My Fight to the Top (23 page)

We were back in the boardroom. The lawyers and the accountants were going through each point. The representatives of MAS were in the room, waiting to close the deal. There had been ten items on a piece of paper that I had to agree. We were at the last point. We were waiting for Scott to send through a letter of resignation from the board. Just as we felt were about to cross the finishing line the bank got a phone call.

‘Michelle, there’s a Scott Kilday saying he urgently needs to speak to you.’

Oh dear god.
I looked at the representatives from MAS.
I’m five minutes away from my life changing, saving everyone’s job, getting my baby back and being able to move on.

The bank representative handed me the phone. ‘Hi, Scott, is it urgent?’ I said.

‘Er, yeah, I want to talk to you,’ he said. I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was about to fuck me.

‘Excuse me, everyone,’ I said as I left the room. I took a deep breath and listened to what Scott had to say.

‘I’m not resigning from the board,’ he said, defiantly.

My heart sank. ‘Scott, do you actually know what you’re doing?’ I wanted to shake him. It was too much to bear. ‘Scott, I’ve fought for a year to save the business, I’m five minutes away from the line, we’ve ticked all nine boxes and you’re the last box to tick,’ I pleaded.

‘Yeah, well, I’m not doing it,’ he went on.

‘These people won’t buy in unless you step down because they don’t know you and you can work to get back on the board. Why are you doing this?’ I wanted to cry.

‘It’s a “No”,’ he said.

I hung up on him and walked back into the boardroom with a heavy heart. It was over. My face must have been chalk white as I faced the room full of people.

‘What’s happened?’ asked Eliaz, who sits on the board of directors for MAS.

‘Scott won’t resign as a board member.’ I shook my head in despair. ‘Guys, I’m sorry for wasting your time for the last four months. I gave it the fight of my life. I wanted this to go through. I really believe in this brand but, I’m sorry, it’s not going to work.’ All that stress and emotion that I had built up throughout the day overwhelmed me. My knees buckled and I fell to the floor in tears.

Eliaz rose to his feet. ‘Michelle, come here,’ he said and held out his hand.

‘Uh-huh.’ I looked up at him.

‘Do me a favour. Phone Scott and tell him he doesn’t have to resign as a board member. We’ve taken that point away,’ he said.

‘Really?’ I spluttered.

‘Congratulations. Welcome to MAS.’ He grinned. I took his hand and rose to my feet. The battle of my life was finally over. I’d bought Michael out at 10 am on 6 February 2013 as well as negotiating our divorce and then I’d sold on his shares to MAS at 5.05 pm that same day.

I went from crying on the floor, thinking I’d lost everything, to celebrating with Cristal champagne with all the team from MAS. We went to my favourite restaurant in the world – Andrew Fairlie’s Michelin starred restaurant in the Gleneagles hotel.

Bloody hell. How did I do that?

I couldn’t believe it. I was so delirious that I actually passed out in the car on the way home. I felt like I had run a marathon. I had kept running and I wouldn’t stop until I got over the finish line and then I collapsed. It was the same thing that had happened when I put on the fashion show with Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster.

My driver woke me up and carried me into my house. My legs were like jelly. I collapsed into bed and didn’t wake until Mum came into my room the next morning. She’d been babysitting the kids the night before.

‘What time is it?’ I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

‘It’s 9am,’ said Mum, glancing at her watch.

‘Oh, my god.’ I sat bold upright. ‘I’ve got new partners, and I’m late.’

‘Relax,’ Mum laughed.

I burst out laughing. I’ve never relaxed in my life. I don’t know how!

Always look forward.

‘
N
o peeking,’ I said to the kids as I unlocked the door of our new townhouse. I’d spent months transforming a derelict four-storey Victorian building in the centre of Glasgow into our dream home. It was finally ready in August 2013, which was around the time my divorce came through – a double celebration!

I didn’t want to show the kids until it was completely finished. They walked in and I covered their eyes. Bethany grinned from ear to ear when she was able to see the place. ‘Mum, this is so special,’ she said and hugged me. This was going to be our home, a fresh start for us all.

