Two Tribes, page 19
part #1 of Young Atlanteans Series
He nodded, thoughtfully, seeming genuinely interested. ‘Well please send her my warmest regards and tell her if she ever needs anything, or a break from all that work, there is always a room for her here, OK?’ The smile that followed was dazzling. It transformed an already handsome face into film star beautiful.
She nodded. ‘Thank you. She’d love that.’
Their food came. Jay had ordered some sort of seafood pasta, salad and crusty bread that tasted great. However, she was too excited to do anything but pick. She watched closely as Jay did the same; she wondered what his stomach was in knots about. He drained the contents of his heavy-bottomed glass, then asked for a refill.
Jay smiled his knockout smile again, then asked a few run-of-the-mill questions about school and class. He was a good listener; an expert in getting Alexia to open up and talk. He still kept an eye on the workings of the restaurant, but whenever Alexia asked a question, however small, he was there, on the button, to answer right away. His answers were quick and to the point and proved he’d followed every word. Latitia sighed again. She could watch the two of them all day and not leave that table.
By the end of the meal, Latitia was in absolute awe of Jay. She decided that if she hadn’t already met JJ, she would have a huge crush on Jay. In fact, she probably still did.
‘Does Pedro still do those amazing sorbets, Jay?’ Alexia asked.
Jay smiled and took a sip of his drink. His eyes rested curiously on Latitia as he said, ‘Why don’t you go and find him? Ask him to do you one of his specials and one for Latitia,’ he said, smiling, still holding her with his eyes.
Alexia was straight on her feet. ‘Coming?’
For some unknown reason, Latitia looked to Jay for permission. ‘Let her digest her food for a moment,’ he answered with another reassuring smile.
She knew then that he wanted her on her own and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She wasn’t exactly scared of him; it was more trepidation at being alone with such an older, sophisticated man. One who distinctly gave her the impression that he wanted it that way.
CHAPTER 21
‘Drink?’ Jay said, as soon as they were alone.
‘No thanks.’ She had to take a breath so she didn’t come off as weird.
He smiled as he sipped his drink and studied her face. It made her blush and sip the dregs of what was left in her own glass. ‘Maybe I will have that drink,’ she said with a nervous giggle.
‘Relax. This isn’t the third degree. You’re a beautiful girl. I can see what my son sees in you. My sources tell me you’re a dancer.’
His look was so intense she found she had to look away. She had no idea he knew so much about her. ‘Thanks,’ she said, feeling heat go to her cheeks. ‘I hope to be, one day.’ Her mind scattered all over the place; this really was the third degree. ‘We’re not actually together, though … me and JJ,’ she felt like she had to tack on.
Jay was studying her closely, running a finger around the rim of his drink. ‘I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of you.’
Something lit in Latitia’s chest. Without any effort at all, he made her feel great. Everything was fluid and easy about this man and she found herself saying, ‘I hope so.’
As if saved in the nick of time, she spotted Alexia coming towards them, with a dark man in a white tunic and a tall white hat, carrying two of the biggest iced creations she’d ever seen. There was a lit sparkler in each one. She looked at Jay and he almost laughed, then he rolled his eyes and shook his head indulgently. ‘She has asked for one of those since she was a small girl,’ he explained.
It put Latitia at ease more than any other thing. It gave him a softer family side that he was lacking before in her estimations. Now he was simply perfect. It was obvious that this stunning, no-nonsense man loved his stepchildren as well as his own. You couldn’t get better than that. A pain twisted in her chest at the thought of her own father, out there somewhere. Not that she really knew him. Alexia had two and one was as perfect as this and wasn’t even blood. She was such a lucky girl.
Alexia arrived like a whirlwind, pointing at a place on the table where the chef should put them down. ‘This is Latitia, who I told you about. This is Pedro, Latitia. The best chef in the world,’ she said, clapping her hands together.
He laughed, a little embarrassed, and muttered a ‘Pleased to meet you, young lady’ in a Spanish-sounding accent.
Alexia threw her arms around his neck and kissed him loudly on the cheek and he hugged her back indulgently. She had so many people to love her.
