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‘He’s developing your discerning palate then,’ Jonathan remarked, a smile on his lips.
‘He’s trying.’ She smiled as she thought about her fiancé. ‘He’s just really special and unlike some of the men I’ve dated, he’s realised the importance and unimportance of money.’
‘I can understand why that’d be vital to you.’
‘God, Jonny, I’m so mad at you right now. I don’t know whether I can sit here and be adult about this,’ she admitted, blowing out a breath.
‘I’d like it if you did. If only for the food. Besides, I do have a proposition for you. This is a business lunch,’ he told her.
‘Why do I get the feeling this is going to be something I’m likely to oppose?’
‘I’m not going to bulldoze Mayleaf if that’s what you’re thinking. Besides, the town elders are pretty scary characters. I wouldn’t like to cross those guys.’
‘Then what are you going to do? Build a Recuperation Inn on top of Exposure?’ she asked.
‘Let’s eat, then I’ll show you.’
5
‘You enjoyed the food?’ Jonathan asked. They were in back in the Chrysler heading off in an easterly direction.
‘Yes, it was good. I enjoyed it all the more because you were paying,’ she admitted.
She would pay later because she could barely move with the amount she’d stuffed in. If the car went any quicker, she was likely to lose it all over the leather upholstery.
‘You must be a breath of fresh air to the world of celebrity, Freya. Tell me, do you still raid the discounted items at the grocery stores?’
‘Sometimes, but more often than not, I buy double what I need and drop into a soup kitchen on the way home. And I don’t do that for the publicity; I do that because I can. And I have to tell you, it gives me more satisfaction to see an old man with holes in his clothes and nothing on his feet eating a good meal in a warm place than it does to eat an expensive Italian meal.’
‘I heard you talk on Atlantic FM about the homeless. I found it very moving,’ Jonathan admitted.
‘The homeless are a project of mine at the moment. I’m in the process of setting up a centre to provide accommodation and food. It sort of started out as a vision for a hostel and then it turned into something bigger than that. I want somewhere that provides counselling and advice, skills to get people jobs and support for when they can leave the centre and get a place of their own.’
She felt more passionately about the homeless shelter project than she did about anything else in her life. There was something about giving people with nothing help to start over again that struck a chord with her.
‘It sounds like it’s something close to your heart.’
‘Nick took me to where he used to live when he was struggling to raise his brother. The number of homeless people there is well above the national average and these people are of all ages and backgrounds and some are children. I was appalled and I said we had to do something about it. So, to start with, I bought out the stock in two clothes stores and we handed it all out. Then we decided, to make a real difference, it would take more than just a handout. That’s when I decided to set up the Every Day project,’ she explained.
‘I know.’
‘What? What d’you mean you know?’
The Every Day project was new, very new. Only their closest advisors knew of their plans. Nothing had even been drafted for the release to the press yet.
‘I know about your charity, the Every Day project. I made a bid for the same piece of land your first centre is going to be built on,’ he told her.
‘That was all done anonymously and no one knew what that was for. How?’
‘I know a lot of people.’
‘So, what happened? You couldn’t outbid me? That I don’t believe.’
She was angry again. What was it with this man? Why was he back poking his nose into her life? What did he want? There had to be something.
‘Oh, I could have outbid you but I took the time and trouble to investigate that fake name you used. I wanted to find out who I was really up against. When I found out, I decided you were too formidable a force.’ He smiled.
‘Conscience get the better of you?’
