of Tarrant Street and over the bridge towards the train station. Within a few minutes, he pulled up outside the ticket office, and abandoning his car, sprinted through the unmanned office and out on to the platform. Tex scanned the deserted platform up and down; there was no sign of Anna there or in the waiting room. He looked over at platform two on the other side of the tracks. That appeared empty too.

Then he saw her, stepping out from the plastic waiting shelter there, looking at him. Intrigued? Curious? He wasn't sure. They walked towards each other on opposite platforms.

‘Can we start again?’ Tex called across the tracks. Anna said nothing as she stood there studying him, as if wrestling with herself as to what she should say or do. ‘You can't leave yet anyway. I have your phone. You left it on the window ledge.’ Ah, now that got her attention.

Looking concerned, Anna stuffed her hands in her coat pockets and then rummaged through her bag, obviously up until that point not realising she didn't have her phone with her. Tex waved the Nokia in the air.

‘So it would seem,’ she said finally. ‘I suppose you want me to come and get it?’ Tex grinned as Anna made her way over the bridge and walked up to where he was standing. ‘I forgot I'd left that. Thank you.’ She reached out to take the phone.

Tex popped the phone behind his back. ‘There's one condition.’

‘Which is?’

‘Have lunch with me.’

She sighed and her shoulders drooped. ‘I don't think it's a good idea. Under any other circumstances I would love to, but not when you're my client. It's a bad idea. Really bad.’

‘Would it be bad if it was a business lunch?’

She appeared to be contemplating what he had said. ‘Just business you say?’

‘Just business,’ repeated Tex. Personal business, he added to himself.

‘Okay, I accept.’ She smiled a shy smile up at him.

‘Thank you. I am now a very happy man.’ Tex fought the urge to kiss her there and then. He was going to have to work his charm to win her over. Still, he liked a challenge. Then her brow furrowed and she had a confused look on her face.

‘I thought I heard you say to Graeme that you had a lunch appointment.’

‘I was hoping that would be you,’ said Tex, a sheepish grin crossing his face.

‘That was rather presumptuous of you,’ said Anna, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows playfully.

‘Not presumptuous. More like hopeful.’

‘That will do,’ Anna smiled. ‘So can I have my phone back now?’ Tex nodded. ‘Well, that's the only reason I'm agreeing. That, and it being a business lunch. You do understand don't you?’

‘Yes, Ma’am.’ He gave a quick salute. ‘I understand completely.’ He wasn't entirely sure he did, but she had agreed to lunch, which is what he had wanted. He didn't usually have to work quite so hard. Normally it was much easier and much more straightforward – a bit of flirting, a little bit of fun, nothing serious, no obligation. He liked it that way.

He drove her back to the hall in silence, cranking up the car's heated seats to help dry Anna's coat which was soaked from her walk down to the station. Having just spent five minutes standing on the platform with no jacket and the rain blowing under the canopy, Tex wasn't faring much better himself.

‘Not very nice weather for public transport. Do you always travel on the train?’ he asked, as they pulled up outside the hall.

‘No. I have the car but I let Mark, my sort of ex, borrow it. He was supposed to come back at the weekend but didn't.’

Tex ushered Anna through the internal doors into the main hall and then guided her to the room on the left at the back of the hall. There was a small square table in the middle of the room with a simple white linen tablecloth on it, at its centre, a vibrant red gerbera in a tall drinking glass. The table was set for two people.

‘Presumptuous,’ said Anna as she took in the scene.

‘Hopeful,’ corrected Tex. He walked up behind her and gently rested his hands on her shoulders. ‘May I take your coat?’ He took a deep breath as he momentarily flirted with the idea of kissing the back of her bare neck, before checking himself. Slipping Anna's coat from her shoulders, he hung it on the back of the door before pulling out the chair for her to sit down.

‘I'll be back in one minute,’ he said and disappeared into the adjoining room to warm up the soup he had prepared that morning. Whilst that was heating, he cut some French stick then took the bread together with a bottle of Perrier water back into Anna.

‘It's nearly ready. Just some humble soup. I only have two gas rings at the moment,’ he said as he put the bread down and poured a glass of water for each of them.

‘I'm sure it will be lovely.’

Tex switched the radio on. Hopefully, a bit of background music would help her relax.

‘This isn't looking very businesslike,’ commented Anna.

‘Let's talk business if it makes you feel happier.’ Hmm, this was going to be harder than he thought.

‘Have you always been a chef?’ she asked.

‘Yes. I never wanted to be anything else.’

‘Where did you train?’

‘France, of course. That is where the best chefs in the world are and I was fortunate enough to have some very good teachers. I worked for some of the great chefs in France.’

‘Any I would know?’

‘Edward Le Manquais. You have heard of him no doubt?’

‘Of course. He's a bit more than just a chef now, he's something of a celebrity in his own right,’ said Anna. ‘Didn't he do a reality restaurant show on TV recently?’

‘Ahh yes, the celebrity chef. I am afraid that is not for me.’

‘By choice?’

‘By choice,’ Tex affirmed. ‘Does that make any difference to you?’

Anna looked surprised by the question. ‘To me? No. No, it doesn't make any difference. That doesn't worry me the way you think.’

‘What way do I think?’ probed Tex. He waited patiently whilst she took a sip of water. He wasn’t letting her off the hook that easy. Experience told him if he said nothing for long enough, the other person would carry on speaking.

‘Okay, here goes,’ she said. ‘You probably think I would be impressed and pleased that I had landed a famous client. That I would be imagining fancy parties, champagne, rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous, but the truth is, I couldn't be less interested in that.’

‘Go on, I'm still listening,’ coaxed Tex.

