‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes, Rachel,’ he bit out. ‘Quite sure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to write this report for Guy.’
‘Did I hear my name mentioned?’ the man himself said as he strode in.
Justin welcomed the distraction. ‘Aah. You’re back from Melbourne earlier than I expected,’ he said, glad to have an excuse to ignore Rachel. ‘How’s your father?’
‘Much better. It was one of those nasty viruses. He was rotten on Friday and Saturday but on the improve by yesterday. So what did you think of Sunshine Gardens?’
‘Take a seat and I’ll tell you. Close the door as you go out, would you, Rachel?’
Justin noticed that Guy’s eyes followed her as she did so.
He gave a low whistle after the door clicked shut. ‘So that’s your new PA,’ he said, with meaning in his voice. ‘You lucky dog, you. I love pretty women in black. Though, of course, I prefer them in nothing at all.’
‘There’s nothing between Rachel and myself,’ Justin lied staunchly, his face a stony mask.
Guy chuckled. ‘That’s your story and you’re going to stick to it. Wise man. Office affairs are best kept behind closed doors. And hotel-room doors. So how was your weekend junket? Everything to your satisfaction?’ And he grinned lecherously.
Justin decided to ignore Guy’s none-too-subtle innuendoes and plunged into giving him a brisk report on the hotel as a property investment. Naturally, he didn’t mention their not having been to the presentation dinner. He let Guy think they had. Justin had watched the video last night and hadn’t changed his mind about the place, despite the glowing marketing spiel.
‘So that’s my professional opinion,’ Justin finished up. ‘Added to the fact I think it’s a lemon, I also gleaned some valuable inside information from a lady real-estate agent there for the free weekend. Apparently, the client she was representing is intent on purchasing the hotel at any price. I never think it’s a good idea to get into a bidding war with that kind of buyer.’
‘This agent could have been bluffing.’
‘Yes, but I don’t think so.’
‘Mmm. Do you happen to know who this interested party is?’
‘No. Just that he’s filthy rich and has an ego the size of his cheque-book.’
‘I heard a whisper that Carl Toombs is thinking of going into the property market up that way.’
Justin struggled to keep his face unreadable. No one at AWI knew the circumstances behind his divorce. No one knew that his ex-wife was Carl Toombs’ secret mistress. No one except him and Mandy and his mother.
Justin’s own ego had kept their secret for them.
So of course he could not be seen to react to Carl Toombs’ name in any way other than a professional one.
‘The man certainly fits the description the agent gave of him,’ he said coolly. ‘She said her client always gets what he wants, money no object.’
And wasn’t that the truth? He’d set his sights on a married woman who’d been deeply in love with her husband at the time—Justin still believed that—and totally corrupted her, with his money, his charisma and his supposed sexual prowess.
Justin hated the man with a passion. As did quite a lot of other people in Australia, people who’d invested in some of his previous entrepreneurial get-rich-quick schemes. Some had succeeded, but a good few had failed. Yet somehow Toombs always managed to extricate himself with his own fortune intact. He had brilliant lawyers and accountants, and the best of contacts, both in the political and social scene. Married twice, with an adult daughter from his first marriage and two teenage sons from his present wife, Carl Toombs was in his early fifties, but looked a lot younger, courtesy of his personal dietician, trainer and cosmetic surgeon.
When Mandy had first gone to work for Carl Toombs she’d made jokes about his vanity and massive ego. Justin had joined in. But the joke had been on Justin in the end. Carl Toombs had come out on top. Literally.
Thinking about that swine and Mandy inevitably put Justin in a foul mood. ‘I hope Toombs buys the place,’ he went on testily. ‘And I hope he loses a packet. Of his own money for a change.’
Guy looked taken aback. ‘Sounds as if you lost some of your money in one of his famous ventures.’
Justin gritted his teeth. He’d lost something he valued much more than money. ‘Let’s just say he wouldn’t want to meet me in a dark alley on a dark night.’
Guy laughed. ‘And there I’ve been, thinking you’d never put a foot wrong financially.’
‘We all make mistakes, Guy. That’s how we learn.’
‘And what did tangling with Toombs teach you?’
‘Never to underestimate a man who has more money than I have.’
‘True,’ Guy said, nodding sagely. ‘OK, so you don’t suggest that I recommend Sunshine Gardens to the CEO.’
‘Not if you value your job.’
Guy laughed, then stood up. ‘See you tomorrow morning at the gym?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘Don’t work too hard.’
‘You don’t really mean that.’
Guy smiled. ‘Nope. I hope you work your butt off. Profits have been up since you came here. I even sleep at night sometimes.’
‘Get out of here. And tell Rachel to bring me another coffee when you go past, will you? This one’s gone cold.’
‘Will do. I might stay and watch her do it, too. That girl has an incredible walk. And a derrière to die for. But I suspect you already know that, McCarthy,’ he threw over his shoulder as he walked towards the door. ‘No wonder you work out every morning till you’re ready to drop. Can’t be easy keeping your hands off that nice piece of skirt out here.’
Justin groaned. ‘For pity’s sake, Guy, keep your voice down. She might hear you. Haven’t you heard of sexual harassment in the workplace?’
Guy shrugged and put his hand on the door knob, but he didn’t turn it. ‘I could be mistaken, mate, but I caught a glimpse of something in your PA’s very lovely eyes a few minutes ago which indicated she might not be averse to a little sexual harassment from you.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’
‘I’m not being ridiculous. I studied body language when I did a sales and marketing course recently, and she fancies you, mate. I guarantee it. But I guess if you’re not interested, then you’re not interested. Poor girl. I guess she’ll just have to go find herself some other tall, dark, handsome jerk to give her a bit. Pity I don’t fit the bill. I’d give her one, I can tell you. OK, OK, you don’t have to say it. Get lost. And I won’t forget the coffee on my way out.’
He didn’t. Unfortunately. Soon, Rachel was undulating towards his desk with the coffee and Justin found himself mentally stripping her again. Oh, God. This was how it all began back there in that bar, with him watching her walk in front of him and imagining her without any clothes on. The trouble was, this time he knew what she looked like without any clothes on. And the reality far surpassed the fantasy his imagination had conjured up. She was all woman. And she could be all his, according to Guy.
Was he right? Did she really fancy him, not as some rebound substitute for Eric the Mongrel, but as a man in his own right? Was she secretly hoping he’d keep their affair going?
The thought both excited and worried him. He didn’t love her. He’d