Party girl Lucy Blayne has barely been out of the news ever since it was revealed that her husband cheated on her and embezzled from her business, stealing millions from her trust fund and from many of her prestigious clients at Prêt a Party. I understand she has quite rightly divorced him, but her business is struggling regardless.
Bravely, sheâs battling on, though, determined to transform her business back into the success it once was. Now her chief advisor is none other than incredibly trustworthyâand handsomeâMarcus Canning, banker to the seriously rich and famous.
For years Marcus has been a confirmed bachelor, running a mile at the merest mention of the word wedding. But my sources, a variety of paparazzi journalists, have passed on to me that Marcus and Lucy have been caught in flagrante in a number of risqué locations! This couple is seriously hot for each other. Could it be that itâs the great sex that has changed his mind?
An engagement announcement has been published in the Forthcoming Marriages section of every national newspaper. Marcus Canning is to wed Lucy in just a few weeksâ time.
This will most definitely be the society wedding of the yearâ¦.
âSO WHAT youâre saying is that my ex-husband has damaged my business so badly that it and I are both virtually bankrupt?â
Lucy stared at her solicitor. A deepening sense of sickening shock and fear was gripping her, a feeling that the situation she was involved in was so frightening and unbearable that it could not possibly be real.
But it was real. She was here, seated in front of Mr McVicar, while he told her that her ex-husband had so badly damaged the reputation and financial status of the event organisation company she had set up with such enthusiasm and delight prior to their marriage that it was no longer viable.
Nick had cheated her sexually and financially all through their brief marriageâ¦but then, hadnât she done some cheating herself? A guilty conscience wasnât going to help her now, Lucy warned herself, as she struggled with the massive weight of the problems she now faced.
âIâve got some commissions for events for the rest of this year,â she told the solicitor, crossing her fingers behind her back and hoping that he wouldnât ask her how many, since in reality there were so few. âPerhaps, in view of that, the bankâ¦?â
Her solicitor shook his head. He liked his pretty young client, and felt very sorry for her, but in his opinion her nature was too gentle for the unforgiving world of business.
âIâm sorry, my dear,â he told her. âAs youâve already said yourself, several potential clients have cancelled their events and asked for their deposits back already, and Iâm afraidâ¦Well, letâs just say we live in a harsh world, where confidence is something no one can put a price on.â
âAnd because of what Nick has done no one will have any confidence in Prêt a Party any moreâis that what you mean?â Lucy asked him bitterly. âEven though Nick is no longer a part of the business, or my life, and I was the one who started it up in the first place?â
The solicitorâs sympathetic look was all the answer she needed.
âI dare say I shouldnât blame clients for backing out. After all, I suppose in their eyes if I was stupid enough to marry Nick then I canât have much credibility,â Lucy said with bitter humour. That was certainly what Marcus believed. She knew that well enough.
Marcus. If there was one person she would like to somehow magically remove from her life and her memories for ever, that person wasnât Nick, but Marcus.
âIs there nothing I can do to save the business?â She appealed to her solicitor.
âIf you could find a new partnerâsomeone of probity and known financial stature, whom people respect and trust, and who is willing to inject enough capital to settle all Prêt a Partyâs outstanding obligationsâ¦â
âBut I intend to pay those off myself. I still have money in my trust fund,â Lucy interrupted fiercely.
âYes, of course. I realise that. But Iâm afraid that clearing Prêt a Partyâs debts, whilst a very honourable thing to do, will not revive client confidence in you, Lucy. Regrettably, the actions of your ex-husband have damaged the reputation of the business virtually beyond repair, and the fact that both your partners have left Prêt a Partyââ
âBut thatâs because they both got married and have other responsibilities now, thatâs all. Not because of anything else! Carlyâs pregnant and has her son to look after, as well as working alongside Ricardo with the orphanages he has set up, and Julia has a new baby to look afterâplus sheâs involved in the Foundationââ