“So what drove you to drink, Smith?”
For a brief moment the car drifted over to the other side of the highway and I quickly corrected my steering. Leonie’s eyes were wide. “Sorry.” She said quietly.
“No. No. It’s fine. You just took me by surprise is all.” I took a moment to ensure my driving was back under control. “It wasn’t one thing, Leonie. It’s a number of things, and it’s complicated.”
“I understand.”
There was no way I was telling Leonie about my past. I’d yet to find out if she could be trusted. Right now she was profiting from knowing me. When it stopped, what was to stop her taking all her knowledge and selling it?
“You don’t trust me.” She said.
“No. I don’t.” I admitted honestly. “But you don’t trust me either, so at least there’s that.”
I glanced across at her and she smiled. “True. Okay eyes back on the road.”
She talked to me about how her life had been monotonous since she went to live in Bel Air and how she’d enjoyed being a masseuse and was looking forward to taking her position back at the Malibu Dream Hotel.
“Yes, you were very good at it and I’m sorry that I took advantage.”
“Smith, let’s clear the air here and start again from scratch. You took advantage of me as a quick lay, and I took advantage of you as a potential billionaire husband. We did what we did, what happened happened. It’s done. Can we try to be friends and move on?”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” I said honestly. “I could use a genuine friend and I know Serena likes you.”
“You never know, maybe one day we’ll trust each other again.” She said. “But for now, let’s leave the past exactly there.”
She held out a hand and I took one off the steering wheel, quickly shaking hers before getting back to my driving.
I pulled up outside the Malibu Dream, exited and threw the keys at the val
et while a porter took Leonie’s cases. “I’m coming in to say hello to Ted and then I’ll leave you to get settled.”
“Okay.” She looked a little nervous.
“You’ll be fine.” I reassured her.
We walked inside where Ted waited in the lobby. “Smith, my man. How is Serena?” Ted was the only human who knew what we were. He knew my mother from way back and she had confided in him long ago. The man was a true gent and I would trust him with my life.
“Early days, but she seems to be recovering to the doctor’s satisfaction.”
Leonie made a little cough in the back of her throat. “It’s nice to see you again Mr. Johnson.”
“Call me Ted, please, Leonie. I know I’m a lot older than you but please, Mr. Johnson makes me feel about a hundred.”
I laughed. Ted was around his late-forties and Leonie was twenty-nine.
“Okay, Ted it is.” Leonie smiled.
“Come through to the office, please. You too, Smith.” We followed behind him until we reached his office. He opened the door revealing its ocean views. “Have a seat.”
We got comfortable.
“So, Leonie.” He said as he took his own chair. “I gather from Smith that it was some family problem that took you away from The Dream but that now, not only is it all settled but you have a better income in general. So with that in mind, I understand you want to take one of our suites while you stay in Carbon Beach?”
Leonie looked at me for clarification.
“Yes, that’s the case, but she also needs to maintain some kind of income and needs something to occupy her time. Right?”
Leonie nodded. “Yes, I could do with working part-time maybe, to supplement the funds I now have available.”