‘Enjoy the ices,’ Pedro said, nodding at Jay. Then he pulled Alexia to him and kissed the top of her head. ‘I must work, or you’ll get me the sack.’
‘Daaaad,’ Alexia whined. ‘You’re such a slave driver.’
Jay didn’t bother to answer as Pedro put up a hand of goodbye and hurried back to the kitchen.
Alexia immediately forgot her complaint and told her to dig in. ‘Isn’t it the best thing you’ve ever tasted?’
Latitia dug her long spoon through the swirl of raspberry sorbet, berries and vanilla ice cream and grinned. It definitely was. They both ‘Mmmmd,’ several times, making Jay actually laugh.
‘So when is Mum getting here?’ Alexia asked with her mouth full.
Jay looked at his expensive-looking watch. ‘Soon. I’ve sent a car to the airfield.’
The word choice struck Latitia for a moment. Airfield and not airport? That must mean private plane. It was the last thing in a very long list to blow her mind that day.
‘Are we going straight out?’ Alexia said, bouncing in her seat. ‘I can’t wait.’
* * *
Latitia floated through the meal in a beautiful dream. The tasteful hotel, the stunning people, their chic clothes, great food. Then Jay rose from the table. Latitia turned her head to follow his line of vision and stopped breathing as a stunning woman glided in on a soft breeze.
She’d heard her own mother use the term gobsmacked and until that moment she’d never really understood what that meant, but she literally froze with her mouth open. The perfect blonde apparition cleared a path through the bar, turning heads as she went. Two of the biggest men, similar to the ones who’d visited her flat, flanked her. Bodyguards, she remembered someone calling them.
Alexia jumped to her feet and her mother swept her into a tight hug, swathing the area in her expensive perfume. Then, after kissing her, she turned her head to Jay and the look she gave him then would stay with her for ever. If she achieved nothing else in life, she wanted to love someone like that and judging by the smoulder in the one Jay returned, it was mutual. It was the look any girl longed for.
Latitia had to remind herself: this wasn’t the guy Alexia’s mother was married to. However, it was clear what these two meant to each other. It made her wonder about her marriage and what Alexia’s biological father was like. Whatever it was, it was clear that JJ was no accident from any kind of fling.
Then, while she was still carried away on her romantic daydream, the two of them turned and faced her. Alexia’s mother immediately smiled. ‘Hi, I’m Tia. You must be Latitia. I’ve heard so much about you.’ She came right around the table to pull her into a tight hug, ending with a kiss to her cheek.
She felt slim, small-boned and smelled gorgeous. Pulling apart, Latitia stuttered, ‘Thank you … you too.’ She couldn’t stop staring at the enigmatic woman. She had to be in her late thirties to have had Alexia, but looked at least ten years younger. Her hair was blonde and in two braids down her back. Her skin had a light golden tan and her eyes, when she pushed her sunglasses up on her head, were large and dark green, giving her an elfin look. In fact, her whole figure was petite, like that of a teen. Her clothes were perfect for a night on the town. Nothing blingy or over the top. Just boot-legged blue jeans over brown boots and a tank top in black silk with several tribal bangles at her wrists. There was no other word for it. She was so cool.
‘It’s so lovely to meet one of my children’s friends,’ Tia said, looking sincerely at her with those big saucer-like eyes.
Latitia couldn’t stop staring at her. ‘You too,’ she said, backtracking wildly. ‘My friend’s parents, I mean.’ She felt her cheeks burn like a furnace. ‘Alexia said you’re a great DJ?’ she said, trying to recover herself.
Tia bowed her head, graciously. ‘That’s kind of you. Used to be. I don’t really play out these days, but I still keep a toe in where I can.’
Jay looked at her adoringly. ‘She’s too modest. She still does the best mixes I’ve ever heard.’
Latitia found their dynamic fascinating; she longed for the full story about them. She found herself imagining Alexia’s father as some evil, unloving prince who kept her locked up in a tower, driving her to escape into her lover’s arms. She was sure it had to be something like that.
