Convenience

Part 49

Just then the waitress arrived. She placed two large plates of thin crust pizza in front of them, checked that they had everything they needed asked if they needed a drinks top up and then left them to their own devices.

David waited for Beatrice to start on her food. Beatrice shook out her napkin laid in across her lap.

"So the bank lent you money." He picked up the thread of conversation.

Beatrice nodded. "A couple had a few reservations about it, given the fact that my husband appeared to be with other women." She shrugged, and paid more attention to the pizza on her plate. "They were concerned about the implications of a divorce." That had his smile disappearing. "I pointed out to them that a divorce would more than likely result in a hefty divorce settlement!"

David looked at her and burst out laughing. He dabbed at his mouth with his napkin before asking, "Were you like this at twenty-two?"

"Like what?"

He shook out his napkin and laid it on his lap as he looked at her. "Composed? Self assured? Confident. Classy." He mulled aloud. "I'm sure I'd have noticed..."

Beatrice ducked her head and made a great show of picking up her cutlery. "You had other more pressing things to focus on." She interrupted, and despite the fact she wanted to ignore his compliments, she felt the start of a sense of pride.

Establishing a business was all well and good. But when there was no one around to share the success, it always felt as if something was missing. Achievements and milestones came and went. However without someone to give you a hug, and celebrate with you, those achievements and milestones were nothing more than transitory accolades. Having a husband compliment you felt fantastic. Even if her husband was transitory too!

Then Beatrice silently reminded herself that they were here to end their sham of a marriage and start a trust for her share from him! All she had to do was sign on the dotted line. Impressing him was not on the agenda. Being complimented by him was nothing more than lip service. She needed to remember that. Keep her wits about her. It would be so easy to fall for his brand of charm. To fall for him, again, like five years ago. And that really would not do. "The Cardoso business needed your attention. Me, I was simply a short term acquisition."

There was no animosity in her voice, which given the circumstances was mystifying. Most women would be angry. "As I said, I owe you a huge apology. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." He told her sincerely as he reached for his cutlery. He knew dating other women had probably humiliated this strong, feisty woman. At the time that simply never occurred to him. She had left him. He thought she wanted that. So he had not gone after her. In any case, they hadn't been together long enough for him to even see them as together. The longest time they had spent with each other was the flight duration. And even then they were surround by strangers. Their behaviour on their return to Auckland served to confirm that all they had was a business contract. They were strangers. He never put her personally in the equation.

She sliced a section of pizza and without any hesitation said, "As I said. Apology not required." Though it was good to hear it. Good to know that he knew how to apologise. Beatrice looked up at him just before she forked up a piece of pizza. "It was tough at the start as I had no business experience." It had been a nightmare at the start and she had found herself having to learn fast. Back then what she'd really needed a shoulder to lean on, arms to hold her, and a listening ear. Just someone in her corner. That's all. But she was not going to run to her husband! He had his business to sort out. Like him: Having to learn fast, but with a bigger company. Dealing with her business would put more on his plate. So she had learnt to rely on herself. Learnt to do a silent mental jig to celebrate whenever a goal was reached. Learnt to accept the minor set backs as par for the course. Learnt that crying was ok, but not to do it in public. Beatrice sighed. Then she gave herself a silent little shake. It was a long time ago. She might have found out the hard way that she was able to look after herself. But she had made a success of her business. "Made a few mistakes as I went along, but all in all, I'm doing fine on my own." She told him candidly.

David knew she was doing more than fine. Since seeing her, he had done a bit of research. Better late than never. He now knew a lot more about his wife's business enterprise. For a woman with no formal training, and with no obvious support mechanism in place or a mentor around, she had managed to build a cottage industry that now employed a handful of people and now boasted a celebrity clientele. That was no mean feat. It was not his success. And despite the fact she was his wife in name only, he felt an immense sense of pride in her achievements.

Then he wondered, why hadn't she come to him when she needed financing?