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  He dismissed the thought. It wasn’t important. He was single and he was hot, and all of Marbella was waiting for him, with new girls flying in every week. It was literally paradise. He’d pull that night, maybe even try for a threesome.

  Chapter 31

  It was the worst time possible, but Megan had developed a cold. Her nose was stuffy and her eyes watery, and she felt like sheer hell. She even felt a little shivery, so she’d gone outside to sit in the sun. Mum had given her a hat so she didn't burn and she sat in a chair and flipped through the latest Vogue. Looking through mags always made her miss work. The pictures look so easy, so simple, but she knew the sheer amount of work that went into creating a picture like that. There were countless people preparing—editors who ordered the pictures, assistants who scheduled everything, makeup people, hair, photographers, wardrobe. Then the editors again and the Photoshop people. There was an editorial meeting to determine whether the photos would go in a magazine—how, when, where and context. There was a whole string of people and an entire industry behind the simple photo that appeared in a magazine—something people flipped through while sitting waiting for an airplane or dentist appointment.

  Flipping the mag shut, Megan didn't know what to do. She'd curtailed a lot of her work so she could spend more time here in Marbella with Ricky, but that had turned out to have been the worst decision of her life. Ricky had shown himself as a total dog and an arsehole, and he'd hidden his true intentions from her all along. He'd never been serious about the relationship and she had sacrificed just about everything.

  So what was she going to do now? Was there any point sticking around Marbella now? But she’d insisted on being released from most of her contracts, which placed her in a bit of a bind. Maybe she needed to go to Paris or London and do a bit of hustling. That wasn't exactly a welcoming thought either. She was a little beyond that and liked being picky about her work. The thought of reducing her schedule and having a bit more free time had been appealing, even beyond the whole Ricky thing.

  And she’d promised Jesus she would be the face for his campaign. There was nothing that would stop her from leaving Marbella for a while if it wasn't for that. She wondered if she could drop it and just leave. Surely, Jesus would understand, under the circumstances. She could say she was too distraught to be here now, particularly working on the club where Ricky would be the headline act. It would be extremely uncomfortable, probably for both of them. He would be launching the club that was in essence about her. It was kind of ironic.

  Why had everything fallen apart? she wondered. Everything had been perfect. They were both working on the same club, to make it successful, but now it had all been torn down. Why had he done it? The relentless questions were again returning to her mind as they had done so many times before, and she still had no answers.

  Again she wondered what she should do, if she should just leave town for a while. But she had promised and she'd feel like a real cow if she broke that promise. Jesus wasn't, after all, responsible for what Ricky had done, even if he seemed to have known about Ricky's activities. There was something a little like a betrayal there, but what did she expect? That Jesus would go and tell Ricky off for not being faithful to his girlfriend? Part of her was screaming yes, that was what he should have done, but another part knew that was unreasonable. Jesus wasn't responsible for Ricky's activities.

  But why had Ricky done what he did? Was it her? Had she done something wrong? Why couldn't he stay faithful to her? The first chance he'd had, he'd run after some other girl and lied about it. Why would he even have agreed to be her boyfriend if he’d all along had wanted to be with others?

  Re-crossing her legs, she stared at the view, ignoring the magazine. The pretty photos seemed incapable of distracting her today. No, she didn't want to go to Paris and hustle for more work. Part of the reason she’d brought Ricky here was that she’d wanted to return, had wanted to settle down. That desire had been separate from Ricky. Obviously, he'd been part of it, been part of the vision she’d seen in her head, but the desire to not run around airports and shoots every day was still there.

  Running back to Paris or New York or Milan was the opposite of what she really wanted. And also, she didn't want to leave Jesus in the lurch. This club meant everything to him. If it failed, it would ruin him. She couldn’t live with herself if she was responsible for that. She just had to suck it up and do what had to be done to support Jesus. Once the club was launched, her involvement would probably be limited anyway. It would mean a short period of discomfort, but she was a big girl. Jesus needed her.

  She would stay and she would see her obligations through. She was a professional, after all, and professionals didn't renege on their obligations because their boyfriends were mean to them. She was better than that. And really, out of the two of them, this was her town and she hadn't done anything wrong. Ricky should be the one to leave. He had no right to expect she would leave town. She'd grown up here, for God's sake.

  Unable to help it, she wondered how Ricky was taking their breakup. After everything, she couldn't stop worrying about him, worried that he was taking it hard. It was her that had dragged him here, away from everything he knew. Unlike her, he had no friends or family to depend on. It was an icky feeling, compounded with the ickiness that she couldn’t entirely bring herself to stop caring.

  Crossing her arms again, she chided herself for being so soft. She hadn’t known him at all. For all she knew, he could simply have been using her—for what, she didn’t entirely know. He hadn’t exactly accepted much in terms of support. Judging from his actions, though, he might not have cared about her in the least from the moment he’d met her. So what had he wanted from her? She didn't know; she didn't understand.

