Those Angstrom Men!. (4 page)

“You’re in the media, Maggie,” said Linda. “Use your contacts to find out about Mr. Angstrom’s new lover. We’re all madly curious. Usually we get our fix from the tabloids, but he’s been conspicuously absent from the paparazzi’s lens for weeks. We have no idea what this woman looks like.”

Maggie laughed. “Oh, Linda, being an editor at a business magazine is the opposite end of the spectrum to an online gossip column. I’m afraid my contacts won’t do you any good. Since Mr. Angstrom is very rich and you tell me, very good looking, I’m sure the paparazzi will track him down soon.”

“We tell you very good looking? Didn’t you think he was?”

“You know, I’ve never seen the man. He was mostly out of the country when I worked there, and when he was in London, somehow I never saw him.”

“Google Ian Angstrom when you get home, Maggie,” said Amanda. “See if you don’t agree with us. I know you will.”

Two hours later, Maggie thought of Amanda’s words, but just then
her
Ian telephoned from New York, and she forgot everything but the sound of his voice.

“Hi, baby,” he said in a fake American accent.

“Ian, I didn’t expect to hear from you tonight, you’re coming back to England tomorrow.”

“I can’t go a day without talking to you, Maggie mine.”

“I love that you can’t go a day without talking to me, Ian.”

“We’ve been going out for over three months now.”

“Yes, we have.”

“I think it might be time for you to meet my parents and my brother, and me to meet your cousin and your aunts and uncles, don’t you?”

Maggie swallowed. “That takes our relationship to another level, doesn’t it, Ian?”

“Don’t you want to take it to the next level?”

“Yes, yes I do, but what if your family doesn’t like me?”

“They’re going to love you, Maggie mine, just like I do.”

“Eh...you love me?”

“That just popped out. I was going to tell you this weekend that I love you, with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.”

“Those chocolate covered strawberries get me every time, darling.” Maggie smiled at the mobile. “I love you too,” she said softly.

Ian let out the breath he’d been holding in, waiting for her reaction.

“Well, that’s good, Maggie mine. Now we’ve established we love each other, and you still get the champagne and chocolate covered strawberries by the way, we’d better meet the relatives. Why don’t I take you to Sunday dinner with the parents? I’ll call my brother David and make sure he comes as well, and then we’ve done my lot in one swoop.”

“All right, and I’ll ask Jill and she and I could do a buffet lunch the following Sunday. The aunts and uncles all live close to London. I’m afraid I’ll have to drag you to Gran’s nursing home but she probably won’t recognize me anyway. She’s very confused these days.”

“I’ll call my Mom and Dad right now, sweetheart, and arrange dinner for Sunday. I love you, and don’t you forget that!”

“Don’t you forget I love you back,” she told him.

Next call.

Ian took a deep breath. His parents
, well his mother, had been waiting for this day for a long time.

“Hello, Dad. I wondered if you and Mom would
like company for Sunday dinner? I’d like to bring somebody to meet you.”

“Somebody? A business associate?”

“Eh, no, a girl.”

“A girl?  Mavis...get on the other line. Ian wants to bring a girl home for dinner Sunday.”

His mother picked up another telephone receiver.

“Ian!
A girl? Not one of your models, surely? You‘ve never brought one of them home.”

“No, she’s an editor at one of our magazines, actually.”

His father chuckled. “Breaking your rule about dating employees, are you?”

Ian sighed. “I met her over three months ago when I flew back from that sailing trip with David.

“Her name is Maggie Parker. Beautiful girl, funny, articulate. I fell for her as soon as I saw her, and switched seats on the plane to sit by her.

“So in the course of that long, long conversation, I found she was starting at Angstrom and Associates as our in-house editor.

“Eh, I told her my name was Armstrong, because of that bloody magazine list. I just wanted to get to know her. You understand, that bloody magazine has made it impossible for me to get to know a girl without wondering if she likes me or my money…at least I know the models and actresses like me for the publicity they get dating me,” Ian sighed.

“The first week she was there, I was in Dubai, and while I was away, I had one of the presentations she’d cleaned up emailed to me. The girl is very competent at what she does. So I called Human Resources and found there was an editing position available at
Britain’s Best
. I had her transferred straight over, so she still thinks my last name is Armstrong...” Ian ran out of breath and paused.

“Oh, dear.
When are you going to tell her the truth?” said his mother. “This sounds like it’s getting serious, Ian.”

“Very serious, Mom.
I love her and she loves me. I plan to propose in a couple of weeks, after you’ve met her and I’ve met her family.”

“How’s she doing at the magazine?”
asked his father.

“Really well, even better than I expected, actually.
We’ve given her a column to write about unpopular careers, and she’s doing brilliantly. Made it very humorous and it’s becoming one of the most popular weekly columns we run. Gordon thinks she’s marvellous. I think he wants to get to know her better, if you know what I mean, but she loves me. The sooner I get a ring on her finger, the better.”

“Does this mean we can hope for grandchildren one day, Ian?” said his mother wistfully.

“Yeah, Mom. I can see us having a family, and sooner rather than later. I’m thirty four, she’s twenty nine. She’s such a talented writer, I think she should write a book. She could stay home with the children and a nanny of course, and write books if she wanted to. She’s writing a children’s book now actually, but she won’t show it to me until it’s finished.”

“Here you are, planning her future and the girl doesn’t know who you are,” said Brian Angstrom dryly. “How has she escaped seeing your face plastered throughout the media?”

“She spent the year and a half before she came to us taking care of her Gran in Chipping Camden. Her Gran has Alzheimer’s, so it was a full time and tiring situation. Gran is in care now.

