Kiss It Better Read online

  She nodded. ‘I remember when Dad borrowed from the bank to start JayBay and how happy he was when he cleared the loan.’

  ‘Exactly, but Dad’s pushing that I lack vision. He wants to make tomorrow’s board meeting a vote on him or me. He’s making it personal.’ He glanced out the window, but not before she saw the hurt in his eyes. ‘I could just walk away, but Dad’s strategy for JayBay will just bring it back to disaster. Family who rely on its profits for income will be left without, and jobs within Brigid Care will be threatened.’

  ‘Plus the stress will probably trigger another heart attack,’ she said.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘So because you love your dad, you’re going to fight him tomorrow.’

  ‘If I win, he might never talk to me again.’

  She observed the tension around his mouth. ‘Will you ever forgive him?’

  He glanced at her, surprised. ‘He’s my dad.’

  A stubborn, stupid and ruthless man, but family. No wonder Theo understood her family’s loyalty to Leighton. She nodded. ‘So tell me, how will Leighton’s media circus affect your board meeting?’

  ‘It gives Dad ammunition. He knows I wouldn’t exploit anyone, but he can play up one of his favourite arguments against me in the CEO role.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘That I’m not committed to the future.’

  She stared, possibly her mouth dropped open a bit. ‘All you think about is the good of Brigid Care.’

  ‘Well, no, that’s not all I think about.’ He grinned. ‘But thanks for the vote of confidence. Dad reckons that since I’m unmarried, no kids, gave up my work as a doctor — ’

  ‘Because he had a heart attack!’

  Theo inclined his head. ‘Still Dad will use Leighton’s story to paint me as an irresponsible playboy.’

  ‘But aren’t the rest of the board family? They’ll know…’ Her voice faded as she thought of divided loyalties. ‘How long was your dad CEO?’

  ‘Eleven years.’

  A substantial length of time. Cassie thought about it. He had to have been doing a good job to last that long, even in a family company. But most of those would have been through Australia’s mining boom and the era of easy credit and low interest rates. You couldn’t say life would have been simple for Brigid Care’s CEO, but economic conditions would have made him seem effective whatever he did.

  And so what if she was simplifying and sympathising with Theo? It was her cousin who was making his life that much harder.

  ‘You probably think I should go back to being a doctor. You talked about wasted education.’

  ‘It’s not like you’re planning to party like an eighteen year old. You’re trying to care for everyone, even your dad.’

  His dark eyes warmed and he leaned forward. ‘Thank you.’

  It was her turn to look away, out the window to the distant lights of the bay. ‘It’s easy for me to say. I’m not family.’

  ‘No, but…Cassie, I’m going to ask you a favour, but I don’t want you to say yes out of a sense of guilt about what Leighton is doing.’

  He had her full attention.

  ‘The story Leighton has presented to the media is attractive.’

  ‘Vultures,’ she muttered.

  ‘Small business threatened by a bigger player. Dedicated nurse exploited by wicked CEO.’

  ‘Don’t make me spit.’

  ‘Nice.’ He grinned. ‘But there is a bigger news story, one that they’d fall over themselves to get.’

  ‘Enough with the artful pause. Just tell me.’

  ‘A romance between you and me. If you hung around Melbourne for a couple of weeks, you could stay at my house here in St Kilda. You’d have your own room. Melbourne is a great place for a holiday or you could try for work. Plenty of hospitals around.’

  ‘I’m not sure I want to go back to nursing — no! that’s a story for another time. Do you really think a romance between you and me…’ A horrid thought struck. ‘I’m not doing photos or magazine interviews.’

  ‘So noted. But it does make sense. Instead of JayBay’s reputation being ruined, it’s associated with romance. Leighton is revealed as a sorry liar. And I’d blunt Dad’s argument that I lack a commitment to the future.’

  ‘Um, Theo, a short relationship with me isn’t liable to achieve that last point.’

  ‘You underestimate yourself, Cassie.’

  ‘I don’t. What would make me so different to any of your previous girlfriends? Don’t tell me! They were all models.’