‘Okay I’m going to give you a bit of a history lesson,’ I said, leading them up the winding staircase. ‘It was built in 1871 and Albert Einstein even lived here…’

‘Oh, wow, the TV comes out of the end of the bed,’ Declan interrupted. He was more interested in the gadgets. I’d asked the kids how they wanted their rooms and we’d designed them together. Declan insisted he had a black and red colour scheme and Bethany wanted something very girly. Rebecca was now living away from home but there was a spare bed for whenever she wanted to stay.

I wanted my bedroom to be really relaxing and romantic and to look like my favourite hotel. I asked the Dorchester to show me around its suites and I picked one which I basically copied. This was far less flashy than my old house. The quality was there in terms of the fabrics and the furniture but I got rid of all the things I didn’t need.

I could have bought a house in the same area as the last one and probably one that was the same size but I wanted a complete change. I also wanted to be around people rather than in the countryside. The kids could now walk for two minutes and be in the city centre without having to wait for me to give them a lift. Above all, the new place gave me closure. As soon as I moved in, the feeling of bitterness which used to eat me up at night vanished.

It was a new beginning for my children and me. It’s hard on any kids when parents split up but my kids had to live with reading about it in the press as well and they had to cope with their dad running off with their mum’s designer. The whole thing was awful and I was determined to do everything in my power to make it up to them. I started spending a lot more time with them and I kept telling them how much I loved them. I had a lot of heart-to-hearts with Rebecca because I felt she was the one who had been most affected by all that had happened.

I remember one night when she stayed over. We were sitting on her bed and I felt this overwhelming need to explain something. I love you with all my heart.’ I took Rebecca’s hand in mine. ‘I want to work on our relationship.’

Rebecca had tears in her eyes. ‘I just remember you not having as much time for me when I was growing up as you did for Bethany and Declan,’ she said and started crying.

‘That’s just nonsense,’ I said and shook my head. ‘I’m never going to leave your side. I want to prove to you that throughout your life I’ve loved you just as much as Declan, just as much as Bethany.’ I started to cry. We hugged and said how much we loved each other. It’s taken a bit of time, but the two of us are now inseparable. I’d say we are like best friends.

Now that I had my kids around me and I’d won my company back, nothing could hurt me. Even the news that Michael had launched a rival company, Pendulum Apparel, with Sam as his senior designer, didn’t bother me. The press went mad for it, calling it ‘Bra Wars’ and they constantly badgered me for my reaction. If Michael had launched the company the year before I probably would have started World War III. The truth is that as soon as I won back Ultimo I stopped caring. I didn’t care about him or her any more. All I cared about were my kids and building my business up.

I was feeling so much better and happier in myself that I decided it was time to test the waters and go on some dates. I’d had a lot of friends wanting to set me up, but I’d said ‘No’ until now. In December 2013 my friend Michael Vaughan, who used to captain the England cricket team, texted me to find out if I was still single.

‘Yeah,’ I replied.

‘How is someone as beautiful as you still single?’ he asked.

‘I’ve not met anyone who ticks my boxes,’ I replied. I seized the opportunity.

‘Have you not got any good looking pals?’ I enquired.

‘Yeah, I’ve got loads,’ he replied. Michael mentioned Shane Warne.

‘Oh that’s the guy who used to go out with Elizabeth Hurley,’ I said.

‘That’s right. He’s such a laugh.’ Michael texted back.

I couldn’t remember what he looked like, so I googled Shane. ‘He’s quite hot,’ I replied.

‘I’m with him later. I’ll put a word in,’ he said, adding a wink to his message.

Oh, God
. I felt myself blush behind the phone screen.

I got a message later that night. Shane wanted my phone number. ‘Oh, my god, really?’ I was shocked. Like I said before, I’m confident in my work but not when it comes to men. I was rediscovering my teenage years. ‘Okay, why not?’ I decided. Sometimes you’ve got to live a little. I gave Shane my number and that was it. For the next two months we were texting and chatting over the phone constantly. Shane was so much fun and so witty. I have to admit that I felt the odd text message did go a bit far and was too explicit to come from someone I’d never met before. I would just change the subject.

When Shane announced he was flying into London in February, he added that he wanted to whisk me away for the weekend. I was really keen to see him but that was a ‘No no’ for me. ‘Erm, I’m not going to go away for the weekend when I’ve not met you before,’ I said and backed off. We arranged to meet up for a drink when he landed instead. The two months we had spent messaging and calling one another made for quite a build-up to our meeting.

