Bedding The Billionaire (21 page)

Nick was about to open his mouth and tell him of
course he remembered when he realized Tarken still thought he was Vane and Vane
was him. Abbey probably hadn't bothered to inform him. Interesting. So what did
the little swine want?

"If this is about the software
—
"

"No, no, nothing like that," Tarken said. "It's
about your VP of Marketing, Damien Vane."

"Yes. Go on."

"Well, I think he needs to be seriously
reprimanded."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because he behaved terribly to Abbey."

Nick leaned forward in his seat. "Is she working
for you again?" he asked quickly.

"Not exactly..."

Nick sat back in his seat and passed a hand in front
of his eyes. "So what's the problem?"

"Well, he behaved in an ungentlemanly manner
toward her. I don't like it."

What was this all about? Did Tarken want to get him
into trouble because he was jealous? If that were the case, then shouldn't he
be even more jealous of the real Damien Vane, pretending to be Nick Delaware, because
he'd whisked her away at the cocktail party?

"What about me?" he asked, feeling like an
even bigger idiot for pretending to be someone else who was pretending to be
him. The lies had taken on Shakespearean proportions. "You approve of the
way
I
acted towards her on Friday night, but not the way Vane acted
during the week. Mind telling me why?"

Tarken cleared his throat. "Well, Mr. Delaware,
now don't get offended but I don't think Abbey was all that interested in
you."

"No? Why not?"

"I think she was just trying to make me
jealous."

"You?"

"Yes. She was only
pretending
to flirt
with you."

"Pretending? Really? And Vane?"

"He's just, well, I just don't like the way he
was watching Abbey that night. He also got incredibly drunk and I don't think
that's appropriate behavior for a man in his position."

Nick didn't know whether to laugh or curse him. "Thank
you, I'll take that on board and deal with it accordingly."

He hung up.

So Tarken thought Abbey wasn't really flirting with
Vane, just pretending to? He vaguely remembered Tarken saying something on
Friday night as they watched them together. But he'd been so drunk he hadn't
remembered it until now.

Could Tarken be telling the truth? It was possible.

So she was only pretending to flirt with the real Vane
to make them jealous. No, not them,
him
, Nick. Tarken knew it and was
worried about the competition, hence the phone call to get him fired and out of
the picture.

Slimy little weed. If only Nick had taken more notice
on Friday night and hadn't got drunk he might be able to determine if Tarken
spoke the truth now.

But it was too late to think about what-ifs. Abbey was
in Melbourne and he was in Sydney. Their paths were unlikely to cross again. In
a few days or weeks he'd be over her and this whole sorry episode would be
forgotten.

Damn he hoped so, because he couldn't go on like this.
He needed to regain some control over his life again. He felt like he'd been
free falling without a parachute.

Nick laughed quietly to himself. He imagined Tarken
reading about Vane leaving Software Solutions in the business pages of the
newspapers. He'd probably think it was because of what he said. Nick wondered
if they'd print a photograph. Maybe he should send one in to the papers, just
to confuse Tarken. But that wouldn't help his company's business prospects in
Melbourne with hundreds of seminar attendees who'd also wonder at the
difference.

There was a knock on Nick's door and his personal
assistant popped her head around.

"Can I get you some lunch, sir?" asked the
middle-aged blonde.

He shook his head. "No thanks, Beverly. I'm not
hungry."

Beverly's face fell. "But you haven't eaten
anything all day. Usually you have breakfast, and at least three cups of coffee
by now
—
"

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm really not hungry."

She attempted a smile. "Sure. What about those
appointments you cancelled this morning? Can I reschedule them yet?"

"I don't know when I'll be able to fit them in. You'd
better cancel all of this afternoon's and tomorrow's meetings too."

"B, but, sir, that's a lot of appointments."

"Just do it," he snapped.

She bobbed her head and closed the door. Nick closed
his eyes, immediately regretting his tone. She was the best secretary he'd had
and she didn't deserve to be spoken to like that. He would apologize to her
later when he'd calmed down.

He spun round to look out the window again.

The smog had settled in over Sydney, a brown sludge
that stretched to the horizon in all directions. He sighed and wondered if he
should maybe take a few days off. He didn't feel like dealing with the staff,
clients and business proposals.

But he rejected that idea just as quickly. Going away
by himself suddenly seemed dull. Only a week ago he would have jumped at the
chance to go to his house in the Blue Mountains and relax for a while, but now
he couldn't see the point.

Damn it, this was all Abbey's fault.

He sighed. Who was he kidding? It wasn't her fault it
was his. He ruined everything right from the first moment he met her. He wished
he could do it all again
—
he'd change the way he'd handled
everything.

He glared at the phone. He still had Lucy's office
number written on a piece of paper in the pocket of his suit jacket. Maybe he
could call her. Maybe Abbey would be there and he could talk to her. If she
wasn't, he could just ask after her, check to see if she was all right.

He reached for the phone, picked it up, then slammed
it down again.

The woman had slept with Vane! Nick might have been to
blame for most of this mess but the image of her with Vane was way too much.

He tapped his forehead on the desk and groaned. She'd
slept with Vane and it was all his fault.

He heard the door to his office click open.

"Oh, my goodness, sir, are you ill?"

"Yes. Go away."

He heard Beverly hesitate before the door clicked
closed again.

"Damn women," he muttered to the empty room.