  ‘Not all models. Two were,’ he corrected himself.

  She rolled her eyes.

  ‘You’re real, Cassie. I’ve always kept my relationships superficial — no commitments. With you, the difference would be obvious to my family.’

  ‘And when we “break up” in a couple of weeks?’

  ‘Leighton’s story will be dead and I’ll be confirmed as CEO of Brigid Care. I’m being selfish here, I know, but will you? If I could convince Dad before we step into the board meeting not to challenge me, it would make things a hell of a lot easier for the family.’

  She stared into dark eyes with tired lines at the corners. It wasn’t the business he couldn’t handle. It was the emotional fallout. ‘I flew to Melbourne to help deal with the consequences of Leighton’s lies. I guess this’ll do it.’

  ‘Is that a yes?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  He smiled brilliantly, a sex god on high beam.

  ‘I must be crazy.’

  He ignored her. ‘We’ll get your bags from the hotel.’

  She figured it was time she asserted herself. ‘After dessert.’

  The mocha chocolate cheesecake was sublime.

  Chapter Five

  Theo’s house was a complete surprise. She’d expected that he’d live in an apartment, somewhere efficient and fashionable. The terrace house was probably a fashionable address, but inside it was comfortable rather than elegant. Instead of playing up the heritage features of the house, the walls were a warm sandstone colour, the ceilings, plasterwork and fireplaces white. The wooden floors had been stripped and polished, with Persian rugs providing warmth in the lounge room and bedrooms.

  Well, her bedroom. She hadn’t seen his.

  She abandoned her luggage — why bother unpacking when she needed all new clothes? — and tracked Theo to the kitchen.

  The kitchen was plain and functional, continuing the woodwork and white theme, and opened to a fantastic little courtyard lit by small solar lamps.

  ‘Tea?’

  ‘Please.’ Such an ordinary exchange, and yet nothing felt ordinary.

  Theo made them mugs of tea and suggested they sit in the lounge room. He sat in a recliner and stretched¸ muscles relaxing. ‘TV?’

  She nodded. She could stare at the screen while her brain dealt with an overload of information.

  The drive back to the hotel to collect her gear had been pretty much a briefing session on all things Theo. She couldn’t say it wasn’t interesting, but it was weird to be briefed rather than learn about him naturally. Likes and dislikes ought to turn up naturally in conversation. Instead she knew he never ate coconut, enjoyed pub bands but generally listened to classic rock, used to play football — Aussie Rules — but gave it up at thirty because he was ‘too old and busy’, ran and hit the gym, could cook but mostly didn’t, ate salads even if that was very unmanly. Apparently he did not eat quiche. His dad’s name was Gordon, his mum, Louise, was involved as volunteer in a range of projects and could run the United Nations if needs be, and his brother Connor invented things in a huge shed in Port Melbourne, although he was currently in Iceland.

  Theo switched on a sitcom, turned the volume low, and looked at her. ‘Neither of us wants to lie to our families, not even for their own good. So how about this?’ Evidently, her mental indigestion was showing on her face and Theo interpreted it as discomfort. ‘We’re friends. We met in Jardin Bay. We clicked. You’re in Melbourne for a couple of weeks sho
pping and thinking about life. We were going to keep it quiet, our private lives private, while we explored what there is between us, but given Leighton’s lies, that privacy is gone.’

  ‘Almost true — if you ignore the big lie of us being interested in a relationship.’

  ‘Considered objectively, we make sense. Both from the medical world, family-oriented, competitive.’

  ‘I am not competitive.’

  ‘Darlin’, you are.’

  ‘You did that before. “Darlin’” sounds fake.’

  ‘A year in America. I picked it up there and I like it.’ He grinned. ‘It goes with the Chevy.’

  He had a point.

  ‘I think a 1950s Chevy driver would have called me sweet cheeks.’

  ‘Uh-huh. But I’d rather keep my balls, thanks.’

  She laughed at the unexpected crudity. Plus he was right. No way would she stand for ‘sweet cheeks’. ‘Well, if I’m darlin’, what are you?’

  ‘Whatever you like.’

