‘An extremely clever child,’ I add.
Emir’s father rises from his seat, throwing his arms open wide before he bursts into happy tears and sweeps him into a hug. I imagine he is overcome with relief that he has a son intelligent enough to leave his empire to. I watch as they wander outside to get ice cream and are introduced to the newest members of their family.
‘Well, that seemed easy,’ says Erika. ‘I think the best course of action is to inform the authorities and get proof that Garry is hiding on the island. And once they have him in custody, Maddie and the rest of the Bodrum South team will be off the hook. But that’s just my opinion. You’re the one in charge, Jackson.’
He nods. ‘I think you’re right. I’ll postpone the interviews, see what the authorities come up with and then make the final report. I still need to go right through the accounts to see how long he’s been embezzling for. Could have been doing it for years.’
Erika’s cheeks flush. ‘And right under my nose. I’m so embarrassed. Please make sure the management at LoveIt Enterprises know I’m genuinely in the dark about it all.’
‘Of course. And don’t beat yourself up. I’ve seen a lot worse cases. Just not ones so… complex as this.’ Jackson avoids making eye contact. He is sitting opposite. We have a small coffee table between us in this crowded hotel foyer.
‘Wait,’ I say. ‘What do you mean? Lots of cases? LoveIt Enterprises? Don’t you work for LoveIt Holidays?’
He pauses. ‘I work for the fraud team at our parent company in Sydney,’ he says. ‘I lead inspections in holiday hotspots around the globe where we think staff are involved in stealing money, running fraudulent activities, taking liberties with local businesses, overcharging, illicit bar crawls. All of it. The industry is worth billions.’ He drops his gaze to his feet. ‘You’d be surprised at the constant stream of malpractice.’
‘So, you’re not here to take over at head office?’ I’m trying very hard to keep the wobble from my voice.
Erika leans towards me in a conspiratorial way. ‘It was a front. So as not to arouse suspicion. It’s the reason we needed you on the boat in the first place. To ruffle Garry’s feathers. Jackson here will be off shortly, and I’ll be taking over as the proper boss.’ Erika beams. ‘So, you’d better up your game, princess, because I’ll be keeping my eye on you like a hawk. I will be needing a good accountant to keep the books straight after this palaver.’
Jackson is leaving? He deliberately stationed me on board? Despite the deceit, the lies, my heart plummets. We will not be spending any more time together. There’ll be no nose-to-nose working at the same desk? No late nights and after-work drinks where one thing leads to another? I. Am. Crushed. It takes me a few moments to compose myself. ‘So, erm, how shortly is shortly? When do you leave?’
I train my gaze on him, willing him to at least have the courtesy to tell me to my face that he’s sorry to be leaving and that he hasn’t been honest with me from the start. I’m flabbergasted. I’d built some sort of fairytale ending up in my head (and yes, Dillon, you were right, maybe I do overthink things and maybe my romantic idealsarea little overambitious).
Jackson shifts in his seat, looking uncomfortable.
‘I tell you what,’ says Erika, scraping back her chair. ‘Why don’t I alert the Turkish police to search the island off Selimiye Bay before I arrange for what’s left of the Bodrum South team to vacate the boat and pick up their P45s from the office? We’ll abandon this trip completely. Maddie, you can send the Hello Chicken family on whatever fucking cruise they want to go on as compensation. By the looks of things’ – she points outside – ‘there’s even more of them now. And I’ll see you both back on the gulet to sign everything off with the captain. Agreed?’
We nod dutifully as her gaze pings from me to Jackson. Once Erika has disappeared from the hotel, Jackson finally turns to face me.
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you.’ He looks genuinely apologetic and contrite. ‘I didn’t mean to lie. It’s one of the drawbacks to the job.’
I get it. It was a trust-no-one situation. But still… apart from maths, rules are there to be broken, surely?
‘So, what happens now? You solve the case, check the finances are in order and you simply leave? Just like that?’
‘Pretty much.’
So much for my happy ending.
I can feel my stomach drop. Even though I’ve escaped jail by the skin of my teeth (there had been an 87 per cent probability of imprisonment, based on my calculations), I feel so sorry for myself right now. I stare into Jackson’s dark eyes while mine pool with tears.
He stares back.
Why is he just sitting there? Where is his heartfelt speech? Perhaps even a promise to stay on in Turkey for a while so that we can explore this… this thing between us?
‘I wanted to tell you but…’ He shrugs. ‘Obviously, I couldn’t.’
A shrug? From across the coffee table?
‘I hope you understand,’ he continues, his confidence visibly draining with each word.
Would it kill him to put a little more thought into this reveal? See it from my point of view? He lied to me. It’s not like I’m expecting a big public gesture to win back my trust. Although, it would help…
‘You must be a bit shocked. Understandably. I had to pretend to be the boss to keep the staff from suspecting my real purpose…’ He rests his foot casually on his knee.
By the looks of things, I’m not even going to get so much as a dramatic last-minute chase across the crowded hotel lobby.
‘You still seem upset,’ Jackson says, leaning towards me, placing his elbows on his knees. ‘I’m sure they’ll find Garry. I’m sure of it. I’m not letting them cart you off to jail.’