I got a text message from Shane on Valentine’s Day saying, ‘This is my UK phone number’.

He’d arrived a day early?

‘Yeah, I had to come and sort some things out with the ex,’ he explained.

My brain started to go wild.
It’s Valentine’s Day and he’s come early. Has he come early to spend the day with Liz Hurley?
‘Okay, enjoy.’ I put up my guard.

I’d had messages from Shane every hour of every day for the previous two months and then the messages stopped from the morning of the 14th. I didn’t hear from him at all.
God, is he getting back with her? What is he doing?
My mind was racing in a way I didn’t like. He was coming to see me the next day, a Saturday. I got a message from him that morning. ‘Sorry, babe, that I didn’t get back to you yesterday. I was in massive discussions with the ex. Can’t wait to see you tonight. It’s amazing that we are finally going to see each other.’

I was staying in the Dorchester but I didn’t want to meet him there because the Bafta Awards were on and there would be paparazzi lurking. ‘Why don’t we meet somewhere else?’ I suggested.

‘I won’t meet you in the bar. I’ll come to your room,’ he said.

I had a suite with a lounge so I thought that would be okay – we could just sit and chat. I got all dressed up and did my hair and make-up. My stomach was going mad with butterflies as the time got closer to 7.30 pm. Shane was the first guy I’d been interested in since I met Carl a year earlier.

7.45 pm – Shane sent me a message saying he wasn’t going to make it.

You fucker, I thought. ‘That’s really disappointing. It’s a Saturday night and I’m all dressed up and you’re sending me a text message 15 minutes after you are supposed to be here. Think that’s a bit rude,’ I snapped.

How could you do this? I would have never been so rude to someone.

‘I’ll promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, if you’ll let me see you,’ he begged.

‘Yeah, whatever.’ I blanked him. No guy treats a woman like that. I went out with my friends instead.

I was relaxing in my hotel the next day, when I got a message from Shane. ‘I’m on my way to see you,’ he announced.

I’d had enough. ‘I don’t know if you should,’ I told him, having seen pictures of him in all the papers getting out of Liz Hurley’s car. ‘Look, are you back with her?’ I said. There was no way I was going near a taken man. I’d experienced, first hand, how painful that is.

‘I promise you, I’m not and I haven’t been with her,’ he said. ‘We’ve been in discussions for hours since I got back. Please believe me.’

He touched a nerve.
Come on, Michelle, maybe you should stop being so hard. Maybe you should let down your guard and give him the benefit of the doubt?
Finally, after all that buildup, he walked into my hotel suite on Sunday.

We opened a bottle of champagne and chatted. It wasn’t the sort of conversation I’d been expecting. He chain-smoked about 35 cigarettes and I hate smoke. I thought he was a great fun guy, but I knew then and there that he wasn’t for me.

After about an hour, Shane got restless. ‘Can we go next door to the bedroom?’ he said, suggestively.

‘Er, no. I’m not that kind of girl,’ I said. ‘And I’ve got a Radio 5 Live interview to do.’ Shane got papped coming out of the Dorchester after someone tipped off the press that he had been up to my room.

Boom
, I was back in the news – ‘Shane Warne in hotel romp with Michelle Mone’. I had TV crews camped outside my door when I got back to Glasgow. I was offered a lot of money to speak about what had happened but I didn’t say a word because I thought I’d rise above it and move on. And that’s exactly what I’ve done, moved on. I’ve learnt a valuable lesson. I’ll never start texting a guy without meeting him first. Shane wasted two months of my time, quite frankly. I thought he was a good guy, a great father, a funny guy and I liked the fact he was Australian. But he wasn’t my type in the end. He’s a bit too wild for me.

The reason why I’m speaking about this in my book is because I felt I couldn’t leave out things that had been all over the press. My book is about telling the truth.

I think I’ll let things happen naturally from now on. I do want love and I feel I’m finally ready to find it. My ideal partner would be someone who isn’t intimidated by who I am, who is equal to me and likes a laugh, just the way that I do. Not much to ask, is it? I think that what all women really want is simply to be loved. I’ve never been with a man who has treated me like a lady and loved me. That’s what I’d really like but it has to be with the right man and if he isn’t the right one then I’m fine by myself. I know it will happen one day and I know that special guy will make my life complete but I’m not willing to settle for second best.