  ‘I’ll consider it. You’re wrong, though. I’m not competitive.’

  ‘You are, but you compete against yourself, against your own high standards.’

  An observation so astute that it almost silenced her. ‘I don’t think I like having a smart boyfriend.’

  He grinned. ‘You want the remote?’

  She caught the TV control. ‘Giving up the remote? Seriously? The men of Australia just chucked you out of the club.’

  ‘I don’t care what we watch.’

  She flicked channels, not caring what they watched either.

  ‘Is there anything I should know about you?’ he asked.

  ‘Not really.’ She left the TV on a reality show from America. Men were wrestling some unknown critter in the mud. ‘You know Dad. Mum’s a teacher.’

  ‘You never mention her.’

  ‘I do. You and I haven’t actually known each other long.’

  ‘True. It feels longer.’

  She agreed. ‘Mum divorced Dad when he started JayBay. She never really liked the life in Jardin Bay and when he quit his job at the local council, they fought. A few years later she remarried. Richard is a primary school teacher, like her. I have a stepbrother, David, and a stepsister, Kylie, who is still at school. David is working at the mines. Mum and Richard wanted him to go to uni, but that’s not David.’

  ‘But you’re closer to Mick?’

  ‘I stayed with Dad after the divorce. My decision. All my family and friends were in Jardin Bay — except for Mum’s parents who were always pretty distant anyway. I stayed with Mum most school holidays.’ She dragged an ottoman over and put her feet up. ‘How will tomorrow go down?’

  ‘The board meeting’s at eleven. We break for lunch at one, and any additional business is dealt with after that. I’d like to introduce you before the meeting and then if you could attend the lunch, that would be great.’

  ‘Wouldn’t that look odd, family board members and me?’

  He laughed. ‘You’ve got the wrong idea. Lunch is a Morrigan family free-for-all. All the board members bring partners and kids, and Morrigans who sold their share in the company years ago still turn up. It’s an annual lunch where we book the restaurant on the corner and make way too much noise.’

  ‘Wow. Okay. Is it dressy?’

  ‘Not what you’d wear to the office or out to the opera, but Mum wears her pearls.’

  Cassie translated that as smart-casual. ‘I’ll go shopping.’ He started to protest. ‘No, I meant to shop while I was in Melbourne anyway.’

  Although tomorrow morning wouldn’t be about a fun shopping spree. She’d have to hit the boutiques here in St Kilda early, pray that at least one opened at 9am and not a fashionable ten or eleven o’clock. Whatever fit her, she’d buy.

  ‘I’ll meet you at the office at what? Ten thirty? What excuse do I give for popping in?’

  ‘The truth. I’ll say that I wanted everyone to meet you before lunch.’

  ‘Before the board meeting.’

  ‘That, too.’ He considered her thoughtfully.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I was just thinking it’s a good thing you’re not shy. The Morrigans can be overwhelming.’

  ***

  He wasn’t kidding, as Cassie discovered in the morning, but by then she had other problems. It was one thing to anticipate Leighton’s lies about Theo exploiting her burnout and swooping in to steal JayBay; it was quite another to see photos of her at her worst on a TV talk show, hear people chewing over the story on radio talkback — Fridays must be slow news days — and glimpse it splashed across newspaper pages.

  She felt dirty, outraged and embarrassed. She knew it was shallow, but mentally she added an extra digit to the amount of money she was willing to spend on the outfit for today. All of Theo’s family would have seen the news and the photo of her sagging with defeat.

  Theo switched off the small TV on the kitchen bench. ‘I should have tried harder to kill the story.’ It was an apology.

  ‘He’s my cousin. I should have pulled his tongue out years ago.’ She felt violently vengeful.

  ‘Family knows where to aim, how to hurt the most.’ Still in his shirtsleeves, Theo stacked their breakfast dishes in the dishwasher. ‘We’ll go with ignoring the story in public. Best-case scenario, it’ll die a death over the weekend.’

  ‘Worst-case scenario?’ She watched him shrug into his jacket.

