‘Have you?’
‘Er…’
‘Because I’m thinking that if you do, you might have taken refuge in his place instead of letting yourself in here and risking prosecution were you to be discovered.’
‘Is that your way of reminding me that you can blackmail me into doing what you want?’
‘Blackmail is a strong word and it’s not in my nature to go down that road, whatever impression I chose to give you. I’ll pay you.’
‘You’llpayme? Not everyone can be bought!’
‘I beg to differ. You’re holding down two jobs to afford a deposit on a shoebox.’ He tapped into his phone and pushed it over to her and Georgie’s eyes widened as she read the sum he had typed in.
‘Enough for you to visit your family whenever you choose or else put in the piggy bank. I’ll also guarantee this job and make sure your pay is doubled while you remain here. And naturally I’ll clear the ten days with the resort.’
‘I couldn’t possibly.’
‘What are your objections? You won’t risk losing your job at the resort, you’ll have ample time to make sure your housemate is over her illness before you return and you’ll get a nice injection of cash.’
‘It’s not all about the money.’
‘No, it’s not,’ he said quietly. ‘My daughter comes before everything. Continuing this charade for a little bit longer would mean a lot to me. I’m asking a lot but in exchange you can view it as an all-expenses-paid holiday. I’ll make sure that whatever hotel suite I get will be more than big enough for you and my daughter and, because this is just a matter of…necessity, you can spend your time as you wish. There’ll be no need for you to play a part when we’re over there. There’ll be the occasional photo that Flora can send back to Sophia but all Sophia will need is to know that you were present, confirming all her worst suspicions.’
‘I can do my own thing?’
‘The less contact with my daughter, the better. Flora isn’t old enough to register that you’re not around very much.’
‘I don’t feel comfortable with this sort of deceit…’
‘You felt very comfortable letting yourself into my house and squatting indefinitely, so spare me the sudden conscience.’
‘That’s not fair!’ But ten days in Disney World… Alton Towers was the only theme park she had ever been to. Plus, she would be able to do her own thing. And most of all, she would be helping out in a situation where there was a kid at the centre and she worked with children and loved them and understood how awful it would be for his daughter to be bounced back and forth between two parents at war with one another. He’d been patient for years and now he’d been trapped and she might be the way out.
‘I’m going to work for two hours and then I’ll be leaving for New York so that I can get things in order for this unexpected interruption to my schedule.’ He paused. ‘Before I leave, I’ll want your answer. Whatever you decide,’ he added heavily, ‘it’s fair to say that you can stay here until your housemate is over the worst. Obviously no money will change hands. That, I’m afraid, will be a perk of the job.’
‘I’ve already decided,’ Georgie told him. ‘I’ll do it. I’ll come.’
CHAPTER FOUR
TWO DAYS LATER, Georgie was at Vancouver airport where she was due to meet Alessandro before they both flew to Orlando.
Everything had gone like clockwork from the second she’d agreed to go with him. Money had been deposited into her bank account, more than she’d expected, with an accompanying text saying that she was to buy herself suitable casual wear, and she had been informed that a driver would collect her from his house in Whistler and deliver her to Vancouver airport. Just as she was leaving the house her phone had pinged with another message from him.
Meet me in the first-class lounge. I will be there with my daughter. You’re a big girl. You don’t need me next to you to check in.
How rude, she’d absently thought when she’d read his message.
She had done her fair share of Internet sleuthing, not that it could be called sleuthing because you didn’t have to be a PI to find out about him. The man was everywhere on the World Wide Web. He was the real deal in the world of business. Mostly she’d devoured the spread of images of him with various women in tow. Most of them had been gazing at him with proprietorial adoration. He came with bags of money, killer looks and obviously oodles of charm, but none of that charm had been wasted on her in the very brief messages he had sent her.
As a byline, she had skimmed over his meteoric rise to success with a lot of attention paid to his seemingly other-worldly talent at spotting trends in developing technology and his ability to make sharp decisions about dubious companies that always ended up turning to gold at his touch.
He’d told her, in passing, that he hadn’t been born rich, that he’d had to fight to get where he had, but there was very little about his background at all. Only mention of his scholarship to Yale and his sporting prowess, which was as impressive as his intellect.
No wonder he thought he could rule the world, she’d concluded. From rags to riches would do that to a person.
The driver had instructions to deliver her to the check-in desk but as he swung towards the airport, Georgie told him very firmly that he could do away with that task. Maybe Alessandro thought that she needed delivery to door in case she got cold feet at the last minute.
She was braced for what lay ahead. No cold feet and complete discretion.
