They were replete and satisfied when lunch was finished. When they walked back to the drop-off point, Simon was already there, standing outside the car with Rolf in his arms.
Geri went to them and pretended to kiss Rolf’s head. “I missed you,” she said, surreptitiously poking Simon’s chest.
“That dog is so spoiled,” Justin said with a laugh.
“He’s a great dog,” Ingrid said, also petting Rolf enthusiastically.
“What did you have for lunch, Simon?” Geri asked, glad that he looked relaxed.
Simon gestured to the end of the street. “I had a burger over there at Hyde Park. Rolf and I enjoyed people watching. By the way, Mrs. Lawrence, here’s your change.” He pulled money from his pocket and tried to hand it to Ingrid.
“Oh, no,” Ingrid said, waving his hand away. “That was your meal allowance. You could have treated yourself to something better than a burger.”
“Thank you, but that’s okay. Please take it back.”
Ingrid rolled her eyes. “Keep it, Simon. Elmer never returned any of his meal allowance to me.”
“Yes, keep it, Simon,” Justin said. “You might need it again later.”
Geri sensed Simon stiffening at Justin’s words. She wished she could hug him, but of course, she couldn’t. She did give his arm a bit of a squeeze when the others weren’t looking.
When she climbed into the car, she felt Justin’s hand on her back. And when Simon got in the driver’s seat, the door banged harder than usual.
Chapter 10
“I’m going straight to bed,” Ingrid announced as they finished checking out their rented four-bedroom luxury cottage in Kiama.
Geri felt tired too, but pleasantly so. After they’d left Sydney, Simon had taken them to various tourist spots along the way, where Ingrid had been a real trouper, insisting she was fine walking the rather long distances to certain lookouts where the car couldn’t get to.
They’d had a nice dinner of fish and chips near the Kiama Blowhole before finally arriving to this inviting house. Geri couldn’t wait for tomorrow, when they’d be able to better appreciate the fifty acres of farmland and ocean views that were the highlight of this particular accommodation.
“Do you want something to drink first, Mrs. Lawrence?” Geri asked.
“No, thank you. I need to get my beauty sleep now. But can you see if that aromatherapy massage place we passed by today does house visits? I wouldn’t mind having a massage tomorrow.”
“Sure. I’ll see if I can book online and follow up with them first thing in the morning.”
“Sore, are you, Grandma?” Justin asked.
“Only a little bit since I’m not as fit as all of you. But I intend to keep up every day, so don’t you dare start treating me like an old woman. I really enjoyed the exercise. Anyway, I’ll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight.”
They all said goodnight to Ingrid as she headed for the master bedroom with Rolf.
“I’m quite peckish,” Justin said. “I wasn’t satisfied with my dinner.”
“We have some snacks in one of the bags,” Geri said. “Let me take them out.”
“Actually, how about we head out again somewhere for more dessert? It’s only eight, and there should still be places open.”
Geri refrained from glancing at Simon, who was taking his suitcase to the bedroom off the kitchen. “Oh, I’m fine, thank you. And I’m also quite tired. I think I’m gonna rest now too.”
“Okay,” Julian said reluctantly. “I’m still wide awake, though. I think I’ll watch a little TV to wind down.”
“Good thing your bedroom has a TV, huh?”
Justin chuckled. “Yeah. Lucky me.”
Lucky, indeed. Geri had made sure Justin took the room with the TV, which was next to Ingrid’s master bedroom and opposite to hers. That way, Justin wouldn’t have to hang around the living room, and she could sneak into Simon’s bedroom on the other side of the house during the night.
She grabbed her toiletries and used the bathroom she was sharing with Simon, then put on a long, unflattering nightgown. With Justin in the same house, she better not wear the sexier nighties she’d been wearing lately.
When she’d finished, she found Justin at the kitchen table in front of his laptop. Argh. What time was the man going to bed? She said goodnight and went to her room, disappointed that Simon was nowhere to be found. Obviously, he’d gone to his bedroom—without saying goodnight to her.
