‘What do you mean?’
‘You say you love the old side by side with the new, and that’s exactly what’s so wonderful about Cupid’s Way. Do you know there are hardly any Victorian terraces left in that part of Bristol? I don’t mind the new housing estates, or the retail park – I don’t even mind the office blocks, although the McAllister building is an eyesore. The juxtaposition is interesting, it shows the passage of time. And Cupid’s Way should stay exactly as it is.’
Michael watched her, listening with his eyes as well as his ears. When Evie finished she felt embarrassed again, but then she thought: Sod it. She wasn’t going to get anywhere being afraid to speak her mind. And Michael didn’t seem to be annoyed by her words. He seemed genuinely interested.
She said, ‘My grandparents grew up there, did you know that? They were neighbours, and they fell in love and got married. Neither of them has ever lived anywhere else, and they’re too old to change now. Stig, he lives at the other end of the terrace, he’s lived there his whole life too. He’s practically a recluse, he can’t even manage to keep up with the maintenance of his house – how do you think moving would affect him? And don’t even get me started on the Peacocks – we used to call them the Peacock clan when I was at school. There’s Rolo, who’s in his nineties now, and Bob and Freda and their son.’ She took a breath, aware that she’d started to go off topic. ‘The point is, it’s a community. It’s a piece of living history, a slice of life that can’t just be flattened to build something new. It would be wrong. Morally wrong. Even if that new building
is
a medical centre. It wouldn’t matter if it was a place guaranteed to find a cure for cancer. Cupid’s Way has to stay.’
He’d let her talk without interruption, but now when she paused for breath he reached across the table and laid his hand on hers.
‘Evie, I’m not going to force anyone out of their homes. No matter what Councillor Martin said yesterday, Dynamite aren’t interested in compulsory purchase orders or any kind of controversy. We want to buy the houses, fair and square.’
Evie sat back and stared at him. She looked at his hand and her hand together, then back into his eyes. ‘So, you’re saying they’re not under threat unless they choose to sell up voluntarily?’
He nodded. ‘As far as I’m concerned, that’s the deal that’s on the table. But …’
‘But?’
Michael looked uncomfortable. ‘The city council really want that medical centre built, Evie. And if we don’t build it, someone else will. Someone who perhaps won’t be so scrupulous about giving the residents a fair price.’
She slumped back, deflated, and pulled her hand away from his. She looked out of the window, down to the waterfront.
‘Why there? Why do the council want it built there?’
Michael shrugged. ‘That I don’t know. I guess it fits their criteria for size and scope, and it’s central to the increasing population.’
‘A population that wouldn’t be increasing if people like you didn’t keep building bloody housing estates,’ Evie cried, suddenly angry.
‘I don’t think Dynamite Construction can be blamed for folk choosing to procreate, Evie,’ Michael said with a smirk.
‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Oh, what’s the point. You’re not going to agree, are you? You’re a businessman. You’re the CEO of a company that’s known for its aggressive pursuit of new developments. Don’t look so shocked – we do have the internet in Cupid’s Way. I’ve looked up your company. I know what you’re about.’
‘You looked me up?’
‘I looked up Dynamite Construction,’ Evie corrected. ‘And while we’re on the subject, why did you shorten it to DMC? You do realise dynamite is actually only one word.’ She spoke in her most patronising tone, but Michael wasn’t fazed.
‘Dynamite Construction Incorporated is quite long for a name badge. But at least they got my name right, Phoebe Sloan.’
The way he said it, the intimacy of what he clearly thought of as his special name for her, made Evie catch her breath. But she couldn’t let him dazzle her the way he’d dazzled the receptionist at the Go Green conference; the way he clearly dazzled the gorgeous waitresses. She fixed an image of her grandma firmly in her mind, complete with her pink leisure suit and pristine white trainers that made her feet look slightly too big, and drew in a steadying breath.
‘Michael, let’s cut to the chase. The way I see it is, you owe me.’
‘I do?’
‘You do. You know perfectly well you put me in a horrible position by not telling me exactly who you were at breakfast yesterday. The way you ran out on me, knowing that in a few hours I’d get the shock of my life – it wasn’t exactly gallant.’
