Beautiful Liar (6 page)

She shrugged. “Why don't you go and find out?”

There was no point putting off the inevitable, so I headed straight to Giles's office. I'd just have to hope that if I offered to apologise to Alex, then Giles wouldn't sack me. Because without this job, I had no idea what I was going to do.

I knocked tentatively at the door. There was no answer, so I carefully pushed it open. No one was inside.

I was about to leave and come back later, when something caught my eye. On the desk there was a steel petty cash box—like the ones we used at the petrol station. From where I was standing, I could see that the key was inside the lock.

I don't
know what made me do it, but I quickly checked the corridor. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I stepped into the room, and closed the door. Then I went over to the petty cash box, turned the key and lifted the lid.

Seeing the bundles of notes inside, I let out a gasp of surprise. At the petrol station, we kept about one hundred pounds in petty cash. But here there must have been thousands of pounds.

A wild thought occurred to me, one that must have been at the back of my mind when I first decided to walk into the room and look at the contents of the box. No one had seen me slip into the office. I could take the money now, leave quietly, and no one would be any the wiser.

I wasn't the type to steal. I'd always been honest, and fastidious about money—at the petrol station, I'd been the only cashier whose till always balanced, right down to the penny.

But back then my situation hadn't been so desperate. This would allow me to pay Sergei, or at least buy myself some time until I found another way to sort the situation out.

“Go ahead,” a husky, cultured voice said from behind me. “Help yourself. I won't tell.”

I whirled round to see Alexander Noble leaning against the doorframe, watching me with a faintly amused look on his chiselled face. I could feel my cheeks flush red. He'd obviously been there for a while, and had guessed exactly what
was going through my mind.

“I wasn't going to—” I started, and then stopped. Lying just made it worse. “I was just looking,” I finished lamely.

“Of course you were.” He came into the room and sprawled in the leather chair across from Giles's desk. He swivelled round to face me. “The first time I run into you here, you accuse me of sexually assaulting you.” He counted on his long fingers. “The second time, you're caught stealing. Not one of my brother's better hires.”

I didn't know quite what to say to that. As much as I hated to admit it, he had a point.

“Is everything all right in here?” Giles said before I could respond. I looked up, and saw him standing in the doorway, frowning at us. My stomach flipped over; I was afraid that he'd overheard our exchange. But then I realised his eyes were firmly on Alex. And he didn't look happy to see him. “You harassing my staff again?”

Alex looked unfazed as he answered, “Actually, I just dropped in to reclaim my coat.” He nodded over to the rack, where his black leather coat was hanging. “And I found Nina—” I felt my heart turn over as he paused meaningfully. “I found Nina here
waiting
for you,” he finished, his blue eyes dancing with wicked amusement that only I understood.

“Is that right?” Giles looked over at me for confirmation.

“Why
are you asking her?” Alex said, a mocking tone in his voice. “Are you saying you don't trust me?” He clutched a hand to his chest. “You wound me, brother.”

Giles didn't bother to respond. I looked between the two men, unsure what all the tension was about. Even though they were brothers, the two of them couldn't have been more different—there was clean-cut Giles, the epitome of the hard-working businessman in a smart grey-wool suit, and bad-boy Alex, who looked more like an indie rocker today in black jeans and a black T-shirt.

“Nina?” Giles looked at me for confirmation.

“Everything's fine,” I said hastily, worried that Alex might get annoyed and start revealing what had actually happened.

“See?” he said. “As I told you, everything's fine here.” He stood, and collected his coat. “So, as much fun as this has been, I'll be on my way now, and leave you two to it.”

He gave a theatrical bow and exited.

Once Alex was gone, I felt relief flood through me. For whatever reason, he'd obviously decided not to rat me out.

Giles turned to me.

“Sorry about that, Nina. Now, what was on your mind?”

I blinked, feeling confused. “I thought you wanted to see me.” He frowned, clearly as lost as I was. “I got a message that I was needed in your office—”

Giles's expression cleared. “And let me guess—you got
here and Alex just happened to turn up?”

