The Game (6 page)

“And what did you do before that?”

“I worked as a counci
l planning officer.  I specialized in parking allocation.”

“Sounds riveting.”
  There was sarcasm in his voice.

“Riveting might be a
bit strong,” she said.  “Painful might be a better word.  Turns out local government planning just wasn’t for me.” 

“Is that what you wanted to be?”

“No, I just fell into it.  I don’t really have a plan.  I just go along with what comes up.  Do you have a plan for your career?”

He smiled, but didn’t answer.  Jane felt stupid for asking, but she wasn’t entirely sure why.  Then she was distracted as she started to
realize where they were, they were close to the hotel now, she could see the circle of buildings circling the massive fountain in the middle.  The taxi swung into one of the streets heading into the complex, and before she knew it, it had pulled into the hotel drop off.

Damon
pulled out some notes and paid the taxi, telling him to keep the change.  Jane stepped out and waited.  It would be rude not to say goodnight, so she waited for him to walk in with her.  They walked to the elevator in silence.

“I’m sorry
to hear about the change of terms,” she said as the elevator doors closed.  He was actually quite large in the small space of the elevator.    He shrugged and watched the floor numbers climb.  “Why would they change the terms this late?”

“A number of reasons, but I suspect someone on the client side is playing to the Chinese’s strengths.”

Jane only nodded; she didn’t know what else to say.  “Looks like tomorrow is going to be a busy day.  The deadline is looming.”

“They always do.”

The doors opened on her floor and she stepped out.  She said a quick goodbye and kept walking.  When the door closed again she exhaled.  She’d actually had a civil conversation with him, she hadn’t thought it was possible, but for once he hadn’t looked at her like she was a stain.  Maybe that was because he had bigger problems to deal with.  It impressed her how cool he was about it; he just had dinner and said he would deal with it tomorrow.  She on the other hand would be a nervous wreck.

Jane was woken up by a phone call.  It was still dark outside, or as dark as it got with all the lights of the city.  She mumbled something into the phone.

“Jane?” asked Edmund Carmichael.  “I need you to do some things for me today.”

“Of course,” she said instantly trying to get her brain into a wake mode.  “What do you need?”

“I need you to take some documents to the bank for me and to wait for them to be signed.  There are some financing things we need to deal with.”

“I am aware of the developments.”

“Good,” he said.  “I am emailing the documents to you and the name of the person you need to see.  Once they are signed, I need you to go see Clarion.”

Jane agreed and hung up.  Damon was not going to like her seeing Clarion.  She felt a bit like she was going behind his back.  Actually she was pretty sure she was going behind his back.  She hated all this intrigue and agendas, but this was her lot, her team.  She had agreed to be his agent and since everyone knew it, well everyone who needed to know, she couldn’t be admonished for it.

Jane started her computer and her instructions arrived promptly, including the terms that she had to negotiate.  This was more than just acting as a gopher, she had to actually do so
me negotiations, or at least uphold the required terms.  She looked at the clock; it was six in the morning.  The conference call would have already happened.  She wondered how it had gone.

The breakfast service wasn’t open for another hour, so she had some time to kill.  She could sit here and
work or she could take a moment and enjoy this new place.  She was going to work all day, so maybe she should have some time to herself and enjoy waking up properly.  Maybe she could even get some use out of the bikini Angelica had insisted she buy.  It seemed insane to think about a dip sitting in the cool room of her hotel.  Logic didn’t seem to dictate that it would be warm outside, but intellectually she knew it was.  What the hell, she would take a plunge.  She may never get another chance.

She pulled on her bikini and
grabbed the complementary dressing gown, and made her way downstairs.  The hotel was quiet.  It was too early for most.  It wasn’t hard finding the pool area.  The warmth enveloped her as she walked out on the rooftop space encased in greenery.  The sky was pink with dawn and the heat was crazy.

There was a slight splash in the pool which indicated that someone else was there.  She thought about returning upstairs, but decided against it.  She’d made her mind up to go fo
r a swim, so she would do it.  Besides, she’d never hear the end of it from Angelica if she didn’t swim at least one.

She couldn’t see anyone, but there were waves on the water.  She pulled off her dressing gown and placed it
on a sun bathing chair.  A body popped out of the water.  It took her a second to realize that it was Damon.  She froze in her tracks.

Jane Burrows in a bikini was not the sight he expected after swimming the length of the pool under water.  He’d come down to unwind after an intense call with the Board.  As per usual they disagreed on just about everything.  Political agendas and personal interests ruled the Board, but that was not unusual.

He watched as she took some tentative steps i
nto the pool.  She had a surprisingly nice figure.  Slender, flat stomach, curves and muscles.  Not the kind of thin that came from an eating disorder.  He could tell that she’d done the occasional running, or some other type of exercise.

He had honestly not anticipated seeing her here this morning, although he supposed it was a possibility running into her, as she was the only one who hadn’t hit the bars last night.  The others would still be well asleep, rising just before they had to leave for the office.  He didn’t expect that he would see them before nine, maybe nine thirty if they went a bit overboard last night.

He watched as she dove under the water and her hair floated on the surface before being pulled under.  He wondered what the fall out would be from this morning’s call.  What actions would Carmichael take? 

She swam
down the length of the pool and back.  She headed back to the steps; she wasn’t going to stay beyond a dip.  He knew full well that his presence made her cut her swim short.  He cut her off, standing between her and the stairs.

“So Jane,” he said.  “What’s on your agenda today?”

She stroked her hair back from her face.  It was a move that was more provocative than she probably realized.  She cleared her throat.

