The Game (10 page)

They all moved toward
the lifts.  Jane let some of the guys go before her and Damon sought her out.

“You pulled through for me, Jane.  I appreciate it and I won’
t forget,” he said.

Jane couldn’t help blushing. 
This certainly was a demarcation in his regard for her.  Maybe this meant that she wouldn’t be treated like a complete intruder anymore. It was also nice to be recognized as someone capable of pulling off really difficult work.  She hadn’t known herself that she could pull something like that off, and now she was being recognized for it.  She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about it.

They walked a couple of blocks in the early morning chaos to a restaurant that served breakfast.

“I am getting drunk,” Stephen said.

“It
’s seven in the morning,” Jane said with amusement.

“It might look like seven in the morning, but to me it’s the end of a really
, really long day.  I deserve a drink or three.  Besides after being awake and wired this long, I won’t sleep without copious amounts of alcohol.”

“Lucky for some,” Damon said.  “Some of us
have to wait until the package is signed, sealed and delivered.”

“I’ve done my bit,” Stephen said and held up his hand.  “I’ll have a whiskey with my eggs, maybe even scrambled into it.”

The waitress was struggling to understand what he wanted, but Stephen settled it by ordering a whiskey with his breakfast.

“Jetlag,” he said.

“That’s just his excuse,” Liam pitched in to the confused waitress, “he’s just an alcoholic.”  The waitress only gave one of those nods that said she was complying but didn’t understand, or care to.

“You’re ruining our reputation,” Stephen said.  “Now she’s going to think we’re all complete lushes.”

“The Singaporeans tend to guess that we’re Australians,” Liam said.

“That’s alright then,” Stephen said with nonchalance, and they all started laughing.  The long standing rivalry between Australians and New Zealanders was always a source of jokes, particularly at the height of the rugby season.  More likely they just needed to laugh
, and as they started to relax and dissipate the tension and adrenalin of the last few days, the group settled down to enjoy a leisurely breakfast.

Jane got down to the lobby shortly after six. 
She had slept most of the day and now the sun had started its process of setting, changing the light and mellowing the atmosphere. 

Jane had slept most of the day, as had the others.  She hadn’t seen anyone since returning from breakfast.  Before breaking up, they’d agreed that they would go out together to a restaurant that night.

“Stephen, are you wearing Bermuda shorts?” one of the boys teased.  “You look like a complete tourist.”

“For twelve hours I am nothing but a tourist,” Stephen said adamantly.  “I will at least pretend that I am on holiday.  I have actually lost conception of what a holiday is like, but I can pretend.”

“And why not?” Jane said.  Who was she to argue with his logic?  He did look ridiculous.  Once the sun went down, his pasty legs would shine like beacons, but if he didn’t mind, then neither did she.  Damon looked gorgeous as always in a lighter gray suit.  A bit less formal, but he still looked like he stepped out of some Italian men’s magazine.  The worst thing about it, she suspected, was that he didn’t even try, he just pulled something on and he looked awesome. 

“Where are we going?” Jane asked.

“To the Boat Quay,” Damon answered.  “It’s lovely, you’ll like it.”

“Oh,” Jane said.  She felt self-conscious again and it was embarrassing how tongue tied she felt around him.  She had now succumbed like most of the office girls to his charm.

Damon had chosen a Malaysian restaurant from along the many
on the banks of the Singapore River.  The sun was just setting and it shimmered on the water of the dark river.  It was still incredibly warm and it lulled him into a sense of wellbeing.  The last few days had been a concerted effort of constant focus and tension.  It was a process he’d been through a number of times before, so there were no surprises.  The feelings involved were still the same, as was the elation when the deliverable was in the right shape and in the right place, on time.

He’d fully accepted that he’d probably have to go with Clarion, and he’d end up having to deal with the problems that fell out of that partnership for a couple of years, if not more.  Although, somewhere in his gut, he’d hoped that Jane would come through for him, and she had.  He wasn’t sure what she’d done to pull it off, but it was clear that he had underestimated her.

She looked happy sitting across the table listening to some story Stephen was telling.  She had a certain sweetness about her that disturbed him, but there was also steel in her.  The last few days had proved that beyond a doubt.  She wasn’t just some trumped up secretary; she had the skills and intuition to pull off a fairly complex arrangement in an inordinately short amount of time. 

It was also devastating because Carmichael’s little pet had capabilities.  He already knew she had guts, but he hadn’t been sure it wasn’t just sheer ignorance.

He watched as she tucked her hair behind her ear.  She was wearing a blue dress.  It was the first time he’d seen her out of office garb.  Sweet was not good.  It wasn’t something he readily understood.  The women he associated with didn’t understand the concept, and it was not something he usually admired.

He watched as she noticed him looking and blushed while returning her attention back to Stephen.  Her blush made him wonder if she was attracted to him.  It wasn’t unusual that girls were
, he’d just not gotten that vibe off her before.  She didn’t like him one bit, not that he had cared.  Maybe she’d been smart not to, because he’d been out to get her as far away from his territory and dealings as he could, no matter what it took.

Her actions in the last few days would have an impac
t on his life for quite a while and he was grateful, but she was still Carmichael’s agent.  This meant that he could fundamentally not trust her.  He also couldn’t deny that there was something quite exciting about that.  There was also a more subversive desire, one that involved winning her away.  Not that he would indulge such childish sentiments, but there was that part of him that relished a competition, any competition.  Luckily he had more self-control than being at the mercy of such immature urges.

“You’re leaving tomorrow?”  The object of his regard said with
surprise to Stephen.  “Are we all leaving tomorrow?”

