Alice’s heart began to knock and she lost the train of her conversation with a hire-car rep in Mount Isa.
Who on earth would be sending her flowers? They had to be from Liam. But would he make such a public gesture at work?
Smiling broadly, Sally tapped her fingernail against the little envelope that was pinned to red satin ribbons.
Alice knew she was blushing as she mouthed ‘thank you’ and she was grateful that her phone call meant that Sally couldn’t hang around while the envelope was opened. But just as the call finished, Shana walked in. Great.
‘Wow! Who sent you these?’
‘I’ve no idea.’ Alice tried very hard to sound cool as Shana fingered the envelope.
‘Aren’t you going to have a look?’
‘Of course.’ Darn. Her fingers were shaking as she struggled to pull out the tiny pin that secured the card.
‘I’ll bet they’re from the boss. Things are hotting up, aren’t they?’ Shana leaned close with a forced enthusiasm that did nothing to calm Alice.
Her fingers fumbled with the seal on the envelope. She hadn’t heard from Liam since he’d dashed off to Sydney. These flowers must be from him. There was no other man in her life and no other explanation. She was going to be floating on happiness for days.
She read the card and blinked.
‘Well?’ Shana’s cry was close to a squeal. ‘Come on, Alice, spill.’
‘They’re from Joe,’ she said, trying hard not to sound disappointed.
‘Joe? Who’s Joe?’
‘The pilot who collapsed in the plane.’
‘Oh.’ Shana couldn’t wipe the relieved smirk from her face. ‘How nice.’
‘Yes. It’s a very sweet note. He’s completely recovered now and he thinks I saved his life.’
‘I’m sure you did.’ Shana gave Alice a pat-you-on-the-head smile and continued on to her desk.
Disappointment deluged Alice. She had so wanted these lovely flowers to be a gift from Liam. What was he doing in Sydney? Why had he cut her off?
Mad with herself that it mattered so much, she returned her attention to Joe’s card. His message really was sweet. He claimed he’d been brought back to life by the kiss of an angel. Who else could it have been at that altitude? he’d asked.
And then, further down, she saw another message in different writing:
Alice, we want to thank you sincerely from the hottom of our hearts for saving Joe’s life. He is a precious husband and father and we still have him, thanks to you and Mr Conway.
Jean, Gary, Jenny and Jana Banyo
Alice touched a dark, velvety rose petal. At the time she’d helped Joe she hadn’t given a thought to his wife and children. She’d just done what had to be done. But everyone had families. Even the simplest action could have wide-reaching effects.
The flowers were a lovely gesture and, as she got on with her work, she tried to convince herself that she’d rather receive an uplifting message from Joe and his family than a bunch of flowers from her remote and aloof boss.
But by the end of the week the flowers were wilted and so were Alice’s spirits. She still hadn’t heard anything from Liam.
He left a brief message with Sally, to say that he hoped to be back the following Monday. But that was all.
Of course, everyone in the office expected Alice to be able to supply them with details about what the boss was doing in Sydney. And it was anything but pleasant to admit that she was more or less as clueless as they were.
It was all very difficult—embarrassing—and confusing.
One minute she was angry. Why was it so darned hard for Liam to call her? And then the next she would wonder if she was expecting too much of him. If only she wasn’t so unsure of her role in his life.
She was unsure of everything. Todd had made her so insecure. And his legacy was that she didn’t really know what she wanted now: she didn’t want a new relationship, and yet she wanted Liam.
Dennis had a field-day in the boss’s absence. ‘What’s with this fellow?’ he cried. ‘He flies up here, insists on having hands-on involvement, goes through our entire operation with a fine-tooth comb to the point where we’re virtually having fingernail inspections, and then he rushes off again.’ He shot a suspicious glance Alice’s way. ‘Is this some kind of test?’
‘No, of course not, it’s a family emergency.’ Oh, dear. How unfortunately vague that sounded.
‘A family emergency?’ Shana repeated, never missing the chance to gossip. ‘So his wife’s found out that Liam’s straying, has she?’
She smiled too sweetly at Alice, who had no answer other than to shoot her a drop-dead look.
Liam stared at the famous Sydney skyline.
Once upon a time this office, with its stunning views, had been the pinnacle of his ambition. Now, as he surveyed the glorious harbour, the spectacular opera house and the unique coat-hanger bridge, he found little in this high-status vista to comfort him.
What a dreadful week it had been!
Emotionally he was exhausted. He’d been to hell and back during his long vigil at the hospital. But at last Julia was out of the woods. In a few days she would be going home again. In another week she would be more or less back to normal, or as normal as she could ever be.
Not that Julia considered her life to be anything less than normal. Her endurance of hardship was amazing. She never complained and was always smiling.
It was Liam who had never come to terms with seeing her in a wheelchair. She managed beautifully, but he could never forget how lovely and lithe and full of life she had been before the accident.
He hadn’t allowed himself to think about Alice this week. The contrast between her passionate vitality and Julia’s weakness was too cruel, his sense of guilt too sharply painful.
‘Liam.’
He turned at the sound of his PA’s voice.
‘Mr Toh is here.’
‘Already?’ Liam glanced at his wrist-watch and sighed. ‘Very well. Tell him I’ll be with him in a minute.’
Time to snap his brain back into corporate mode.
Kenny Toh, a Singaporean businessman, headed Asia-Pacific Investments and potentially he was a major financial partner in Kanga Tours. API was proposing to fund vital expansion of their business and when Kenny had heard that Liam was in Sydney he flew in from Singapore to meet Liam, to talk to him face to face, to view his product, and to generally size him up.
He would expect to be taken on a tour of the city, wined and dined, introduced around. The process couldn’t be hurried or dismissed lightly and would probably take several days.
Liam knew he shouldn’t feel trapped by the fellow. In the past he’d found international networking to be the aspect of his business he enjoyed most. But now it kept him from getting back to Cairns.
To Alice.
‘Rita,’ Liam called as his assistant was almost out of the room. ‘One other thing. Could you please telephone the Cairns office?’
‘Certainly.’
‘I’d like to pass a private message to…’ He paused and then swore softly. No, he didn’t want Rita to ring Alice at the office. Scowling angrily, he rubbed at his forehead. He hadn’t spoken to Alice in a week.
There