Dance for the Billionaire(35)
“Did you think he would one day be so rich?” Chantelle asked, and then felt embarrassed at the tacky question. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“It’s okay. I always knew that he would do well for himself, but I never imagined the scale or that he would do it before he was thirty. From the time he was a little boy he used to save his pocket money diligently. He had a tidy little sum in his bank account by the time he was ten. By then most of his older brothers and sisters were working and they gave him extra money. Yet when he wanted a toy or gadget he shopped around for the best deal.
“When he was sixteen Michael took him to a house action and later he told me that Dominic had helped him pick up two bargains that he would have missed. After that he took Dominic along whenever he was free. And just before his eighteenth birthday he convinced his father to buy two rundown houses that were in a good area but had been neglected for years while tied up in probate. My husband expected to spend months renovating them, but Dominic advised him to simply clean them up and sell them on. The idea was so ludicrous Michael told him that he could have whatever profit they made if he could sell the properties within a month. He almost had a heart attack when the properties both sold for double the price only two weeks later. All Dominic had done was pay a few hundred pounds for his friends to help him clear the debris!
“Wow!” Chantelle loved property and home improvement shows. She’d seen it happen, but it was rare.
“His father talked about it for weeks! Dominic made thirty seven and a half thousand pounds in less than two week. When I asked him how he knew that he would be able to resell the properties, he told me if he was looking for a property with a girlfriend or wife, he would want one that he could buy cheaply and spend the bulk of his money fixing it up to his taste. And the eerie thing was that both properties were bought by young couples—one already married with a baby on the way and the other tying the knots in months.”#p#分页标题#e#
“The Wikipedia article called him ‘The Man with the Midas Touch’,” Chantelle mused aloud.
“I don’t know about a magic touch.” His mother laughed at the idea. “But he’s got good instincts and reads people well.” The woman topped up her tea from the dainty teapot in which it had been served and took a sip before she spoke. Chantelle got the distinct impression that the woman was deliberately taking the moment to compose herself. “Last year during a conference call with his dad from the Bermuda, Dominic noticed that he didn’t look well. I was right here in the UK with him and I…I didn’t notice a thing. He called me right away and said, ‘Mum, I don’t like how Dad’s looking. I’m flying home tomorrow to take him to the doctor.’ As soon as he arrived he bullied Michael into going to Harley Street with him. And thank God! It was the very early stage of prostate cancer. Once we got the diagnosis, Dominic insisted on the best treatment. He saved his dad’s life.”
“That’s so amazing!”
“He’s a sweetheart…just like his dad.” His mother smiled fondly. “Forty years ago there weren’t as many mixed marriages as there are now and some people gave us a hard time—his parents in particular. My mother was mixed-race and though I could pass for white with my hair straight, I choose to just wash and towel dry it so that its natural curl shows in celebration of her life. I’ve taught my children to look beyond race to what’s deep inside another person’s heart and if you ever come to a family get-together, you’ll see that they have taken my teaching very seriously.” The woman laughed merrily. “I embrace all my sons- and daughters-in-law and love all my grandchildren to bits.”
“It’s different with Dominic and…”
“You and Dominic?”
“He’s a billionaire! He can get any woman he wants.”
“And that’s what makes you special.” The woman took Chantelle’s hand between hers. “Times have changed, but it still won’t be easy for you. Dominic’s a powerful man and your image would be plastered all over the media. You have to be confident and have total belief in yourself. You have a curvy body and some photographer or reporter may deliberately take a photo from an unflattering angle or stretch an image to make you look twice your size just to sell a story. Never let things like that faze you. Don’t change yourself for anyone! And remember Dominic’s attracted to you just as you are.”
***
Still smiling from the conversation with Dominic’s mother and feeling mellow from her warm hug in parting, Chantelle walked quickly into her office and closed the door behind her.