“You’re not,” Damon said.  “You have to stay another couple of days in case more information is requested about the financing.  I can’t
speak to that, so you have to stay.”

“Oh,” she said.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be gruelling, just sitting around and waiting to see if you’re needed.   You can even go shopping, sunbathing, whatever you want, as long as you have your phone on you.”

“So some people actually get a bit of a holiday,” Stephen said with a harrumph.

“Just a couple of days.”

Jane smiled.  She’d get a few days of freedom to explore this interesting place.  She’d heard the shopping was good, she might even check it out.  She could also swim during the day.  Maybe go back to that fantastic seafood restaurant.  The possibilities were completely open.

“So what happens next?” Frank asked.  It wasn’t actually something she had thought about, she’d been too busy with the bid to even think beyond it.

“Well,” Damon started, “if we get the bid then we have to start putting the project team together for the delivery.  If we don’t, then we
move on to the next.”

The whole table was quiet
ly.  “Guess there is nothing we can do about it now,” Stephen said.  “So what is the plan for after dinner?  I want to go out.”

“You always want to go out,”
Liam said.

“Hey, I have two small children at home, I don’t get to go anywhere without easy wipe furniture.   I have a night of freedom from diapers, cartoons and bed time stories.  I am taking full advantage.”

Jane snuck a glance at Damon.  From their discussions the previous evening, that would just about sum up hell on earth as far as he was concerned.  There was only a wry smile on his face as he busied himself peeling the label off his bottle.

“Come on Jane, you’re my last hope.  You have to come dancing with me,” Stephen said.  “I’ll look like a complete idiot on my own.”  She hadn’t even considered dancing, and frankly it might have been just as long since her last night out dancing as it had been for him, and she didn’t have the excuse of two small ones at home.

“Particularly in those shorts.”  Liam laughed.  “I don’t even think Jane can rescue that scenario.”

“Come on, Jane, please,” Stephen said.

“Fine,” she said, “but I warn you, I have two left feet and I will likely trample on you with both of them.”  She wasn’t quite that bad, but she didn’t want anyone to think she was anything spectacular on the dance floor.

“I don’t care,” he said.  “We’re going dancing.”  He did a little shimmy in his chair.

They chatted a little further before the food came.  Jane got this dish that was brown.  There were chunks of chicken in it, then rice and some kind of salad.  It smelled nice.  She speared one of the chunks of chicken and put it in her mouth, which then exploded in fire.  Her eyes began to water and she struggled to swallow the morsel.

“Oh my god, that’s hot,” she said with a croak.  “I’m not sure I can eat this.”

“Let me try,” Liam said and dipped a piece of Roti into her sauce.  Jane watched as the heat of the sauce exploded in his mouth as well and he started to cough.  “Yep, that is diabolical.  Do you want some of mine?”

“You can order a new dish,” Damon said.

“No, it’s alright; I just have to scrape off some of the extra sauce.”

“And drink beer,” Liam said.  “Beer helps quench the burn.  That is one special sauce.”  Liam handed her his beer and she poured some in her glass.  Her dish was a little better once she’d scraped some of the sauce off, and the beer did help.  She had to take a few gulps every once in a while, just to cool the burn down a little.

“That will clear your sinuses,” Frank said.  “Can I have a taste?”

“Knock
yourself out,” she said.  She’d had enough anyway.  The cooler night air didn’t seem so cool just at the moment.  She was very hot, but she conceded it might just be the food.

“Dessert?”
Frank asked.

“No, but I might h
ave to have another beer though.”  Her lips were burning and she felt it more now that she had stopped eating.

She nursed her beer, while
Stephen and Liam had this fried banana ice cream dish. 

“That was fantastic,” Stephen said after he’d finished.  “I am completely
full, I don’t think I can take anything more.  Maybe there is a little room for a beer.”

Somehow they got on the topic of sailing,
one for which Damon was apparently enthusiastic.  He described his boat, which he had apparently bought in Tahiti and sailed back on his own.  Jane had never even been on a sail boat.  She seemed to only know people with motorboats, and fishing equipment.  She could imagine him on a sailboat, the sea whipping his clothes around him.  It wasn’t a scenario she would have thought of on her own, but it made sense now that he’d mentioned it.

“I just love the feeling, you and the ocean.  It puts things into perspective,” Damon said.  “You can just take off for a few days, leave it all behind.”
  He smiled.  He genuinely liked talking about it, she could tell.  It was strange to see him smiling, he was so serious most of the time, and that wasn’t just the scowling she got from him pretty much every time she saw him.  His smile seemed to relax his whole face, making him look carefree.  It actually made him look more like the carefree guy she imagined for herself.  She had to check herself; she was not going to think about him in that way, she forbid it.  It was a road to heartache and she’d be ridiculous to take it.

“And where do you go?” Jane asked
as a way to distract herself.  Damon shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter.  Sometimes I sail out to Great Barrier Island.
”

“On your own?”
Jane asked.

“Yes.”  He’d mentioned before that he preferred his own company at times.  He at least seemed to
either spend time alone or with gorgeous society girls.  Didn’t he take any of them with him when he went sailing?  Although she could guess that they weren’t all that enthused about the sea and the elements in general.  Maybe they were the ones he was trying to get away from.  She giggled.

“Something funny?” he asked.

“No,” she said with horror.  She couldn’t believe that she had just giggled, like a little girl.  “I think I’ve had a bit too much beer.”

“Are you drunk, Miss
Burrows?” he asked.  There was a teasing tone to his voice.