My best friend Sadie’s voice floats into my head.
Maybe it’s for the best? You’re free to do whatever you want now.
Yeah. Maybe.
Anyway, like I said, I’m not going to dwell on that. I’m here for some distraction and a change of scene. There will be plenty of time to deal with the reality of it all when I get home. But for now, I’m choosing not to let his betrayal ruin this for me.
Humiliation can take a seat. And serious relationships too. I’m doingmeright now.
* * *
Kit
I’m seriously impressed by the Vanaheim Grand when I rock up to it in my executive cab.
It’s one of Elliot’s favourites, so he tells me, and he’s spared no expense making it one of the crown jewels of his chain.
Perched high on the gorge above the Katsura river, it has stunning views of the tree-filled banks and the wide expanse of water, which is sitting fairly low at the moment, though still deep enough for boat rides, so I’m told.
I plan on getting a private hire boat to take me along the famous stretch from Kameoka, back to just past the hotel at Arashiyama. I guess I’ll do some other sightseeing too, but I’m here mostly to chill. So that’s what I’ll be doing for the majority of the time.
I have my own private pool in the apartment I’m staying in, as well as a hot tub and a gym, and there’s a dining area where I can eat uninterrupted.
So that’s cool.
And if I get antsy, I’ll head into Kyoto and have a look around. It has good shopping apparently and some decent restaurants where I can eat if I get bored with the food at the hotel.
Michelin-style dining is all very well – and pretty much all I’ve eaten since hitting the jackpot and getting extremely fucking rich a couple of years ago – but sometimes you just crave the simple comfort of a burger and fries, you know what I mean?
I down the glass of sake they give me at the reception desk while I wait for them to log my passport details and take a moment to look around me.
The reception area is knock-out beautiful, with traditional Japanese dark wooden framed walls and off-white paper-panelled shutter doors segregating the space. And there are flowers everywhere.
Out of the large windows along the back wall I can see the river winding through the trees below us.
Over on the far side of the reception there’s a well-stocked bamboo bar and seating area, with those very low tables and chairs they tend to favour here. All the colours are muted and tasteful as hell.
Just like the hotel’s owner.
Elliot was always the quiet one in our group of three at university, but when he did speak, whatever came out of his mouth was of the highest quality. Due to his upbringing, he’s been used to looking after himself all his life, so spends a lot of time in his own head. It always amused me to see hot women try to get his attention at uni – and after it, only for him to barely register them.
There’s a wealth of gold in there though, if you gain the privilege of penetrating his walls, like Raffa and I did.
In all seriousness, I’d put my life on the line for both those guys.
A finger of unease pokes at my brain. Elliot still hasn’t replied to the texts I sent him a couple of weeks ago, which isn’t like him. When I spoke to his PA, she seemed a little cagey and just gave me some brush-off answer like ‘he’s taking some time out right now’ and claimed he’d given her no more detail than that. I’m not exactly worried about him, he can take care of himself fine, but it’s unusual for him not to get back to me quickly.
I fire off a message to Raffa, asking if he’s heard from him.
He replies quickly with:
Not heard a dicky for a while. I’m guessing he’s deep inside some complicated new business deal. Or a woman. Hopefully the latter. The dude deserves some fun
I reply:
My thoughts exactly. How’s life with you?
A moment later, I get back:
