Kiss It Better

by Jenny Schwartz

‘Cassie?’ Theo’s voice.

  ‘It’s Leighton,’ she said abruptly. ‘Trish, the journalist here, heard about the trouble he’s stirring up. He’s taken a story to the media that I had a breakdown, you took advantage of my apathy to steal my inheritance, JayBay, and that since you’re so unethical, all of its customers should boycott the brand in protest.’

  ‘O-kay.’

  ‘I think the story will break tomorrow,’ she said. ‘I thought you should have a warning.’

  ‘Board meeting tomorrow,’ Theo muttered. Then louder. ‘How are you, Cassie?’

  Her tense shoulders relaxed. ‘Good. Really good. Don’t worry about the story on my account. Although Leighton had better not show up at family dinners for the next millennium.’

  ‘I’m sure Gabby would hide the steak knives.’

  ‘Yeah. Anyway, I promised your secretary I’d only take two minutes. I just wanted to tell you myself.’

  ‘I appreciate it. If I can stop the story, I will.’

  She wanted to ask how, but that was more than two minutes conversation and he did sound busy. There’d been an odd note in his voice when he mentioned a board meeting tomorrow. ‘I wasn’t phoning you for a miracle.’

  ‘Ah, but I’m a sex god.’

  And suddenly he was the guy she’d met here in Jardin Bay: funny and cool, and as she’d discovered, kind.

  She laughed. ‘Get back to work, sex god, before your secretary hoodoos me for breaking my word.’

  ‘You know, I don’t think real sex gods get ordered around by bossy women.’

  ‘Yes, they do. Although the women are usually wearing boots and carrying a whip — and this is a crazy conversation.’

  ‘At least you’re laughing. I’m sorry, but I do have to go. I’ll call you, Cassie. Take care. And don’t worry about Leighton.’

  She listened to the empty dial tone a moment before replacing the phone. ‘Nope, I’m not going to worry about Leighton. I hope killer bees invade his undies. But I don’t like that it’s my cousin causing chaos.’

  Nor did she like the tone in which Theo had mentioned his board meeting. That comment hadn’t been for her. He’d spoken impulsively, from whatever had already been troubling him.

  Could Leighton have been devious enough to time his stupid story to maximise trouble for Theo at his board meeting?

  Absolutely.

  Would a board meeting for a family company be trouble for Theo?

  ‘You think?’ Didn’t she have a prime example of the trouble family could cause all around her?

  Screw it. Her month of enforced rest was up and she was as bored as Dr G had required; hence the making-muffins-for-breakfast thing. She was free to do whatever the hell she liked.

  Cassie picked up the phone. ‘George, I need a favour.’

  George, storeman and poet, was also a pilot. While he set about finding someone to fly her to Perth to catch a commercial flight to Melbourne, Cassie packed her bag.

  Leighton was such a snake. He’d tried and failed to make trouble in Jardin Bay, but the people at home had known him too well to believe his lies, so now he was trying a bigger stage.

  Well, he wouldn’t succeed there either. If he was bringing trouble to Theo’s doorstep, then Cassie would be there to kick it back.

  ***

  Through his office window, Theo had a prime view of daylight dying and the city lights switching on. Cars’ headlights streamed out at the tail-end of the peak hour rush. He’d sent his secretary home an hour ago. Everything was ready for tomorrow’s board meeting.

  He jingled the keys in his trousers pocket. No matter how he prepared, the meeting would be ugly. Family fights were the worst because family knew where to stab their daggers and how to give them that extra nasty twist.

  Cassie’s cousin’s performance was the icing on the cake. The bastard had gone to ground. What did the man think? That if he didn’t hear what the consequences of his lies would be those consequences wouldn’t happen?

  Theo would make damn sure they did. Mick might have decided not to prosecute Leighton’s fraud, but Theo hadn’t made that promise. It might have been implied in the deal, but Leighton’s actions changed everything. Mick would understand the need to destroy the bastard.

  Would Cassie?

  She’d sounded angry and embarrassed. Ashamed.

  His pleasure at hearing her voice had surprised him. He’d been so focussed on business he hadn’t realised how much he’d enjoyed meeting her. How honest she’d been in her emotions, even when she’d hated him. Honesty was like solid ground while walking through a swamp.

  Tomorrow, whom could he trust? Who might suddenly change their minds, or be convinced by the strangest reasoning?

  He could have done without Leighton’s contribution. He’d asked a lawyer friend to investigate the story, which media had it and if they could be convinced to kill it unaired. It freaking annoyed him that he’d had to go out of the company for help when he had lawyers in-house, but he couldn’t trust their loyalty. The head of the legal department was a crony of his dad’s. They played golf together.

