Olivia Holmes Has Inherited A Vineyard by Mark Daydy

Author:Mark Daydy [Daydy, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-26T22:00:00+00:00

*

After their coffee, Olivia stood at the front gate to wave Gerry off. As his car disappeared up the lane, she pondered his offer. She would become a company director – not at the Vines, but in one Gerry’s companies. Would that work? She’d be free of Prior Grove and she’d get to spend a year in the countryside. It all seemed to add up.

And yet… if it all added up, why did she feel that it didn’t quite add up?

She shivered. It was much colder than she’d imagined. Back inside the house, she went up to the bedroom to grab another layer of clothing from her bag.

What would Alistair have advised?

Her ex-husband, looking relaxed in a T-shirt and jeans, appeared on the bed – fully reclined, hands folded behind his head on the pillow, feet crossed.

“Break it down,” he said.

She studied his golden hair and hazel eyes – and dismissed his charms.

“Into what?”

“Into what you have. One, a job you’re comfortable in but not in love with. Two, a chance to part-own a vineyard, even though you know nothing about grapes or wine…”

“I do know about wine. A bit. And I’ve done a ton of pruning.”

“Three, you have a hefty mortgage on your apartment which makes the idea of losing your job a bit scary.”

“My job is safe. Prior Grove has a new partner. They’ll be rebranding soon. It’s a rosy future.”

“They could change course, seek to slim down – you know that.”

“Right, well, if we stick to the mortgage payments, we both know who walked out demanding a pay-off for their half of our joint investment…”

“Four, at some point, one of you might fall sick and you’ll fail to fulfil the occupancy requirement.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t lose this place if Jo never found out.”

“Jo has spies. She must have.”

“Who.”

“It could be anyone. And everyone. It’s a small community.”

“Five, Gerry’s plan would take away any money worries. Assuming Milo wants to make a killing. The downside is you’d become a manual worker for most of this year. Manual work is hard.”

“So that’s it, laid out.”

“There’s one other variable.”

“Which is?”

“Gerry. Can you trust him?”

“I don’t want to discuss that with you.”

“He hasn’t even said what kind of business you might be investing in?”

“He’s into business advice. He has some big clients.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. He has to sign non-disclosure agreements. I do too, remember?”

“What if he runs off with your money?”

“That, Alistair, is exactly the sort of thing I’ve come to expect from you. Do I make snide comments about Sophie?”

“It’s Stephanie, as you well know.”

“Alistair? Go away.”

Alistair vanished.

She trusted Gerry. She had to. There was no-one else she could trust. Of course, people can let you down. Alistair had let her down. They had been a team, a unit, a couple. When he left after twenty years, her first reaction was to vomit over the mat inside the front door he’d just closed on his way out. The shakes then took hold as she contemplated failure and emptiness.

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