“I will be working on the evaluation,” she said.

“And what else?” he said.  He knew he was being aggressive by asking so directly, but he didn’t care.  He needed to know what she had been instructed.   Technically, they were on the same team and this was his account.  He had the right to know what was going on.

“I am going to see one of the banks,” she said.  He could see a hint of defiance
in her features, and uncertainty.

“Is that right?” he said slowly.  Carmichael was jumpin
g the gun, sorting out finance terms.  “Anything else?”

“I am seeing Clarion this afternoon,” she said.  At least she had the decency to look a little uncomfortable.  He stepped closer to her.

“And were you going to tell me?”

“I just did,” she
said and stepped back.  She swam to the edge and pulled herself out of the pool.  She walked quickly to her towel and started to dry off.

“I won’t appreciate it if you’re working against me,” he warned.

“I’m not trying to work against you,” she said and pulled her dressing robe on.

“What are you trying to do?”

“My job,” she responded.

“I’m just not entirely sure I’m comfortable with what your job is.  I don’t like having
a loose cannon on my team.  If you are doing something material with my project, and this is my project, you need to inform me.”  She looked uncomfortable, but she nodded at last and then marched away. 

He was going to have to keep a closer eye on her.  It was now apparent that she was here to do more than observe.  He wanted to send her back home, but he couldn’t challenge a board member so directly.  That would stir up a hornet’s nest and it plain wasn’t worth it.  The old codger would play his
games, he would just have to make sure that any damage was minimized.

Jane felt horrified when she got back to her room.  That had been a complete disaster.  She felt embarrassed and angry at the same time.  He’d just blatantly called her out on her divided loyalties.  She was also angry that she was stuck in this situation, but this was her job. 

A nice soothing shower calmed her somewhat, but the general unease wasn’t relenting.  Maybe she wasn’t cut out for this kind of work.  It had sounded like such a great opportunity, a good promotion, a clever mentor and exciting projects, but at the moment there seemed to be a high price to pay.

Damon was in the dining room sitting with one of the architects when she went down for breakfast shortly after seven.  She thought about skipping breakfast, but then decided that she wasn’t going to be chased away.  Luckily Stephen turned up looking worse for wear, but she was very happy to see him as etiquette would dictate that she would have to join him if they had been the only two diners from their party.  With Stephen, it was perfectly acceptable that they have their own small table.  Her luck didn’t hold however as Stephen headed straight for Damon’s table, and she could do nothing else but follow.

They sat down and she started immediately on her muesli and fruit.
  David, the architect was discussing the conclusion of some design decision they made.  Damon was listening intently.  He seemed to be calm and in a good mood.  She wondered if anything shook him up or whether he just took everything in his stride. 

His strong jaw was working as he ate his cooked breakfast.  He had strong features, but it was his eyes that really hit home how attractive he was.  They had
an intensity to them, like they saw straight through you.  She narrowly avoided his gaze as he just caught her examining him.  Her muesli was suddenly very interesting.  Although she was then truly distracted by the rain that came out of nowhere and fell with intense fury.  She looked at the water that completely obscured the view out of the large windows.  She couldn’t even see to the next building.

“It rains hard here,”
Damon said.  “Doesn’t always last long.”  She looked back at him and seemed to get stuck in his gaze for a moment.  She had to concede that he was very attractive and she now ‘got it’ when the office girls went on about how hot he was.

“It certainly is a pain for construction,”
Frank said.  “You have to stop completely.  It rains so hard it’s unsafe.”

Jane had lost her appetite and just stared at the rain. 

“We should go,” Damon said to the group.  They were all finished so they got up and moved through the lobby.  There was a taxi waiting outside, but only one in the queque.

“We should all fit,”
Stephen said loudly over the pounding rain falling outside the parapet, “it will be a squeeze but we’ll make do.  You go in front David, with those spider legs of your.”  He then walked around the other side of the taxi and got in, which meant that she was in the middle.  It really was a tight squeeze.  She tried to be as small as possible, but it was too tight to avoid touching.  Her awareness of Damon was much more intense.  She could feel the heat of his body and it was a little disconcerting in the steamy atmosphere of the taxi.  The fact that they could see nothing but rain only made it seem even smaller.

“What time are you going to the bank?”
Damon asked her in a quiet voice.  He wasn’t whispering, but they were so close he might as well have been.

“In about an hour.”
  She could feel his eyes on her.

“Report to me afterward
,” he said.  She nodded after a moment of hesitation.  This was his account and he had the right to know what she was doing, even though she was taking direction from somewhere else.  That direction was being imposed on him.  She wasn’t entirely sure how things worked, but he apparently couldn’t throw her out of the country or his team.

He didn’t say anything else for the rest of the trip, but he held his hand out for her when they got there.  It was warm and firm, and the touch was probably a lot more electrifying than it should be.  As much as she hated it, she had developed a
bit of an attraction for him, probably because he was the most unsuitable man for her to develop an attraction for.  While he hadn’t kicked her out of the country yet, there was no denying that he was dangerous to her and the only thing keeping him in check was Mr. Carmichael.  She knew full well if something happened to her mentor’s position in the company, she would be mince-meat; Damon D’Arth would eat her for breakfast and not think twice about it.

She excused herself and went to get a coffee before going
up to the office.  She needed to get a hold of herself and to shake off this ridiculous attraction that seemed to taken root in her brain.  She chided herself for being stupid.  She wasn’t some teenager that fell to pieces just because she found someone cute, for heaven’s sake.  There were attractive people around all the time.  The problem was that they didn’t make her feel completely breathless, or maybe that was just the fact that he despised her.