She let out a sigh. Even though Simon had been his usual friendly and upbeat self when showing them the sights, she’d caught him giving Justin dagger looks when Ingrid hadn’t been looking. Ah, her darling had been pissed off all day because of Justin, and yet he still managed to give everyone a great time. He was truly a wonderful guy.
She opened her laptop to make a booking for Ingrid’s massage and do more research on their next destination. An hour later, she heard soft noises coming from the TV in Justin’s bedroom.
Thank God for that. She got out of bed and tiptoed out of her room, careful not to make any sound. When she got to Simon’s door, she twisted the knob. It wasn’t locked.
“About time,” Simon said, lying on the single bed, wearing a white t-shirt and boxer shorts.
She closed his door softly and locked it before trotting to him. “Did you miss me?” she asked impishly as she straddled him.
“What kind of question is that?” Simon asked, running his hands on her bare legs underneath her thick nightwear.
“Well, you barely looked at me today,” she said teasingly. “You seem to only have eyes for Justin.”
Simon’s expression hardened. “He better keep his hands off you.”
She relented, leaning down to press her lips to his. “Simon, I’m not interested in him. And could you relax a bit when you’re around him, please? I know you already try to hide your annoyance from Mrs. Lawrence, but she’s bound to notice something if you don’t stop shooting unfriendly glances at her grandson.”
“The guy’s an idiot.”
“I know,” she said soothingly, tugging at the hem of his shirt to take it off him. “But Mrs. Lawrence adores him. She won’t have a good time if she senses bad vibes between you and Justin.”
Simon exhaled loudly, sitting up to help her take off his top.
“Let me make you feel better,” she said sultrily, divesting herself of her nightgown.
Simon let out a low moan as he cupped her face. “I won’t say no to that,” he murmured against her lips.
“Geri, I want to talk to you about my grandmother.”
“Oh? What about?” Geri asked nonchalantly as she continued to browse a magazine while sipping tea. After another wonderful day of visiting the various shops and sights around the area, she, Simon and Justin were now enjoying after-dinner drinks next to their cottage’s fireplace while Ingrid had a massage in her room.
Justin glanced at Simon. “It’s private, and I don’t want to talk about it here.”
“I’m happy to go to my room,” Simon said dryly.
“Sure,” Justin said dismissively, facing Geri fully. “You said earlier you wanted to pass by a grocery store tomorrow to get a few things. Why don’t you and I go and get them now and talk along the way?”
“I can get the groceries,” Simon said. “You can talk here.”
“I want me and Geri to get the groceries,” Justin said in a low voice, glaring at Simon.
Geri sighed. She didn’t want Simon arguing with the boss’s grandson. Fortunately, Justin was flying back to Hobart tomorrow and wouldn’t be back to re-join them until next weekend. “Okay,” she said to Justin before things between the two men escalated further.
“Great! Car key, please, Simon.” Justin held out his hand, palm up.
Simon’s lips were a thin line as he reached into his pocket and placed the key in Justin’s hand.
“See you, Simon,” Geri said with a placating smile as she grabbed her handbag from the side table. “We’ll be back soon.�
��
Justin placed a hand on her back as he steered her to the door.
Geri repressed a sigh, hoping Simon wouldn’t be too mad.
She and Justin drove to the main street of Kiama, and Justin insisted on going to a quiet cafe first where they could talk.
“Geri,” Justin said after they ordered drinks, “I need your help.”
“About what?”
“This will come as a shock to you, so I’m just gonna come out with it. I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend for a few weeks.”
“What?” she said, gaping at Justin with disbelief.
“I don’t know who else to ask, Geri. And you’re perfect for the role.”
“I don’t understand. Why do I have to pretend to be your girlfriend?”
Justin leaned across the table, looking around surreptitiously. “Please don’t tell anybody what I’m about to tell you, okay?”
