Read The Game Online

Authors: Camille Oster

The Game (5 page)

BOOK: The Game
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He was very good at what he did.  He made decisions quickly and he seemed to have a knack for asking the right questions.  He was much more blunt that
Mr. Carmichael who approached things with more circumspection.  She could see why he was so highly regarded though.

They shared taxis back to the hotel, and it turned out that they were all staying at the same hotel.

“Are you coming tonight?” Stephen said.  Jane liked Stephen, he was kind and helpful.

“Coming where?” she asked.

“There’s this seafood restaurant out on the coast.  It’s definitely worth an outing, you should come,”

“Ok,” Jane said.  She hadn’t even thought about dinner.   She certainly needed a break.  If she kept working now, the quality of her work would only diminish if she didn’t have a proper break and recoup somewhat.

“We’re meeting down here at seven.  Be here if you want to come along,” he said pointing at a group of seats on the other side of the lobby.

“Ok, sounds good,” she said and stepped into the
elevator. 

She dropped her things off in her room and stood by the large floor to ceiling window and looked out at the view.  It was the first tim
e she got to see it in full daylight.  Everything was so incredibly green even as she was high above the ground. 

After staring out the window for a while,
she caught the headlines before she decided that there was really nothing much to do in her room.  She was quite glad to be going out to a restaurant that night, maybe she’d actually get to see a little more of this country than just the hotel and the office.

She
spotted a little convenience store on the other side of the plaza.  Maybe something sweet wouldn’t go amiss.  While it was nice and cool in the hotel, it was still steaming hot outside.  Not even on the hottest days back home did it ever get this steamy.  She decided that she would try one of the local ice-creams.  She got out a five dollar note from her purse and decided to try an interesting foreign ice-cream.

She got herself a
lychee sorbet and sat down at the table outside the little convenience store.  There were bougainvillea plants along the path, blooming in iridescent pink.  It really was beautiful here and the greenery was incredibly lush.

As she ate her ice-cream she looked around and soon spotted
Damon D’Arth coming around the corner on the far side of the hotel.  He had obviously gone for a run, which must have been quite a task in this heat.  While it was cooling down a little as the sun was setting, the steamy heat just wouldn’t lift.

He must have felt the heat because he had his shirt
off, a corner of it was stuffed in the back pocket of his shorts.  She had certainly been right, there was not much fat on his body.  He was completely trim and muscular, and not in a way that was accidental.  He obviously worked out on a regular basis; aided by a natural physique that meant he had broad shoulders, slim hips and strong shaped legs. 

Jane groaned.  Really, she thought, did he have to be perfect in every way?  She actually felt it was quite confronting seeing him so informally dressed.  He had a baseball cap that wa
s turned around facing backward.  It was one thing seeing him in a tux, quite another to see him dressed in his running gear, or without most of it off to be exact.  It just made him a more rounded character, when she was quite happy to see him as one dimensional.

He was walking now, to cool down.  He was practically glistening with sweat, showing off the muscles down his back.  How could life be fair when there were people in the world
who had it all together, and they looked like that to boot?   She’d suspected that he had a nice physique, the way he wore his clothes showed it off enough, she didn’t have to actually see it.  And now he was going to go upstairs, get naked and have a shower with glistening water running down his perfectly tanned body.

He
had obviously gotten outdoors over the summer.  Probably did some very manly hobby like kite-boarding, while some supermodel watched on draped on the hood of his stupid car.

She had to check
herself; she did not normally react this way to anyone.  Guys were just guys, everyone had their own problems and that probably included Damon D’Arth.  She just couldn’t quite see any in Mr. Perfect.  At least he wasn’t nice.  It would just be heart breaking if he was actually lovely as well.

 

Chapter 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jane stepped out of the taxi.  She had no idea where they were but they were obviously by the sea.  The complete darkness on one side attested to that.  The group was walking toward a row of buildings and she followed them as they seemed to know where they were going.  Interesting and powerful smells assaulted them at times when they walked along.  Some not entirely appetizing as well.

The row contained a group of seafood restaurants.  It was by no means fancy, in fact, it looked down right dilapidated.  Not a restaurant she would have chosen by looking at it.  The chairs were old and mismatched.  The round tables had an awful pink plastic table cloth and she would probably swear that the floor had never been cleaned.

She had second thoughts about the restaurant, but it was full of people and their reserved table was the only free one in the place.  Waitresses were rushing around with steaming trays.

“You don’t come here for the ambiance,”
Stephen said, “but the food is awesome.”

“Oh,” Jane said, still not entirely convinced.  The cutlery was all in a glass at the centre of the table.  Someone handed them around the table and Jane took hers when handed
it.  At least they were clean.

“Drink?”
Stephen asked.  “No wine, just beer, or softdrinks.”

“A beer then,” she said.  She wasn’t normally a beer drinker, but she wasn’t really up for a sticky soft drink
in this heat.

Before long a beer can was placed down in front of her, along with a well-worn, but clean glass. 

“We order for the whole table, then everyone can pick and choose,” someone else suggested and they all agreed.  She actually liked the idea then she didn’t have to commit to one dish that she might not end up liking.

After they ordered the chatting started.  Mostly business, there had been a development in the bid that was quite exciting and they were talking about the implications.

“Where is Damon?” someone asked.  Jane had actually been wondering where he’d gotten to as well.