  Chapter 32

  Coming around for coffee, the text said next to Esme’s smiling face on her phone. Shania groaned. Felix knew about her relationship with Ricky, which meant Esme knew, and according to Felix, Shania had been deviously purposeful on ruining his friend. How had the fates been so cruel to her to get her caught messing with some boy who was attached to Felix’s fucking friend? It was like they were fucking with her.

  There was absolutely no chance he hadn't told Esme, and he would've presented it in the worst possible light, too. This was fodder for him and he was no doubt making hay. And now Esme was on her way, probably to rip strips into her, as well. No doubt she was really tight with this Megan girl, to boot.

  Shania sighed and put her phone down on the desk, running the palms of her hands over her eyes. Esme would be here in a few minutes and it could be uncomfortable. Perhaps best to get away from the office if Esme decided to scream the place down.

  For a moment, Shania wondered if she could text back and say she had a meeting, but she refused to be chicken-shit about this. She would just have to take whatever Esme wanted to dish out. It was all so unfair. He’d just been some guy in a club and all this fucking drama, for what—a lay? How was she supposed to know he had a girlfriend, and where was Felix getting off having a go at her, probably telling every damned person on the coast. He was such an arsehole.

  Making her way downstairs, she waited outside in the heat until Esme showed up and took one of the visitor carparks.

  “Hey,” she said, stepping out of the sleek, silver Mercedes in a short sundress. She looked good, but then she always did in that rich girl way. Shania had learned to pick them on sight now. They had a unique style, all trying to look the same, but ‘different’.

  “Hey,” Shania said back with a tense smile. It didn’t start off with screaming, so perhaps this wouldn't be that bad. “Want to go for coffee? There’s an okay place across the road. Not actually a great deal of choice around here.”

  “Alright,” Esme said, grabbing her purse and locking the car with the key. It lit up like it was flirting.

  They walked across the road, dodging cars and darting across a gap. The café was fairly busy, but there was an outside table for them.

 
“So you’ve been busy, I hear. Causing trouble,” Esme said with a smile and Shania rolled her eyes.

  “This guy I was seeing had a girlfriend I didn't know about—some girl Felix is all tight with. He's been all on my case about it. I didn't know, okay,” she said, defending herself.

  Esme considered her, tucking her blond hair behind her ear. “Her name is Megan,” she stated. “She's a sweet girl, but kind of flighty. And Felix knows her, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say they were tight. She turned up with this guy, Ricky, a few months back. Apparently, she dragged him out of some club in Soho.”

  Shania hadn't known any of this and he’d made no indication he was attached.

  The waiter came outside and took their order, then disappeared.

  Esme exhaled quietly through her nose. “It’s one big mess.”

  “You know I hate drama,” Shania said.

  “How did you not know he had a girlfriend? Everyone knew.”

  “He wasn't exactly advertising it. Besides, he was chasing every tail in the club. Acting as single as I'd ever seen a guy single.”

  “You could've asked,” Esme said, a hint of accusation in her voice. She opened her purse and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

  “You’re smoking now?” Shania said with surprise as Esme lit a cigarette with the gold lighter. It looked antique, or just simply expensive.

  “I kind of fell into it at rehab,” she stated. “They don't mind smoking and I was looking for a crutch, and that was the only thing going. I've been meaning to quit; I just haven't gotten around to it.”

  “Look,” Shania said. “He was just some guy in a club. And why do I need to run around doing checks on him? So he had a girlfriend—that’s his problem, his responsibility, yeah? I'm not responsible for him looking to cheat on his girlfriend. If anyone was responsible for that, it's him. Are we all responsible for keeping an eye on him on his girlfriend’s behalf? Why should I have responsibility if he doesn't take any responsibility for his own relationship? He obviously doesn't so she's better off knowing.”

  “It's just that she's devastated,” Esme said.

  “Which is what you get when you chose to invest in some guy who wasn't investing back. At some point, you have to call yourself stupid, and expecting the world to run around and shore up some relationship with a guy who cared fuck all about her, is even dumber. How can someone be naïve enough not to see he's a total player, as big a player as they get really? At what point does the responsibility fall back on her? I’m not responsible if she picks a dog for a boyfriend.”

  Esme smiled. “It just sucks, that's all.”

  “It is what it is. Better she figures that out now,” Shania said, letting some of the steam in her cool. “A dog’s a dog, no matter that you dress him up like, and that guy did absolutely nothing to hide he was playing the field.”

  “Why do guys always have to cheat?”

  Shania shrugged. She wasn’t one to turn to about advice on boys, or for some rose-coloured fairy-tale about finding a diamond in the rough. You pick a guy up from a club, you’re getting what you get. This conversation was boring her now. This Megan girl was obviously an idiot and they were all supposed to protect her from herself.

  “Felix is livid,” Esme said.

  “Felix is always livid,” Shania said dismissively. “Anything I do, he takes exception to.”

  “He really does. And for the record, Felix doesn’t give a stuff about Megan,” Esme smiled. “He really is using this to have a go at you. I don’t think anyone gets under his skin like you do.”