“Well, if you’re so concerned, maybe you shouldn’t tell me about this,” she said, not wanting to have anything whatsoever to do with Justin’s issues.
“I need to, and I trust you,” Justin said insistently. “You see, I’m going out with someone, and she’s going through a divorce.”
Geri’s mouth hung open. She was so not expecting that.
“Maya was my childhood sweetheart here in Australia. We broke up after a big fight and she went on a holiday to the US. She met a wealthy guy there, who she eventually married. We bumped into each other over a year ago and realised we still had feelings for each other. Anyway, she and Eric are now going through a divorce, which doesn’t have anything to do with me because her husband doesn’t know about me. According to their prenup, Eric and Maya are to have shared custody of their three-year-old daughter and, besides child support, Maya gets fifty million dollars.”
Geri’s eyes bugged out. Fifty million dollars?
“But.” Justin exhaled harshly. “Her husband will push for sole custody, and…”
“She won’t get the money if her husband discovers she’s been cheating on him,” Geri finished for him.
Justin nodded, looking down at the table. “We love each other, Geri, and their marriage had already broken down a couple of years ago. As for the fifty million, she deserves it. She’s been married to the man for six years and, before they got married, he was only worth five hundred million dollars.”
Geri almost snorted. Only five hundred million dollars?
“But Maya helped her husband a lot in the social side of things. She’s very popular amongst their set and is excellent with PR matters. Her husband is now worth close to a billion dollars, thanks, in part, to her. So you see, the fifty million is peanuts to him. But he would hold that back if he and his legal team found out about me.”
“Why don’t you just lie low for a while?”
“We’ve always lain low. We haven’t told anyone about us, bar a handful of trusted friends. But Eric has been taunting Maya that she’ll never get what she wants, which makes her think that he might be on to us. That’s why I’m going to pretend I’m in love with another girl until their divorce is finalised, just to be on the safe side.”
Geri shook her head. “I can’t do this, Justin. You have to find someone else.”
“It’s not that easy, Geri. We can’t trust anyone we know in the States. Her husband is rich and powerful and could easily influence others. The only person I can trust right now is you. You love my grandmother. I know you do. So I’m asking you to do this for me for her.”
“That’s so unfair, Justin,” she snapped. “How could you involve your grandmother in this?”
“Please, Geri. I’ll make it worth your while. Maya and I are happy to pay you one million dollars to do this.”
“What?” Geri asked in shock.
“That’s right. One million dollars. I’ll pay you one hundred thousand as soon as you say yes, and the rest after Maya’s divorce.”
Geri could only gape at Justin. Was he for real? One million dollars?
“You’ll do it, right?” Justin said pleadingly.
Gosh, it was a heck of a lot of money. She could even give Damon the quarter of a million so he’d finally leave them alone. But… “I can’t do it, Justin.”
“Why not?”
Simon’s handsome face filled Geri’s mind. “I just can’t.”
“It’s Simon, isn’t it?”
She didn’t answer.
“You couldn’t be serious with him yet. You’ve known him less than a month.”
“Still… I can’t do it.”
Justin sighed, looking out the window in thought. “How about this?” he said after a long moment. “Just tell Simon things are going too fast, that you’re not ready for a relationship with him right now. When Maya’s divorce is finalised, you can get back together with him and you’ll be one million dollars richer. The two of you will be set.”
Geri shook her head. It was so wrong. What was more, Simon couldn’t stand Justin. He’d be heartbroken and angry if she went ahead with this. It would look like she’d chosen money over him.
Besides, her life was already full of lies. It was already too complicated. She didn’t need to make it even worse, especially when it might cause her to lose the most wonderful man she’d ever met.
“No, Justin. I’m sorry. I really can’t do this.”
Justin raked his hair. “Look. I know this is too much to take in right now. All I ask is for you to think about it. Then next weekend, when I join you guys again, you can tell me your answer.”
She didn’t respond. No matter how much Justin pleaded, she’d made up her mind. Justin could find someone else who’d help him and his girlfriend with their deception.