“He’s having drinks with the cli
ent tonight.  At the Raffles,” one of the architects said.

“Have you seen the Raffles?”
Stephen asked.   “It’s famous.  Used to be the hangout in colonial times, it’s been rebuilt, but it’s still a sight.  You should see it before you leave.  It’s quite famous.  Got some good bars too.”

Jane nodded, she hadn’t seen anything yet.  She didn’t have time to do any sightseeing until she got this evaluation process under control, but maybe after.

The food started arriving and it looked really appetizing.  One by one, dishes started filling up the table and everyone got a bowl of rice placed on their plate.   She tried a fish dish close to her and flavour exploded in her mouth.

“This is fantastic,” she said to
Stephen.

“Like I said, you don’t come for the décor.”

She tried some more dishes and they were fabulous as well.  She decided that she could eat here every night; these people knew their way around seafood.  The table went a bit quiet for a while as everyone was focused on their plates.  Their eating was interrupted by the arrival of Damon.

She hated the term, but he looked suave.
She couldn’t think of any other term that fully encompassed the way he looked, effortless elegance.  White shirt and dark well-fitting pants, a little more casual then his typical Italian suit, but not informal.  Someone asked him how things went with the client and his frown indicated that it hadn’t gone ideally.  Although he seemed to frown all the time as far as Jane was concerned, so she might be reading too much into it.

“There have been some developments,” he said.  “Nothing major, we’ll discuss it
later.”  He sat down and started piling food on his plate and everyone else returned to their meals.  Jane returned to mentally praising the marvels on her plate as well.  She was full before her taste buds were satisfied, and eventually she just had to stop.

“That was fantastic,” she said.  “Probably the best seafood I’ve ever had.”

“I think we have a convert,” Stephen said rubbing his stomach.  “That is a good meal.  It’s almost worth coming all this way, just for that.”

Jane sat back and finished the beer in her glass.  It was really nice to just sit back and relax.  The alcohol was slowly starting to work its way into her system, relaxing her even further.  The heat
was enveloping her entire body.  The jetlag was starting to make her feel a little sleepy even if it was only eight o’clock.

“So what are the developments with the client?”
Liam, one of the architects asked.

“They are changing some of the terms,” he said taking a swig of his beer. 
“Terms to do with the financing.  It means that the Chinese have an edge over us.”

“How can they change the terms this late in the process?”
Stephen asked with clear annoyance.

“They’re the
client; they can do whatever they want.”

“This is bad,”
Liam said.

Jane felt tension reasserting itself.  She’d just started to relax and now this, a m
ajor disadvantage.  It was all she needed right now.

“It
’s not the end of the world,” he said.  “We need to organize a bridge loan to deal with it, but it’s not impossible.  I’m asked the Board to convene first thing to sort it.”  First thing back in New Zealand would likely mean four in the morning here.  Jane felt a sense of relief.  If he was dealing with the Board, then Mr. Carmichael would already know about it and she didn’t have to get involved.

“Just complications, that’s all,” he said with a sigh. 
“The nature of the beast.”  She wondered if that was what she was to him, a complication.

 

The boys were talking about some bar where apparently there were some pool sharks working their trade.  They were working out the logistics as they obviously wanted to go.  Jane had no interest in snooker or pool, so she declined when they asked her if she wanted to come along.  She appreciated being invited, but she had some work to do. 

One of the petite waitresses came with a bill on a cheap plastic tray. 
Damon put his credit card on the tray which was soon collected.  Some went outside to smoke while the rest waited for the return of Damon’s credit card.

A row of taxi
s were waiting outside and they were busily agreeing how and where they were meeting in town.  Within a minute the first taxi was gone.

“You sure you won’t come?”
Stephen asked Jane.

“No, I’m fine, go on.  I’m going to return to the hotel.”

“We can share a cab,” Damon said as he appeared beside her.  Jane almost jumped in surprise.  Stephen gave her a look which pretty much indicated that she was chicken for bowing out so early in the night.  He closed the door and the taxi then sped off.

Damon
opened the door as the next taxi pulled up in the cue and waited for her to step in.  It was a courtesy she hadn’t quite expected.  Men rarely had occasion to open car doors for her, she actually felt a little embarrassed.

There was an awkward silence in the taxi.  She wasn’t sure if it was awkward or if it was just her feeling that way.
  She couldn’t help being intensely aware of him, particularly now that she’d seen what he covers up with his shirts.

“Have you been here before?” she finally asked trying to fill the silence.

“A number of times,” he said.  “I was here for a few months a few years back.  We had a project working on an extension to the opera complex.”

Jane didn’t really know what he was referring
to; it was Symax business from quite a while before the merger.

“You must know your way around then,” she said.  “I am completely at the mercy of taxi drivers.”

“It is not a big island; you find your way around quite quickly.”

Random scenery passed outside.  Jane didn’t know where she was, or even if she was going in the right direction, it was a little disconcerting.

“So what is your background, Jane?” he asked.

“Well,” she said trying to think of what to say.  She didn’t really have much o
f a background to talk about.

“I was
Mr. Carmichael’s PA for a few years.”

“I am aware of that,” he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.  “And how was life as
Carmichael’s personal assistant?”

“It was interesting, I learnt a great deal.”  It had been an interesting time, busy but she hadn’t felt the same kind of pressure she did now.

BOOK: The Game
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