  He tugged at the sleeves, straightening the cuffs. The dark grey suit, almost black, was sharply tailored and emphasised his lean strength. He wore a tie in a subdued striped pattern of lighter grey and blue with a white shirt. No one seeing him now would have guessed that when she’d first met him, he’d been wearing leathers. He was city-smooth and lethal. ‘Worst-case scenario, I press charges against Leighton for fraud. Meantime I have someone dig into his history, find what else is buried. The lawyers will be scrutinising ways of suing everyone involved — Leighton and the media. I play for keeps.’

  She wiped suddenly sweaty hands down the sides of her jeans.

  ‘Scare you?’ He raised an eyebrow.

  It would, except she knew he was doing this more for her and JayBay than to protect himself. And Leighton had strained family loyalty to snapping point. She’d already fielded seven calls from family and friends in Jardin Bay. If Leighton was unpopular with Theo, he was plague-poxed at home.

  ‘I’m not scared.’

  ‘Good. Do you still want to do this?’

  He’d lost her.

  ‘Facing my family. Pretending we have a relationship.’

  Evidently the media presentation of her was as bad as she’d thought. She straightened in her chair. ‘Absolutely.’

  ‘Keys.’ He threw her a two key combo.

  She appreciated the lack of fuss.

  ‘Security screen and deadlock. I tend to just lock the security screen, but the deadlock sometimes locks itself.’

  ‘Thanks.’ She slipped them in a jeans pocket. Her credit card was burning a hole in her back pocket. Shame the shops weren’t open yet. Sitting around waiting wasn’t her favourite activity.

  ‘Do you want to come to the office with me? I’ll introduce you, make sure you have access and you can get the lie of the land.’

  ‘That would be great.’ Way better than sitting alone listening to the insanity of talkback radio.

  It was not yet eight o’clock, but already the streets were busy. As much as Cassie liked the freedom of Jardin Bay, the city energised her. Plus she was wonderfully anonymous. No one would recognise her from the photo Leighton had shared. Determinedly, she shifted focus. ‘You’re lucky to be able to walk to work.’

  ‘I know.’ Theo swung his briefcase, gesturing that she walk in front of him across the intersection. Cars revved, impatient for the lights to change. ‘I actually bought the house when I joined a sports clinic here. I thought about an apartment with a view of the bay, but the house had more character. The garage was the decider.’

  Along t
he street, shiny, new, glass-fronted multi-storey monsters loomed over and between smaller, older buildings, some of them decidedly rundown with depressed shops huddled inside.

  ‘Here we are.’

  Cassie stopped and studied the building. Red brick and solid, with a sort of elegance despite the fact it had started life as a warehouse, but had been renovated and extended backwards on its plot. The carefully re-painted old lettering said, ‘Brigid Care, 1907’. It was three storeys high.

  ‘We used to manufacture our products here, but in the 1950s Great-Granddad moved production out to the industrial fringe of the new suburbia. That’s where the workers were building their homes in the post-war construction boom.’ Theo pushed the door open. Inside the light was bright but not too bright, respecting the feel of the Edwardian era and the restrained office fit-out. ‘Fortunately, the family kept the warehouse for sentimental reasons, renting it out till Dad saw St Kilda’s resurgence and its closeness to the business district, and transferred our headquarters here where we could emphasise our history.’

  ‘Smart.’

  So was the wood panelling, black and white chequered floor tiles, hints of brass and the rich red and green of an old-fashioned men’s club’s library — or at least, what she’d seen of them in movies.

  Behind the wooden desk, a receptionist stowed her handbag in a drawer and straightened up to smile a greeting at Theo. Probably the same receptionist who’d helped stonewall Cassie yesterday. The woman frankly stared when Theo made introductions and said Cassie had the freedom of the building.

  ‘I think Jodie saw the news,’ Cassie whispered as she and Theo ascended an imposing set of stairs.

  ‘Would be hard to miss.’

  Cassie glanced over the bannister.

  Jodie was on the phone. She glanced up and their eyes met. The woman flinched and glanced away. She was definitely phoning someone about Cassie’s presence. Were her loyalties to Theo or his dad?