Falling for the Secret Millionaire by Kate Hardy

‘OK. It’s your decision.’
    If he told her, it would give her leverage.
    If he didn’t, it would tell her that he didn’t trust her and she couldn’t trust him.
    He thought about it. Was it a risk worth taking? Strategically, it meant giving a little now to gain a lot in the future.
    â€˜Obviously my father paid for the damage to the shop,’ he said. ‘But you can’t solve everything with money.’
    â€˜So what did you do?’ Her voice was very soft. Gentle. Not judgemental. And that made it easier to tell her.
    â€˜I went to see the Khans,’ he said. ‘With a big bouquet of flowers and a genuine apology. And I said that money alone wasn’t enough to repay the damage I’d done, so until the end of my degree I’d work weekends in their shop, unpaid, doing whatever needed doing.’
    â€˜Stocking shelves?’
    â€˜Sometimes. And sorting out the newspapers for the delivery boys—which meant getting there at five in the morning. And don’t forget sweeping the floor and cleaning out the fridges.’
    She raised her eyebrows. ‘It must’ve killed your partying, having to be at work for five in the morning at weekends.’
    â€˜The crash kind of did that anyway,’ he said. ‘It was my wake-up call.’
    She looked straight at him. ‘You weren’t just a shop-boy, were you?’
    â€˜I was at first,’ he said. ‘It was six months before the Khans started to believe that I wasn’t just a posh boy slumming it, but eventually I became their friend.’ He smiled. ‘I used to eat with them on Sundays after my shift in the shop. Meera taught me how to make a seriously good biryani, and Vijay taught me as much as my father did about business management and having to understand your own business right from the bottom up. Though in return when I did my MBA I helped them streamline a few processes and negotiate better terms with their suppliers.’
    â€˜Do you still see them?’
    â€˜Not as often nowadays, but yes. Their kids are teenagers now; they were very small when the crash happened. Sanjay, their eldest, is off to university next year, and I’ve given him the lecture about partying and getting in with the wrong crowd.’ As well as sponsoring the boy through the three years of his degree, but Nicole didn’t need to know that.
    When the food arrived, she tasted her cannelloni and looked thoughtful.
    â€˜Is it OK?’ he asked.
    â€˜More than OK. You were right about the food, just as you were right about the coffee on Challoner Road.’ She paused. ‘What you did for the Khans...that’s what I’d expect Clarence to do.’
    â€˜Clarence wouldn’t have been stupid enough to go round with the over-privileged crowd in the first place,’ he pointed out.
    â€˜You’re human. We all make mistakes.’
    Which revealed that she had a weakness, too. That she’d made a life-changing mistake. One that maybe held her back as much as his did him. ‘What was yours?’ he asked softly.
    She shook her head. ‘It’s not important.’
    â€˜I told you mine. Fair’s fair.’
    She looked away. ‘Let’s just say I put my trust in the wrong person.’
    â€˜And you think I’m going to let you down, the same way?’
    She spread her hands. ‘Gabriel Hunter, known for being a ruthless businessman—is it any wonder I think his offer of help with the cinema comes with strings?’
    â€˜Or you could see it as Clarence,’ he countered, ‘who really needs a new challenge, and a way to take the family business in a different direction.’
    â€˜OK. Just supposing the Electric Palace was yours...what would you do?’
    â€˜Bring the building back to life, and then get it listed so nobody can ever try to raze it to the ground and turn it into a car park,’ he said promptly. ‘In that