‘Don't say you didn't ask,’ said Anna with wry smile. ‘Mark was a professional footballer. We married when we were very young; I was pregnant. Mark had a lot of temptation in the female stakes. He hasn’t got much willpower. Part of it was because he was a bit famous, and as a footballer there were plenty of offers from a slew of female fans. So my experience of being with someone well known isn't a particularly good one.’

‘You said the other night that you were separated but not divorced.’

‘That’s right. He went off to America and we have just never got round to it. Part of me doesn't want to become a statistic, but to all intents and purposes we might as well be divorced.’

Tex smiled reassuringly at her. There was obviously a lot more to it but now wasn't the time. He'd established that Mark wasn't a threat.

‘How did we get onto the subject of my personal life?’ asked Anna. She leant back in her chair. Tex couldn't help noticing the button of her blouse had come undone, revealing a glimpse of white flesh encased in black lace. He forced himself to look at her face, keeping his eyes level with hers to answer her question.

‘It's important if we are going to work together that we know each other properly. It's not a regular sort of office job, there may be times when you have to accompany me on social events. It’s real important that we know each other well so we’re comfortable together.’

Anna didn't look convinced, but didn't challenge him either.

‘When do I get to find out about you?’ she asked.

‘I will get the soup and then you can ask me anything you like.’

Tex returned to the makeshift kitchen. Leaning against the work surface he took a deep breath as he recalled her open blouse. Reappearing a few minutes later with two bowls of soup, he placed one in front of Anna. Her blouse now done up, he ignored the self-conscious look on her face.

‘This looks nice,’ she said, picking up her spoon and dipping it into the thick, orange liquid. ‘Tastes good too. Let me guess. Carrot and …  mmm …  not sure. There's definitely another flavour but I'm not sure what it is.’

‘Coriander.’

‘Ah yes, I recognise it now. It's lovely.’

‘Thank you.’

They ate together in silence for several minutes. A comfortable silence, with just the radio to fill the space between them.

‘So, in the interest of fairness and Anglo-American relations, I think I'll take you up on your offer,’ said Anna. Tex looked blankly at her. ‘Exchange of information. Background information. It's your turn,’ she smiled.

‘What do you wanna know?’

‘You tell me. If you were me, what would I want to know?’

Tex made an act of looking thoughtfully up to the ceiling, as if he were recalling any relevant information. ‘Where to begin,’ he mused.

‘Why the name Tex?’

‘That’s an easy one. Short for Texas, where I’m from. Brenham to be exact. When I went off to Europe, I was something of a novelty. You don’t get many cowboys from Texan ranches wanting to learn how to cook.’

She smiled. ‘Okay, what else?’

She’d seemed pretty unfazed by that, which was cool. ‘I am forty-five years old,’ he continued. ‘I have one daughter. Julie-Ann, she’s twenty-two. Lives in Paris.’

‘And Mrs Garcia?’

He was used to that sort of question. They all asked sooner or later. It was still difficult to say, nonetheless.

‘Estelle, Julie-Ann’s mother, my wife, she died six years ago.’ He watched the surprise flicker across Anna’s eyes, quickly followed by a look of concern. She went to speak, probably to offer her condolences, but he raised his hand slightly. She didn’t need to say anything, it wasn’t necessary.

‘She was ill for a short time,’ he continued. ‘Liver cancer. There was nothing they could do for her. Afterwards, I promised I would make a success of the restaurant, just as we had both planned, except I didn’t stay in Paris, I came to England. Jamie and Yvonne helped me a lot, both professionally and personally.’

‘And since then?’ Anna spoke gently.

Tex knew what she was asking, and in a strange way he found it refreshing. Most women avoided the question once they heard about Estelle.

‘And since then I haven’t had any meaningful or long relationship.’ He had answered honestly, and hoping to retrieve the light tone the lunch had started out with, said buoyantly, ‘I’ve been too busy opening the restaurant and working hard to get my first Michelin star at my Guildford restaurant.’

‘Do you always let work rule your personal life and stop relationships?’

‘Do you?’ responded Tex immediately, eager to steer the conversation away from Estelle.

Anna looked slightly startled by his response, then gave a little laugh. ‘Touché. I asked first.’

‘The truth is … ’ Tex hesitated, putting his spoon down and pushing the near empty bowl away. ‘The truth is, my work is my true love.’

‘And no one could ever mean as much as your work?’

‘No one has meant enough yet.’ He gave a small laugh to himself and shook his head as he leant back in his chair. ‘I have no idea why I'm telling you this. Any sane person would not want anything to do with me and here I am in danger of scaring you off.’ He paused and then spoke more softly. ‘Which is something I really don’t wanna do.’ The chase was well and truly on.

Anna, straight-faced, looked directly at him. ‘Why would you scare me off? Our relationship is purely business.’

‘So why do you let business get in the way of your personal life?’ Tex held her gaze until she looked away.

‘You really want to know?’ she asked, fiddling with her napkin.

Tex nodded but said nothing so Anna would continue.

‘Okay. When my son, Luke, went to school, I got a part-time job working in the offices at the football club Mark played for. Trouble was, after a while I started to hear rumours about what Mark was doing, what he was getting up to when he and the other lads were out. Naturally, I was upset, suspicious, and began questioning him, which caused quite a few arguments.’ Anna paused to have a sip of water.

Tex remained silent, his feeling that there was more was confirmed as Anna began to speak again.

‘As if that wasn’t enough, Mark was jealous if any man spoke to me too much, that included any member of management and any of his team mates. Needless to say, I handed my notice in after just three months, it was more trouble than it was worth. So that is why I don’t mix business with pleasure.’