“That's right.” I spoke slowly, as I began to understand what he was getting at. “You're saying he was the one who asked Mel to tell me to come to your office? But why would he do that?”

Giles gave me a rueful smile. “I gave up trying to understand my brother a long time ago.” He walked over and dropped into his chair. I would have made my exit, but I had a feeling he wasn't done talking yet. I could see him considering his words carefully before he spoke. “Look,” he said finally. “Alex is my brother, and deep down I believe he's a good guy. But he's got a reputation. He likes to party hard—”

“I've already heard about the drinking and women.”

He gave a grim smile. “That's just the tip of the iceberg, believe me.” I wanted to ask more, but he went on before I could. “Look, Alex can be very charming when he wants to be. I just don't want you getting dragged into anything by him. He may be my brother, but take it from me, he's not the kind of person you want to get involved with.”

The thought that I'd be influenced by some superficial charm amused me.

“Don't worry,” I said. “I understand what you're saying.”

“Good.” He gave a brisk nod, but I could see he was still a little concerned. “My father asked me to look out for you, Nina, and that's what I'm trying to do. He and Alex—well, let's just say they don't have the easiest relationship.” I
thought back to that meeting in Canary Wharf, when Duncan was clearly exasperated by his son's turning up late. “To say Dad wouldn't be happy to hear you were hanging out with Alex is something of an understatement. So take my advice, and steer clear of my brother. It's in your best interests.”

I got the message. Duncan Noble had given me this job, and he could just as easily take it away from me if I went against his wishes. That meant staying away from his younger son. And from what I'd seen so far, that was fine by me.

* * *

I didn't have time to dwell on our conversation. It was a busy night in the club, and I spent the whole of my shift rushing around. By a quarter to three I was exhausted. The DJ was ramping up the music for the end-of-night climax, and most people were on the dance floor. I was at the bar, dropping off the empties, when Jas came up beside me.

“I just want this night over with,” she said. “My feet are killing me.”

I knew what she meant. Even in the flat black pumps that were standard issue, the standing up became tedious after a while. But while the balls of my feet were aching, there were other parts of me that hurt worse. “It's my back.” I rubbed my lower spine. “All that bending over those low tables to collect glasses . . . It's torture.”

“Still.”
Jas winked at me. “Mustn't complain.”

I grinned. “That's right—mustn't complain.” It was one of Mel's catchphrases before sending us out every evening—a warning not to let the customers hear us complaining.

“I don't know about that,” a male voice drawled from behind. “A complaint to management sounds like an excellent idea. All this pain you're in—you should ask for a well-deserved pay rise.”

I turned to see Alex, a smile hovering on his lips. His ice-blue eyes were fixed on me.

“There was something I wanted to ask you earlier, before my brother so rudely interrupted us.”

“Oh?” I tried to sound uninterested.

“I've got a few people coming back to my place after this closes tonight, and I hoped you might like to join us.” His gaze flicked over to Jas. “You too, of course.”

So that was why he'd asked me to his brother's office earlier. My first instinct was to refuse. I didn't quite understand why Alex Noble was trying to get to know me, but whatever the reason, I needed to stay away from him. I had enough problems without getting involved with some charming party boy.

But before I could decline Jas said, “Sounds great! Count us in!”

“Good.” Alex answered her, but his gaze was on me. He
rattled off the address, telling us that it was right opposite Knightsbridge Tube station. “I'll see you both soon then.”

I watched him stroll back to his friends, and they all rose to leave. Another prickle of unease passed over me. Instinct told me that I should stay away tonight. But looking over at Jas's excited face, I wasn't sure how much choice I'd have in the matter.

Our shift had ended, and Jas and I were in the staff changing room, arguing about whether to take Alex up on his invitation. My instincts were still screaming at me that it was a bad idea.

“It's so late now,” I said. I was sitting on a bench, watching Jas riffle through her locker. “I just want to fall into bed.”