Tia cut through her daydream with, ‘Shall we get going?’
Alexia squealed with delight and dragged her to the lift to go quickly up to their room while Jay showed Tia to hers. The ride up with the four of them was so charged with electricity that it left Latitia wondering what would happen behind closed doors as soon as they separated on the same floor.
She found herself sighing over Alexia’s exciting life for the umpteenth time. Everything was so perfect and completely opposite to her own.
It didn’t take long for them to be ready. Alexia had changed into a dress so short that she had to wear shorts underneath it because you could clearly see her knickers. She’d opted for black jeans, ripped at the knees and a sleeveless red shirt. She felt dull in comparison, like a moth to a butterfly.
They knocked on their mother’s door and it immediately opened. Tia hadn’t changed – just added a jacket with silver sequined flowers sewn into it and loosened her hair. She should have guessed. Alexia’s mum couldn’t look any cooler than she already did. She was perfect. Just subtle pink lip gloss and her amber wraparound shades and she looked like a superstar. Out of this world.
Alexia had been watching her the whole time. ‘Sorry,’ Latitia found herself saying as she went red. Again. ‘I didn’t mean to stare. Your mum is just so stunningly beautiful.’
Alexia just smiled knowingly. Guess she was used to people being bowled over by her mum. Jay slipped his arm into his black leather jacket and flashed Tia one of his secretive smiles. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here,’ he said.
Latitia was thrilled he was escorting them, not totally sure whether Jay was there to spend time with them or Alexia’s mother. Her money was on the latter. Either way, they were fascinating to watch.
They went down in the lift to the underground garages where they got into a blacked-out SUV. Jay got into the back with the girls and Tia. The two huge guards got in the front. Then they pulled away on a squeal of tires.
Latitia’s heart thumped with excitement. It felt like she’d entered some Netflix universe. Especially when a second squeal of tires made her look out of the back window to spot a second SUV following them. Who were these people? she thought yet again. JJ had not been exaggerating. This was a security detail to rival the Prime Minister.
They pulled up at the first club remarkably quickly. In fact, so quickly they could have walked. Guess it drew fractionally less attention than turning up with eight Special Ops guards. This way they pulled up right outside, Jay got out, the doorman nodded – obviously knowing him – and they poured out of the car and into the club. Latitia was surrounded by so much testosterone that she couldn’t even see the envious line that she knew went down the street.
It made up her mind that these people were definitely royalty – and not the low-key, bicycle-riding kind. Her heart hitched in her chest at what she’d gotten herself into. These people weren’t like Kate and William on TV all the time and yet doormen knew them; they were surrounded by guards and were undoubtedly wealthy.
They were whisked by the payment booth, down a narrow stairwell of red painted walls and thumping bass, until they came out into the small underground club. Alexia was ecstatic and so should Latitia have been, but a cautious reserve began to creep over her like a sixth sense. Jay, she realized, always stayed with Tia, talking intently about god knows what. She smiled graciously at everyone and accepted drinks appearing regularly from waitresses as if from nowhere. She even danced. But all the while, she kept her wits about her, looking around. Something was off. Something in this whole situation didn’t feel right or add up. Her hackles told her she was into something far bigger and scarier than a film plot where a poor girl meets a prince.
In the end, she had to shake herself out of it. Alexia was beginning to look at her curiously and ask if she was OK. She just had to calm down and ride it out. One good thing about being brought up in Camberwell was that it had taught her survival 101 from an early age.
They moved onto a second and a third club, where everyone treated her with nothing but kindness and respect. In fact, everyone had, the whole time she’d been there. She had to remind herself of that, over and over, but she couldn’t shake her feeling of doom.
Maybe JJ had been right to try to protect her from all this. It was completely overwhelming; it got to the point where there seemed like no air. She began to feel dizzy and sick. She snuck away and went over and sat at the bar. Then, out of nowhere, Tia was there. ‘Are you OK, darling?’ she said, putting out a delicate hand on her arm.
Then Alexia was there too, with a look of concern.