***

Abbey wandered aimlessly around her apartment. She
tried to eat an apple but threw it away after one bite. She wasn't hungry. She
turned on the television but the daytime programs were dull. She opened the
doors to the balcony and sat in a deck chair, opened her book and tried to
read. She closed it again with the bookmark on the same page.

Maybe she should try to get more sleep. She'd barely
slept a wink all week and she felt like a zombie.

She went inside, lay on the bed, and images of Nick
Delaware floated in front of her closed lids. She groaned and got up again.

She opened the employment section of the papers and
tried to concentrate. She could contact a few agencies, mail off her resume.

For the hundredth time she went over the events of
Friday night and came to the same conclusion she'd come to every time
—
she was a fool for letting Nick think she'd slept with Vane.

Then she changed her mind again and decided she was
better off without a lying cheat like Nick, then she changed her mind back
again and lamented everything about her sorry situation.

When the phone rang, she snatched at it, half hoping
it would be Nick.

"Abbey McPherson?"

The voice sounded familiar. "Yes?"

"It's John Goldstein here. I want to talk to you
about your position at JJC Pharmaceuticals."

Abbey sat up straight and listened to what Goldstein
had to say. Half an hour later she was dressed in a navy blue suit and crisp
white shirt. She got into her car, switched the air conditioning on high and
turned up the volume on her radio.

She smiled to herself despite the lingering misery in
her gut. She deserved this. She deserved to get something after all the crap of
last week. Part of her felt sorry for Tarken though. He didn't deserve to lose
his job. On second thought, he did deserve it. He'd never been able to run that
office. Abbey had done everything for him.

Thank goodness Goldstein recognized that and wanted
her back
—
as the office manager.

She hoped Tarken wasn't still there. It could get
awkward between them when he learned she was his replacement.

Fifteen minutes later she strolled into the city
office. The first thing she heard was Tarken shouting. The second thing was
Melinda crying.

Abbey walked in, back straight, chin up and stared
Tarken straight in the eye. "Is there anything I need to know before you
leave?" she asked.

Tarken's jaw dropped open. "
You're
going
to run the office?"

"Goldstein didn't tell you? How remiss of
him."

"Get Goldstein on the phone now," shouted Tarken.
No one moved. He picked up the phone himself, dialed, said a few harsh words to
Goldstein that included several expletives. Then he listened and finally he
handed the phone to Abbey.

"He wants to talk to you," he said levelly.

Abbey
took the phone and watched as a deflated Tarken opened the door and left,
slamming it behind him.

"Yes, Mr. Goldstein?"

"Your first priority is to close the deal on the
software. I want it installed before June."

"Yes, Mr. Goldstein."

Abbey hung up, smiled reassuringly at the stunned
staff around her, and entered Tarken's office. Her office. She closed the door
and slumped into the chair.

Incredible. A totally new career without even
searching for it. It would involve enormous amounts of responsibility and a lot
of hard work. All these things flittered through Abbey's mind, but one thing
stuck with her above all others. New software meant contacting Software
Solutions. And that meant speaking to Nick again.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

***

A MONTH LATER

Nick paced the length of his office trying to work off
his excess energy. He was up to his fifth cup of coffee and it wasn't even
lunchtime. A month of carefully piecing his self-respect together again and all
shattered by a letter of intent to purchase from JJC Pharmaceuticals.

He really didn't know why he was so nervous. It was
only that fool Tarken after all. It's just that he was his only link to Abbey. Whether
Tarken still saw Abbey or knew what she was up to didn't really matter. He knew
her and the thought that he might have news about her was enough to shatter Nick's
concentration.

And more than anything, Nick wanted to hear about her.
He wanted to know what she was up to, how she was going. If she had a
boyfriend.

Okay, maybe he shouldn't ask Tarken
—
the
answer might not be something he wanted to hear.

He stopped pacing. What was he thinking? He shouldn't
be this nervous over a meeting with a jerk like Tarken. He could run rings
around him. By the end of the day, he'd have Tarken eating out of the palm of
his hand.

It's just that thinking about Tarken brought back
memories of Abbey. For a month he'd nearly called her every single night—or
called Lucy's office. By day he was in control around the office. Then he'd go
home, pick up the phone before slamming it down again, angry at her and angry
at himself for letting his barriers down again so easily. Every night he'd get
to bed early because he was exhausted, but by two he'd get up again because he
couldn't sleep. It was always the same.

No wonder Beverly told him looked terrible.

The door to his office opened and Beverly's fluffy
blonde head popped around the corner. She had a notepad and pen.

"What did you same this man's name is again? Pratt?"

"Pratt. And Donaldson, JJC's head of I.T."

Beverly made a note then glanced up.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Another cup of coffee."

"I think you've had enough. One more cup and
you'll be bouncing off the walls."

"Black, one sugar," he growled.

Beverly sighed and nodded.

"And Beverly, is everything set up?"

She nodded again. "I've booked them rooms at the
Plaza just in case this goes into tomorrow."

She closed the door and Nick continued his pacing. He
hoped it didn't go into tomorrow. He couldn't stand seeing Tarken's slimy face
two days in a row.

***

Abbey listened to Donaldson's techno-babble for most
of the flight but ten minutes before landing in Sydney, she tuned out. She
couldn't help it. No matter how hard she concentrated, her mind just wouldn't
focus. All she could think about was Nick, and that she would be seeing him
again soon.