Convenience

Part 40

Ten days later, Beatrice parked the car in the large car park out the front of the building that belonged to her husband. She hadn't checked into her hotel, so her overnight bag was in the boot. She looked in her rear view mirror to double check on her lipstick and then took a breath to buy her time and calm her nerves. She was not looking forward to this meeting. Not because she was worried he would be petty with the financial contribution, but because she knew he unsettled her head and her heart. Neither was good!

Beatrice took her time sitting in the car. She rehearsed meeting him again and she silently prepared for the hour or so ahead. She wanted to be calm. She wanted to be reserved. She wanted to be distant. That's what she was aiming for. The problem was that she was anxious. She was excited. And she wasn't sure she could maintain her distance. Beatrice gave herself one last look in the mirror. The eyes that looked back at her were overly bright. But there was not much she could do about that. She locked the car and with pseudo confidence she walked toward the entrance to the building.

Serenely Beatrice stepped into a rather plush building and headed for the receptionist at the desk in the vast atrium. Behind her were a flank of elevators. She ignored them and walked straight ahead as if she had done this many a time. She could hear her heels as she made her way to the reception area. Her pace sounded overly loud in the vast arena of the area. Beatrice's grip tightened on the satchel she had in one hand and her handbag in the other. She gripped the two bag handles hard to stop herself from shaking with nerves.

Beatrice wondered about the response when she gave her name. "I'm Beatrice Cardoso. I have an appointment with Mr Cardoso." She glanced around, expecting to see Colin Hartnell, her grandfather's solicitor. Then she flicked a look at her watch. She was five minutes early. "Erm, I'm also expecting a Mr Hartnell to be joining us for the meeting."

The receptionist checked her list of expected guests. She nodded, smiled. "Yes, Mrs Cardoso, 12.30 meeting with Mr Cardoso in his office, I'll just ring through. The meeting with Mr Hartnell, Mr Cardoso and Ms Driver is scheduled for 1.30 in the Harbour Room." She stated, and appeared to be not at all concerned by the fact that the person signing in had the same surname as her CEO. In fact she appeared totally blasé about it. That surprised Beatrice. For some reason she expected surprise. Or even curiosity.

"Excuse me?" Beatrice wasn't planning on being here at 1.30. She hoped she'd be on her way to her hotel, to check in. Not that it mattered that much as she could check in anytime after two. But still, why hadn't he contacted her to tell her of the change in time. Well at least that put paid to her nerves. For now she was annoyed.

The receptionist repeated the timeline as she punched through the digits to David's PA.

"There must be a mistake. We are all meeting at 12.30." Beatrice stated firmly.

"Mrs Cardoso is here." The receptionist nodded as she listened to the conversation at the other end of the phone. She kept her eyes on Beatrice and then said, "Will do." She hung up the phone and smiled at Beatrice. "Mr Cardoso will be down presently. Would you care to take a seat?" So this was his wife, the receptionist thought, and a part of her felt sorry for the woman standing in front of her. After all it wasn't as if he made a secret of the fact he dated other women! None of them had ever thought to wonder what his wife looked like. They'd all assumed the couple were permanently estranged.

Beatrice was about to challenge the receptionist once again about the timeline, when she decided that there was no point shooting the messenger. In any case she couldn't help but notice that the woman now seemed to feel sorry for her! So obviously the woman did know who Beatrice was, and while professional in her manner, she wasn't quite so quick to hide her pity.

A couple of minutes later, an elevator's doors slid open to reveal David. In formal working clothes he looked more than impressive. Beatrice felt the return of nerves. She should never have agreed to this meeting. Not when she had difficulty in keeping her head and heart from arguing. One urged caution, the other urged involvement.