  “He's a little bitch,” Shania said with a smile. “It doesn't matter,” she said, again utterly sick of having this conversation. “He can bitch all he likes. It's not like we have friends in common.” That wasn't entirely true. Shania was worried that Felix would try to ruin things for her at work. The problem with Felix was that he had no qualms being totally destructive when it came to her—he had no limit. There was a viciousness to him that never abated—like a pitbull that just never let go.

  Esme smiled. She seemed to accept Shania's version of events and Shania was grateful. It was enough to have all out war with Felix; she didn't need it with Esme, as well. But then Esme had always been reasonable, after she calmed down from whatever it was that upset her.

  “You want to go out tonight?” Esme asked.

  “Sure,” she said. “Got nothing else to do. Saw this guy for a while, but he turned out to be an utter dipshit. So single again.”

  “Ready to mingle,” Esme said. “I like that we’re going to terrorise the coast again.”

  Chapter 33

  Esme was going out that night, dressed up in her more cringe-worthy clothes. Felix saw her walk past and had a dreadful feeling he knew exactly who she was hanging with that night. Sluttishness brought out the sluttishness in his sister and he cursed. Again, fucking Shania was making assaults on his domain again.

  Taking a sip of his drink, he heard Esme's car fire and drive away. The house was silent, leaving Felix alone.

  He should probably go out too, catch up with people, but he couldn't be fucked. He was terminally bored. Problem was, he couldn’t think of anything remotely distracting to do. It left him in a bit of a quandary. Sadly, the only sort of interesting thing—well, perhaps not interesting—was work. There was a business case he was working on and he knew this would lead to good things. Right now, it was the only thing that seemed to call to him and would kill some time.

  The sun was going down and the house was growing dark, but he couldn't bother getting up to turn the lights on. Instead, he poured himself another whiskey and sat down again. Before long, he heard a car pull into the driveway again. Maybe Esme had forgotten something, or the night she’d planned had turned disastrous, which was always a possibility.

  But it wasn't Esme; it was Dominic. Felix could tell by the way he walked.

  “Felix,” Dominic said. “I wasn't expecting you at home.”

  “I wasn't expecting to be home,” Felix said from where he lay on the couch with his ankles crossed and his wrists behind his head.

  “Have you had dinner yet?” Dominic asked.

  “No,” Felix admitted.

  “I’ll call María,” Dominic said and walked to the phone on the wall. María lived in the steward's quarters on the other side of the driveway. Her job was to cook anytime anyone in the family needed her to. Considering how much they ate out, she really had a cushy job.

  Dominic turned and went into his study. Felix stayed put for a while, before deciding to seek Dominic out.

  Dominic was looking at something on his computer. He always seemed to be working. Maybe he got really bored doing anything else, an affliction that seemed to be threatening Felix, as well. Was he turning into his father? Was the only thing that interested him work? There was something quite seductive about it, about the things they did and achieved—money, contracts, sales. It all became a little addictive.

  “You need to get rid of that Shania girl,” Felix stated and watched as Dominic smiled without looking up.

  “I'm not getting rid of her, Felix. Something you have to learn is to work with people you don't like, or people you like and hate that you do,” Dominic looked over and said pointedly.

  What was that supposed to mean? Felix dismissed it. “She’s destructive,” Felix said. And Shania had struck again, causing mayhem.

  Dominic looked up with an uninterested expression. “Sometimes a bit of destruction can be a good thing. Besides, I'm not getting rid of anyone just now. Not now that I’ve just promoted Mike Hellby.”

  “Mike’s been promoted?” Felix said with surprise. Mike was the operations manager covering sales and marketing. He held an important role. They were all basically reporting to Mike. “Who's going to take his job?”

  “Haven't decided yet,” Dominic said. “It’s a crucial role and I need to make sure the best person is put in that position.”

  The Felix considered the implications. That w
as an important development. It was also an exciting one. Felix had gotten a bit bored of commodities trading and a new challenge would fire him up again. It would be more responsibility, but also more decision making. The power to enact changes. “That role would develop me further,” Felix said.

  “I know it would,” Dominic said. “But I'm not sure you’re ready.”

  “How am I ever going to get ready if I don't get to take on more responsibility? Where's Mike going, anyway?”

  “He’s taking on management of Asia; tasked with developing China.” It was quite some task; it really was a promotion. He was basically a VP now.

  “I want that role,” Felix said.

  “It actually pleases me to hear that. It pleases me to see that ambition you’re finally developing. But as I said, I'm not sure you’re ready.”

  An uncomfortable thought gripped Felix. “You can’t possibly think of putting Shania in that role,” Felix said, feeling dread creep up his spine, making him nauseous. Surely his father couldn’t consider putting her in that role.

  “That role would go a fair way to developing her as well. She's also ready for a next step,” Dominic said.

  This couldn't be true. Dominic couldn't seriously be considering promoting her. But then Felix knew that Dominic, for some obscure reason, saw potential in Shania—who was basically little more than a jumped up stripper.

  Fuck, Felix swore silently. Would he never be rid of the bitch?