She knew she had him there. One thing this man’s behaviour told her was, he prided himself on being a gentleman.
Michael dipped his head to the side and nodded. ‘You’re quite right, Evie. It wasn’t my finest hour. We’d been getting on so well, and I was sitting there thinking about how we might … Well, anyway. You mentioned the Cupid’s Way development and it all suddenly slotted into place and I panicked. You’d already made it quite clear what you thought of me.’
‘What I thought of you?’ Evie felt her cheeks grow hot. Had he been able to read her so easily?
‘What was it you said? “Cut-throat developers stomping on the little guy”?’
Evie let out a relieved breath and shrugged. ‘Something like that.’
‘So I knew if I told you there and then there’d be fireworks. I guess it was selfish, but I wanted to let you think well of me for a little while longer.’
‘What makes you think I thought well of you before I knew you were a cut-throat developer?’ Evie knew she shouldn’t be flirting with him – it wasn’t only inappropriate, it was pointless. But she couldn’t help it. He was like a magnet to her.
But Michael didn’t react the way she had expected. He didn’t continue the banter with his twinkling eyes and his dimpled smile. Instead he leaned forward, his expression suddenly serious. He said, ‘Evie, I think we both know that something happened between us at that conference. I could be wrong about you, but I know I’ve never felt a connection like that with anyone before. And I think you feel the same.’ He paused and bit his lip, as if trying to gauge her reaction. ‘Or at least, I think you felt the same. Before.’
The way your life is supposed to flash before your eyes when you’re drowning, Evie’s future played out in her imagination in graphic detail. Or at least, the future she might have been facing had Michael not turned out to be Michael Andrews, cut-throat developer. He liked her – he
really
liked her – and he was a gorgeous, interesting, interested, professional man who shared her passion for architecture. He had a sense of humour, he knew how to dress, he was powerful and sexy. Exciting. But most important of all, he was the first man Evie had ever met who didn’t need rescuing.
Well, except perhaps from his own misguided ethics.
The images dissolved into dust and drifted away. Evie gave herself a mental shakedown and fixed a determined expression on her face. What was that saying she’d heard years ago on the radio? Some know-it-all life coach had come out with the line “Fake it till you make it”. If she allowed Michael to break down her defences she wouldn’t stand a chance. She’d have to fake an aura of disinterest until it bedded itself in so deeply she believed it herself.
She just hoped it would work quickly.
‘You’re mistaken,’ she told him. Her voice was cold and airy, and she was shocked by how convincing she sounded. ‘Although I’m not surprised you jumped to that conclusion. I’ve seen how you try and work your charms – on poor Martha at the hotel, and on that waitress. But I’m afraid they didn’t work on me.’
Michael looked like he’d been slapped. He recovered his composure quickly, but not before Evie had registered his shock turn into disbelief. She pressed on.
‘So, as I was saying, because of your despicable behaviour, you owe me. And what I want, right now, is for you to level with me. I want to know exactly what you’re planning, and why, because, frankly, it doesn’t ring true. My grandparents deserve to know what they’re up against, and you’re going to tell me.’
Across the table, Michael raised an eyebrow. Then he glanced over towards the bar and raised his hand. Evie didn’t take her eyes from his face. Her body felt suffused with an energy she’d never known before. She had no idea what was going to happen next.
Chapter 9
Michael waited for a moment or two, as though giving her a chance to say more, then he leaned back and stretched an arm across the cushion of the brown leather sofa. The leather squeaked under the weight of it. The sound made Evie think of nails on a chalkboard.
‘Fair enough,’ he said, his voice measured and calm. ‘I’ll tell you as much as I can, but you need to understand that while I might be the CEO of Dynamite, I still have to answer to other people in the organisation, just like any other employee. I don’t get to make all the decisions, and there are certain things I can’t discuss. With anyone.’
Evie gave him a “whatever” shrug, not trusting herself to speak.
‘The council approached us following an application we made that’s unrelated. The site they proposed for the medical centre was, in their words, run down and in need of extensive regeneration.’
‘Rubbish!’ Evie couldn’t keep quiet at this. ‘Cupid’s Way is full of character, it’s not run down.’