“We’ve been to see her
, but as Maggie mine warned me, the old lady didn’t even recognize her. It’s hard on Maggie, poor pet.”

“
Maggie mine
? Does she know you call her that?” asked his father.

“She does. She likes it.”

“What time do you want dinner on Sunday?” asked his mother. “Lamb alright?”

“Lamb would be great, Mom. How about if I bring her about five, and we can have drinks and you can get to know her a little?”

“If you love her, Ian, I’m sure we’re going to love her. I’ll call David and tell him to come as well, shall I?”

“Please, Mom. That way she can meet the whole family at once. And Dad, please don’t think she’s like the others I’ve dated. This girl is wonderful. I hope you aren’t going to meddle.”

“He won’t, Ian,” promised his mother. “I’ll lock him in the greenhouse.”

Ian sat back and smiled after he hung up.
So far, so good.

Now, all he had to do was find a way to let Maggie know he’d lied to her, and continued to lie to her, without imploding the whole affair.

He wouldn’t have been smiling if he’d been in his Mother and Father’s sitting room just then.

“I don’t know, Mavis. I just can’t believe the girl do
esn’t know who Ian is. The press coverage he’s had over the last couple of years makes that unbelievable.”

“Well, Brian, it did start with that stupid magazine putting him on the Most Eligible Bachelor list. He kept a pretty low profile until then, didn’t he?
”

“He did. He was only ever in the business press.”

“If she was in Chipping Camden caring for her Gran, she probably wasn’t reading those stupid magazines.”

“How do we know she isn’t a conniving little madam after his money?”

“We’ll meet her Sunday, love. You can ask her some pretty probing questions then. I hope she’s what he thinks she is. I’d almost given up hope of him settling for a normal life.”

“I’m not waiting until Sunday, Mavis. I’m going to the magazine tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a while since I dropped in there, and I do own
a third of that magazine chain. I have every right to drop in and have a chat with our new employee…”

Mavis Angstrom sighed. Once her husband got a bee in
his bonnet, it was impossible to dissuade him. “If you have to, Brian...”

“I’ll have a look at her and see if she’s genuine. If she’s not, there’ll be no Sunday dinner, I’ll pay her off and have her fade into the woodwork, like that little trollop who thought she’d got her claws into David last autumn.”

“This girl works for a living, Brian, not like that Dianna who seemed to scheme her way through her boyfriends‘ bank accounts. And since Dianna, David had taken to playing the field, hasn’t he?”

“Well, I’m going to have a look at her anyway,” he said firmly.

Mavis Angstrom sighed again.
Poor Maggie Parker, she was going get the third degree
.

Maggie was still walking on air the next morning.
Ian loved her! He loved her.

She was not looking forward to meeting his parents. What if they didn’t like her?

Ian was well off, that was obvious. Perhaps they’d think a working girl wasn’t good enough for him?

She’d dress conservatively, she decided, as she did for the office. Yes, she’d wear that new black knit dress that Ian liked so much, and her black patent pumps, and she’d be on her best behaviour. She hoped they would like her.

She tried to concentrate on her column instead of Ian. It was going well. Gordon had dreamed it up after she’d had to totally rewrite a piece their ex-junior reporter had turned in. It had been about a waste disposal company, and she’d made it quite humorous.

So now she had a weekly column where she took unusual and unpopular careers and gave them a funny twist. The subject this week was
undertakers. Now, that was a little difficult….

Maggie Googled ‘
Undertaker Jokes’
for some inspiration.

Helen
, a fellow editor, stopped by her office at half past ten and dragged her off for a cup of tea in the canteen. Gordon’s secretary Susan joined them as usual and Rachel from the Art Department.

“Gordon’s on edge this morning,” Susan announced. “Mr. Angstrom Senior is coming in about two. He called Gordon this morning and told him.”

Helen raised her eyebrows. “I can’t remember the last time Brian Angstrom was here. He’s retired, really and Ian Angstrom is the one who rides herd on us. Wonder what he wants?”

“Perhaps he just wanted an excuse to come to London,” suggested Rachel. “Could be he was bored with his gardening this week.”

“Maybe he’s here to see about the Chelsea Flower Show,” agreed Susan. “He won a prize for his dahlias last year, didn’t he?”

“He did.”

“Speaking of Ian Angstrom, he hasn’t been in papers lately, has he?”

“No, I keep looking to see which actress or model he’s going out with this week, but I never see his picture in the
DailyDirt.com
articles or in the tabloids. He’s keeping a very low profile.”

“He’s so attractive,” said Rachel. “Even if he wasn’t stinking rich, he’d be a catch.

“Too bad he won’t date anybody who works for him.”

“Well, technically, we don’t work for Ian Angstrom,” Susan informed them. “Mr. Angstrom Senior owns
a third of the magazine chain, David owns a third and Ian’s holding company owns a third.”

“So, there’s a chance for us then,” smiled Rachel. “Let me know the next time he’s coming in to see Gordon, please, Susan. I want to look my best.”

Everybody laughed.

Maggie was back at her desk after eating her lunch on a park bench, trying to make
undertakers and the funeral business funny when Gordon came to her door.

Maggie recognized the man with him from the charity event she
’d covered so long ago. Yes, the senior Mr. Angstrom was indeed as formidable as she remembered.

His eyes reminded her of a hawk or falcon as he shook her hand, and she felt like the field mouse he was hunting.

“Maggie, this is Brian Angstrom, our owner. Mr. Angstrom, this is Maggie Parker, our newest editor and weekly columnist.”

“Thank you, Gordon. You can go back to your piled up desk now, I’d like to chat with this young lady for a few minutes.”  The words were mild, but his eyes were steely.  Gordon scurried away.