‘You haven’t been sneaking alcohol, have you?’ Tia said, looking mildly annoyed at her daughter.
‘No, Mum. I swear we haven’t.’
Then Jay was there and all Latitia wanted to do was disappear. ‘They haven’t, I’ve been watching,’ Jay said.
Great. She’d spouted off about wanting to be a dancer and her she was, at her first proper West End clubs, flaking like some sort of lightweight.
Jay stood in front of her and looked intently into her eyes. It made her annoyed to think he was assessing her for drugs, but before she had time, he looked at Tia, tipped his head to the exit and said, ‘Come on, it’s one o’clock. Let’s go back.’
And, just like that, the evening was over. Latitia deflated with a weird wash of relief, tinged with disappointment. She needed to go back to process it all, but it still felt like she’d let herself down in some way.
Back in the car, she began to feel like a foolish little girl who’d got out of her depth. They’d been nothing but fun; exhilarating company. Maybe she was coming down with something. It would certainly explain the dizzy spell.
They were back in the underground garage in no time at all. Tia took charge and whisked them into the lift and straight up to the top floor.
‘Are you OK?’ Alexia asked, several times.
Latitia nodded. ‘I’m sorry to ruin the night. I was just a bit dizzy, that’s all.
‘You do look a bit drained,’ Tia said. ‘Drink some water and get some rest. You’ll feel better in the morning.’
Jay put the key card in the door and pushed it open for her to go inside. ‘We’ll leave you two to it,’ he said, his eyes already on Tia’s.
‘We’re just next door if you need anything,’ Tia said, locking hers with his.
Latitia’s head was already buzzing with overload and couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going to happen between them. The chemistry between them had crackled all evening. She wondered that Alexia didn’t seem to see it. ‘It’s OK, I’ll be fine. Thank you … for tonight,’ Latitia said, willing them to go.
Alexia went to go ahead, then stopped abruptly. I’m just going to go down and see if Pedro will do us a couple of his frothy hot chocolates.’
Latitia frowned at the suddenness of the decision, but thought nothing more of it. Alexia pushed past her, back out into the corridor and Latitia headed on into the main room of their suite, relieved to be back. The moment she reached it she froze, feeling like her feet had taken root in the shagpile.
There, sitting on the edge of the king-sized bed, with his elbows on his knees, was JJ. He smiled wanly. ‘Welcome to my humble abode.’
Latitia swallowed at the intensity of that look. It held an accusation, disappointment and curiosity at how she would react, all rolled into one. ‘How did you know I was here?’
‘It’s all over your Instagram … not exactly hard for me to recognise. And your mum told me.’
She instantly felt stupid and uncomfortable. He, on the other hand, was a powder keg of something, that was for sure. She felt guilty. She’d gone behind his back. And while she knew what she’d done had been Alexia’s idea and been innocent enough, she’d known full well he wouldn’t like her doing it without his knowledge, probably because he’d have put a stop to it. He’d come all the way across London to catch her out with his own parents. That did seem bad. She gulped and swallowed again. ‘Sorry,’ she whispered, not thinking of a single thing worthy to say.
* * *
JJ’s mind was all over her aura. It seemed beaten down and splattered with confusion. Fear was there too. But not of him. Nothing had happened. Alexia would have blabbed as soon as he’d slammed her mind with a piss off and leave us alone as soon as the door opened. No, this was purely coming from Latitia. She’d sensed something significant enough to unsettle her.
‘What are you doing here?’ Latitia said, trying to gain some sort of control of the situation. He admired her for it. She was a tough girl but way out of her depth, and she knew it. She was just buying time to regroup.
Well, he couldn’t allow it. ‘What am I doing here?’ he repeated with a sardonic smile.
It was a little gratifying to see the blush enter her cheeks. ‘Your sister wanted to go home for the weekend and she invited me. What was I supposed to say?’ she blabbered, knowing it was just an excuse.
He got slowly to his feet and stalked deliberately towards her, not stopping until he looked down into her eyes. ‘In case you hadn’t realized it yet, this isn’t home, Latitia. It’s one of my father’s businesses.’
