Could This Be Love - S04 E19

3 years ago

Could This Be Love - S04 E19

Read Story: SEASON 4 EPISODE 19

He’s got a degree in Business from Stamford so he’s bright,
and no-one really knows anything about him. With me so
far?”

Kyle nodded, listening.
“So there’s this guy. Rich, tall, dark hair, well groomed,
smartly dressed and single. He’s got sports cars,
helicopters, boats and an unlimited supply of cash, so he
can pretty much do whatever he wants, go wherever he
wants and anyone he chooses to take with him is going to
have the time of their life, right?”
“Yeah, but that’s not me,” He pointed out.
“That’s how people will perceive you though,” Patricia said
quickly. “Guys will be envious of you, women will be
attracted to you, and you’ll be on the cover of magazines all
over the world.”
Despite the tablet earlier, he suddenly felt his stomach tense
right up. Kyle shook his head. “I’m sorry though, Patricia,
but I’m not an attractive guy. I’ve never been good with
women and I’ve always had to do the chasing.”
“And in the future, many of the women who would have
laughed in your face before will throw themselves at you.”

“Why?”
“Because you have everything they could possibly desire,”
She shrugged. “On a genetic level you’ll turn some women
on simply because you’ll be able to care better for any
possible children they could have and that’ll make them
want to mate with you. One of those genetic urges. Like why
so many women think Simon Cowell is hot.”
“I thought that was because he oozed confidence though.”
“So does a double-glazing salesman,” she pointed out.
“Besides, soon you’ll have more confidence about you than
even Simon Cowell does. Plus, he’s a a-----e. You don’t
seem like that kind of guy.”
Kyle rubbed at his head for a minute, thinking. “So if what
you say turns out to be true, I can pretty much get my pick
of women?”
“Pretty much,” She agreed. “And therein lies the problem. If
women are easy for you, then the ones who play hard to get
become attractive to you, right? That means you can be
manipulated. Then you score and the next thing there’s a
sex-tape on the internet, and some girls famous. Or you’ve
got a baby scandal on your hands and you’re paying
millions every year in alimony payments and some girl
who’s smart enough to seduce you gets set up for life. Do
you see where I’m coming from?”
“I guess,” He shrugged. “I’m still not convinced that women
will throw themselves at me though. That sounds a little too
surreal, even for the weirdest day ever.”
“Well, that’s only one particular threat out of many. Throw in
the risk of kidnappers, conmen, paparazzi, people trying to
spike your drinks, and basically your life just became a lot
more restricted than you thought it might be.”
“So if you’re right, then I’ll have the money to be able to do
whatever I want, but I won’t be able to do whatever I want?”
“That’s about right,” Patricia nodded.
“Whereas yesterday I could do whatever I wanted, but didn’t
have the money to do whatever I wanted,” He stated.
“More or less.”

“So what’s the point in being rich?”
“Different people want to do different things, have different
motivations,” Patricia explained. “As soon as you figure out
what you want to do with your life then you’ll have goals
you can strive towards. For now, just take each day at a
time and try not to go crazy.”
Kyle sat and thought about that for a few minutes then
asked another question.
“So how does it work then?”
“The security side of things? You’ll have a bodyguard, or
more usually several, depending on where you are and what
you’re doing, but there’ll be one guy who stays with you,
looks after you and advises you if something’s too risky. I’d
suggest you listen to him if he says that though.”

“So who’s mine?” Kyle asked.
“That depends who you appoint. We do have a shortlist of
suitable candidates though, but in the meantime, the island
is secure so it’s not an immediately pressing concern.”
A thought struck Kyle. “Is that why this boat’s so kick-ass,
but only used as a ferry?”
Patricia smiled, pleased that he’d made the connection. “If
we’re on the water, then we’re vulnerable, so the boat has
the power to get us far away from any threats very quickly,
and if there’s any we can’t outrun, then Captain Wales and
his crew are more than capable of fighting off any threats.
He’s an ex SEAL. So are his crew.”

“Wow,” Kyle murmured. This was serious stuff, he realised
and he sat quietly considering it all for a while. If what
Patricia said was true, and even if he ended up returning to
his normal life after a few days, he’d still be a target. Kyle’s
life had well and truly changed.
He still didn’t know if it was for the better, but it was
certainly going to be different.
The Island came into view and Kyle stood up at the windows
for a better look. It was gorgeous, a tropical paradise of
palm trees and beautiful white sandy beaches. The cliffs
that rose up out of the water to the east and west were
natural and rugged and the structures he could see seemed
to enhance the natural beauty rather than detract from it.
“It’s better than I imagined,” Kyle admitted.
“I know,” Patricia said, standing beside him. “I love it here.”
Kyle could feel the nerves building in his stomach again as
the boat approached the pier and all too soon it was
alongside it, the crew tying the Betsy against it. He could
see several people waiting at the end of the pier and he took
a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

“What’s the Island Manager guy’s name again?” He asked.
“Edwin,” Patricia replied. “It’s the guy there with the white
hair and the black shirt. He always wears black shirts.”
“Why?” Kyle asked, more to keep the conversation going
than out of any real interest.
“Don’t know. He just always does.” Patricia chuckled. “I’ve
no idea why I even brought that up.”
“So what happens now?”
She turned to face him. “You’ll meet Edwin. He’ll walk you
up to the main house, show you your suite and probably
give you a quick briefing on the Island over a cup of tea. He
likes his cups of tea. Anyway, by the time he’s done with
that your luggage should be in your suite, and you’ve got
around eight hours before your sisters arrive.”
“They’re both coming?” Kyle asked, not knowing how Mister
Crowler had got on with them.
“Oh, did I not say?” Patricia scowled. “Sorry, Kyle. Yes,
they’re both coming.”
“Okay.” He felt that little lurch of excitement at the thought
of seeing them again, and looked unhappy.

“Kyle. Can I just say something,” Patricia said softly, moving
a step closer to him.
“Sure.”
“You know it can’t happen again, right?” She said, her voice
low. “You and Katie, I mean.”
“Oh, I know,” He replied immediately. “Believe me, I know.
This is f----d up enough without anything else happening.”
She nodded quickly. “Good. I just wanted to… make sure
you knew.”
“I definitely know,” Kyle replied.
“Good. Shall we disembark then?” Patricia smiled. “Go and
explore paradise? We can run through the rest of your
schedule later.”

Kyle squared his shoulders and nodded. “Okay.”
Patricia led him up the gangplank onto the pier where the
first person to step forward was Edwin, an elderly gent in his
early sixties. They shook hands.
“Welcome to the Island, Master Watson,” Edwin said, his
accent like the stiff upper lip British you’d hear in an old
sitcom like Fawlty Towers.
“Kyle’s fine, Edwin, and thanks.”
“Master Kyle then,” He said. “Welcome to the Island. If you’d
care to follow me?”
Kyle nodded, realising he wasn’t going to be introduced to
the four men and women waiting nearby. They were
dressed identically in purple polo shirts and black trousers,
and he realised they must be some of the staff from the
Island, probably there to carry his bags.

Edwin began walking along the wooden pier, its thick planks
held up by wide round posts sunk into the ground that
reached waist height.
Kyle followed, feeling the heat already in the air despite it
only being an hour or so since the sun came up. The water
on either side of the pier was the clearest blue he’d ever
seen, like something from a picture postcard, and the white
sand on the beach matched it perfectly.