‘Evie, you’re seeing it through rose-coloured glasses. Have you looked at it recently – really looked at it? The surveyor’s report was grim. It said that without tens of thousands of pounds being spent over the next few years the terrace was unlikely to be standing in twenty years.’
‘Rubbish,’ she said again. It couldn’t be true. But a part of her was picturing the dilapidated windows and the missing roof tiles; the cracked pavements and the strange black stuff she’d seen creeping up the brickwork along the side of Stig’s house. She shook her head, and replaced the degeneration with images of the brightly painted front doors and the cute little allotment; the pots of winter-flowering plants and the beautiful cherry blossom that was already promising to be spectacular this year.
Michael started ticking off points on his fingers. ‘You said yourself that at least one of the residents couldn’t manage the upkeep. Some of the houses are overcrowded. Your grandparents are nearly in their eighties. I know for a fact that only two of the houses have central heating – your grandparents’ house is not one of them – and that most of them have rising damp, leaking roofs, old wiring and poor security. There’s no double glazing, the walls are single-skinned. Evie, don’t you think your grandparents would appreciate living somewhere warm and safe and cheaper to run?’
Evie could see by his evangelical expression there was no way he’d believe her when she told him that no, her grandparents would not.
‘The only house that’s remotely viable is the one that’s rented out – we’re trying to track down who owns it and when we do we’ll make them an offer. I doubt they’ll turn us down. The rest of the houses would get nothing on the open market anywhere near what we’ve put on the table, not in the state they’re in.’
The waitress arrived at his side with the bill, and Michael handed over his card while she leaned as far over him as she could, blotting out Evie completely. Michael was too distracted to notice. When she’d gone, with one final sly glance over her sharp shoulder, he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together. But Evie wasn’t ready to hear any more of his doom-saying.
She said, ‘All that may be true, but it’s not the whole story. Those houses have been there for over a hundred years. They’re the only examples of that kind of architecture left in that part of the city.’
‘Bristol is brimming with Victorian architecture, Evie. You know that. And frankly, I’m surprised at your attitude, considering who you work for.’
‘What do you mean?’ she said, bristling.
‘You’re not the only one who can look people up on the internet,’ he said softly. ‘Lee, Lee and Meredith aren’t exactly known for their eco-friendly credentials.’
‘They were, when I joined them.’ Her job was the one thing she did not want to talk about right now.
‘I get the impression that you’re a bit of an eco-warrior, Evie. And everything you’ve said today confirms it. I admire your principles – and believe me, whatever you think of Dynamite Construction, we’re in the business of improving our architectural landscape, not destroying it.’
Evie said nothing. She raised a hand up to her mouth and began to chew on a nail.
‘My company is upfront and honest about its development strategy,’ he said, pulling back a little and regarding her thoughtfully. ‘Whereas your company hides behind all sorts of promises and strategies but actually delivers very little to the community. Were you behind that awful scheme last year to build those key worker homes? The word in the industry is, they were so badly designed they’re only going to last five years. Not very eco, if you don’t mind me saying.’
‘I had nothing to do with those awful houses,’ she told him, her cheeks burning. He shook his head and gave her an odd smile.
‘No, I didn’t think you did. In fact, I didn’t see you listed on their website as one of their chartered architects at all. There was, however, an Evie Stone listed as an administration assistant.’
The silence that stretched out between them could have lasted for a minute or an hour. Evie had that disconnected feeling where the space around you feels as though it’s in another dimension. She could hear laughing at the bar; a man walked in through the double doors; a gust of cold air ruffled her hair. She began to shiver.
‘Evie, I’m sorry.’ Michael picked up his jacket and stood up.
This was it. He was going to leave all over again. He’d found out she was a total fraud and now any moral high ground she’d occupied was lost for ever. He wouldn’t listen to her pleas; she’d failed to help her grandparents and she’d managed to look like a total fool. Again. Why did she keep doing this to herself? Why couldn’t she operate like other people, like normal people? She tried to imagine poised, gorgeously bubbly Eloise in this position and couldn’t. Evie was a failure, and it was her own fault entirely.