Jas turned to face me, hands on her slim hips. “You can sleep all day tomorrow.”

“Honestly, Jas, I really don't want to go. It's been a long week for me . . .”

“Don't say that!” She rushed over to crouch in front of me, gripping both my arms as she looked up at me with huge, pleading eyes. It was theatrical and melodramatic, and designed to win me over. “Please, please do this for me. I've been dying to go to one of these parties for ages. Besides,” she added, with a wicked glint in her eye, “if you don't come, then I'll
have to go alone, and then I'm much more likely to get into trouble . . .”

She'd just said the one thing guaranteed to get me along. There was no way I was going to let her go into that lion's den alone. I sighed, feeling myself giving in.

“Fine. I'll go. But only for an hour or so—”

Before I could finish that last part, she let out a little squeal of pleasure, and threw her arms around me.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. You won't regret it. I swear.” She turned away and hurried to her locker, where she seemed to have a whole wardrobe of clothes. “By the way,” she said, as she searched through them. “What did you do to get invited to one of Alex Noble's parties?”

“Oh . . .” I tried to sound casual. “Nothing, really. I just bumped into him the other day and we started talking. It's no big deal.”

“Well, I hope it isn't.” She sneaked a look back at me. “Because he's a total player. Too much even for the likes of me to handle—let alone you.”

I let the warning slide—it wasn't as though I needed it.

After that, it didn't take her long to get ready. She pulled on a tiny burgundy dress, which showed off her hourglass figure, and slipped into heels so high that I had no idea how she was ever going to walk in them. I watched in fascination as she applied lashings of mascara and dark lipstick, and shook her raven hair loose, so it settled in soft waves around
her shoulders.

It was only then that she seemed to realise that I was still sitting there in my jeans and T-shirt, with no make-up.

“You're not going like that, are you?” She wrinkled her nose, showing me exactly what she thought of my appearance.

I looked down at myself and shrugged. “Yep. Why?”

“It's just . . . well, you look a bit masculine, that's all. I mean, don't get me wrong,” she said hurriedly. “You're gorgeous. You've got really strong features—big eyes and lips—which helps you pull off that pixie cut . . .”

Hearing that, I couldn't help laughing. That term—“pixie cut”—seemed to imply I'd deliberately opted for a style, when in fact it was just easier to wear it short. My mother had cried the first time I'd had my long, heavy dark hair cut off, and routinely begged me to grow it out. But that just made me more determined to keep it this way.

Jas stepped closer, studying me. “I've got a dress that you could borrow. And maybe I could just put a bit of make-up on you . . .”

But I was already shaking my head. “No way. I'm going just the way I am.” She opened her mouth to object, but I held up my hand. “And if I hear any arguments from you, I won't go at all.”

She mimed zipping her mouth closed.

“That's more like it,” I said. “Now let's get this over with.”

Outside the club, the bouncers called a cab to take us over to Knightsbridge. It was policy at Destination that all staff members were provided with a taxi home after midnight. Jas chattered nonstop throughout the journey, mostly about the guys who were going to be there and how she hoped one of them would notice her. In the dress she was wearing, I didn't see it being a problem.

The cab dropped us by Knightsbridge Tube station. Right opposite was the super-luxury apartment block where Alex lived. I'd read about the state-of-the-art building, which came complete with bulletproof glass, and was home to the likes of Russian oligarchs and newly minted Chinese entrepreneurs. I'd never expected to be invited to a party there, though.

Inside the plush reception area, sharp-suited security guards checked our bags before directing us towards the lift. They didn't seem perturbed that we were turning up at such a late hour, and I got the feeling they were used to Alex receiving visitors at all times of the day and night.

Naturally Alex owned one of the penthouses. The dedicated lift opened directly into his apartment, something I'd only ever seen on TV before. We stepped into a striking hallway, with gleaming white walls and a polished concrete floor. It was all modern, sharp lines, like an exclusive art gallery.