Bloody Valentine - James Patterson [5]
Jack smiled. ‘What would I do without you?’
‘Hire another girl to make your calls. I’m only sorry I can’t control the chefs.’
‘You heard Adrian?’
‘I tried not to, but he was too loud. All the chefs are stressed, which isn’t surprising on Valentine’s Day. A fight broke out in the kitchen of the Edinburgh restaurant. I confirmed everything’s back to what passes for normal there half an hour ago. The good news is there’s not a table to be had in a Barnes’ restaurant tonight in Britain.’
‘That’s what I like to hear: fully booked.’ Jack opened his office door.
‘The butchers have an appointment to see you in an hour about the meat order.’
‘Show them straight in and send a messenger over to Bruno’s apartment with a note telling him to get in here, please. Or, if he can’t, to telephone me.’
‘Anything else, Jack?’
‘Make sure no one’s double-booked my table downstairs. Zee and I will lunch at one.’
‘Your coffee.’ Alice poured him a cup from the filter machine, black and strong with three brown sugars, the way he liked it.
Jack took the mug, went into his office, closed the door and walked to the window. He looked out and admired the view, as he did every working day.
There wasn’t another city like London in the world. And as long as Zee remained by his side, there wasn’t a single thing he’d change in his life.
The telephone rang. Jack picked it up.
The voice was low, almost a whisper. It took a moment for Jack to recognise it as Bruno’s.
‘I’m dying, Jack. Help me.’
Chapter Four
Zee ate her breakfast before running a bath. She soaked in lemon-scented bath oil while reading a magazine, enjoying every lazy moment.
When she’d met Jack she’d been a waitress in one of his restaurants. Before leaving drama school she’d dreamed of becoming a model or an actress. But the training hadn’t equipped her for the competition at auditions, or the loss of confidence she experienced after every rejection.
She’d fallen in love with Jack at first sight. She knew he was attracted to her, but when she’d met his family, they’d been suspicious of her. There was a fifteen-year age gap between her and Jack; she was poor and he was rich. Leila believed Zee was after Jack’s money and told her so. Michael was convinced Jack had married her because he couldn’t bear living alone after the unexpected death of his first wife, four months before Zee and Jack had started dating.
Zee couldn’t ignore Michael and Leila’s comments. She hoped the baby she was carrying would convince Jack’s family it was the man she loved, not the lifestyle and presents he gave her.
She left the bath, dried herself and dressed in one of the maternity suits she’d bought in Harrods. She straightened her hair, applied make-up, sprayed Jack’s favourite perfume on to her neck and wrists and left her bedroom.
‘Good morning, Mrs Zee, you look lovely,’ Sara complimented.
‘Thank you, Sara.’ Zee noticed an arrangement of red roses.
‘Six dozen, Mrs Zee. They arrived ten minutes ago. From Mr Jack.’ Sara handed her a package and envelope. ‘These came with them.’
Zee opened the letter first. She smiled. ‘It’s a booking for three nights starting tonight, in our favourite hotel in Cornwall.’
‘And the parcel,’ Sara reminded.
Zee opened it. ‘Silk underwear. I’d better pack.’
‘Lay everything you want to take on the sofa in your bedroom. I’ll pack it in your weekend luggage.’
‘You’re an angel, Sara.’ Zee pulled a rosebud from the arrangement and handed it to the maid.
‘Thank you, Mrs Zee. I’ll show it to my boyfriend and hope it will make him jealous enough to ask me to marry him.’
Zee went into the bedroom and laid out a selection of her own and Jack’s casual clothes. On the way out of the apartment, she pulled eight more roses from the display and wrapped each in a tissue.
‘You have other loves besides Mr Jack, Mrs Zee?’ Sara sprayed polish on the floor.
‘Hoping to make people happy.’ Zee removed one more rosebud. Jack’s secretary, Alice, had been the only person in