“Geri, please don’t tell anyone about this. If this got out, Maya would lose out on her divorce settlement.”
“Sure.” Since she wouldn’t be part of this stupid scheme, she had no business telling anyone about it anyway.
Justin grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. “Please, Geri. Give me your word that you won’t tell anyone, including Simon and my grandmother.”
She sighed. “I promise.”
Geri jumped from the soft whack on her bottom, making her drop the bread knife she was holding. She rolled her eyes. It had become Simon’s habit to give her a light spanking whenever Ingrid wasn’t around to see. Well, she enjoyed it, but right now she had no idea where Ingrid was in this massive Sunshine Cove house they were renting. Last time Geri had looked, Ingrid was on the balcony watching the waves roll onto the beach. But Ingrid wasn’t there anymore. She could be just around the corner.
“She’s in her bedroom changing to her walking gear,” Simon said with a chuckle. “Are you sure you don’t want to join us at the Botanic Gardens? We can leave Rolf here in his playpen.”
“No. I’ll stay behind. I need to give Rolf a bath anyway.”
Simon wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’ll miss you,” he said against her ear.
“I know,” she said despondently. On Monday, a mere five days away, she and Ingrid would be flying to Melbourne without Simon. Lucas Renner-Bilton and Jarryd Westbourne had rejected Simon’s suggestion of different chauffeurs, insisting it was Simon they wanted. What made things worse was that Justin would be joining them on the weekend.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Simon asked, turning her around so she faced him.
“Your contract finishes very soon.”
“Yes, but didn’t we say we’d continue seeing each other? I’m certain we can work it out. You said yourself you were willing to move to Sydney after your Victorian trip.”
“Shh,” she warned, glancing at the threshold. She hadn’t told Ingrid her plans yet.
“I don’t think you should worry too much about Mrs. Lawrence,” Simon said. “Didn’t you say her previous PA would be happy to get her job back?”
“That’s what she told me when I emailed her the other day, as long as Mrs. Lawrence doesn’t expect her to travel. She can’t leave her four kids for
any length of time.”
“Even if Mrs. Lawrence planned another long trip after this, they’d have time to find a travel companion for her. In fact, if you’re free, you can be that travel companion.”
Geri gasped. “Good idea! And you know what? You could also be her chauffeur-bodyguard.”
Simon smiled. “See? Everything will be all right. Anyway, are you sure you don’t want to join us for a walk? You can give Rolf a bath after.”
“No, I better do it while you keep Mrs. Lawrence busy. It’s my job.”
“Ah, but you love it. Sometimes I get jealous of little Rolfie when he gets so much affection from you.”
She snickered, tapping his chest lightly. Oh, how she loved that muscular chest.
In truth, she’d love to join Simon and Ingrid for a leisurely stroll. But she’d been getting a nagging feeling that she should call Tricia and check up on her and Maddie. Being alone in the house would be the perfect time for that.
Geri steeled herself as she dialled Tricia’s number.
“Geri! Thank God.”
“Trish? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Damon.”
The hairs on Geri’s neck and arms stood up. “What happened?”
“He turned up on Monday saying his business partner is losing patience with him,” Tricia said rather tearfully. “Apparently, he will be cut off from the planned projects and he’ll lose all opportunities to improve his financial situation. He said this is his only chance to make something of himself, that no one else will give him the opportunity. But if he doesn’t come up with the money, the other guy will have no choice but to keep him out of the business.”
Geri dropped her head on her hand. Seriously? Tricia was buying that crap?
“He wants to talk to you,” Tricia said. “He’s desperate, Geri. He wants to become a better man. So, please. I can give you his number.”
Geri frowned. What if Damon had turned the corner? She didn’t think it was likely, but what would it hurt to talk to the man? And if he hadn’t changed, then he couldn’t hurt her over the phone, anyway.
The Unmasked CEO (Captured by Love Book 7) Page 9