  Unfortunately, Josh, Theo’s friend, had come back with the news that the media were going with the story. ‘They asked for a comment from you, mate.’ Josh was sympathetic, but time was against them. The media didn’t care that Leighton might be charged with fraud in the future. At the moment there was nothing on record. And Leighton wasn’t around to be threatened.

  Theo rubbed the back of his neck. He did what he had to do, but he hated thinking of himself as someone who resorted to threats.

  ‘Why can’t people be reasonable?’

  His phone rang. He almost left it for the answering service his secretary would have switched on, but it could be Josh with better news.

  Or it could be his dad deciding to be reasonable.

  Ha. Theo laughed under his breath, unamused. Talk about starry-eyed optimism. ‘Hello?’

  ‘Theo. It’s Cassie.’

  Weird, the simultaneous relaxation at the sound of her voice, and the ramped up tension for what he had to tell her. He hadn’t pulled off a miracle after all. Tomorrow, Leighton would launch them into a media circus. ‘I’m sorry I don’t have good news. The story is going ahead tomorrow.’

  ‘I thought it would.’ She brushed aside his failure. ‘The thing is…I don’t know if it’ll help…I’m in Melbourne. I flew in. I figure Leighton is my cousin, so anything I can do to help I will. If there’s anything I can do.’ Her voice faded into doubt.

  Probably at his continued silence. An idea had just occurred to him and he was thinking through the ramifications. ‘Where are you?’

  She named a moderately-priced hotel in the city centre.

  ‘I’ll drive in and get you. We can have dinner. I’ll call you when I get there. Give me an hour. Cassie?’

  ‘I’m still here. Is the situation really that bad?’

  ‘No.’ Maybe yes. But that was okay. The more he thought about his idea, the more he saw how they could contain Leighton’s damage. Negate the story, in fact. Enthusiasm surging, he stood and circled the desk. ‘I’ll see you soon.’

  Re-energised, and by more than his new plan, Theo shrugged on his jacket and headed out. He’d bring Cassie back here to St Kilda for dinner.

  Jardin Bay might be small with a strong community, but his home had its own unique spirit, one that he thought Cassie would enjoy.

  Growing up in Toorak, he’d always liked escaping its leafy streets for the craziness of St Kilda. Even the rundown buildings had their charm. Gentrification and in-building had changed it, but couldn’t destroy the underlying vitality, the spirit of the place. He was glad that although the new factory had gone up in one of Melbourne’s light industrial areas, his dad had kept Brigid Care’s headquarters in the newly fashionable St Kilda. It made his commute to work a cinch.

  He walked quickly down the street, around a corner and down the length of his street, turning in at the green-painted gate to his terrace house. A
shower, shave…This is not a date, Morrigan.

  But something in him insisted it was. Anticipation pushed aside his dread of tomorrow. Cassie would be good company and the idea that was ticking over in his brain and swiftly building into quite a plan might save them both. If he could convince her to play along.

  Theo grinned. What was life without a sexy challenge?

  ***

  Cassie showered off the staleness of air travel, moisturised her dry skin and studied her clothing choices. She sighed and reached for jeans, a music festival tee and faded blue trench coat over the lot. High-heeled boots helped, but she still wasn’t dressed for fine dining.

  ‘Casual it is.’ She made a mental note to spend some of her time in Melbourne shopping.

  Money wasn’t an issue, and not just because of the millions her dad had made selling JayBay. The whole Freedom family had been raised to value money only if it was moving. Money enabled you to buy things that supported other people’s creative efforts. Money sitting stagnant in a bank was useless, so she could go spend her savings on some new clothes and maybe find new designers in Australia’s fashion capital.

  At least her jeans were no longer hanging off her hipbones and her skin had the healthy clarity expected of the daughter of JayBay’s founder. It meant she didn’t bother with make-up, just added a trace of colour to her mouth with lip balm and she was ready to roll.

  At which point, the four beige walls of the small hotel room closed in on her. She reached for the door handle, but the thought of waiting for Theo in the cramped foyer was no more appealing.

  She’d watch television. She switched it on and hastily turned down the blaring volume. A minute later, she switched it off and threw the TV remote on the bed.

  Why did Theo want to see her? She didn’t think he’d rearrange whatever plans he had for the evening before a board meeting just to be kind to her, alone in town. It wasn’t as if they were friends or that he’d asked her to fly in.

  So if he was taking her to dinner tonight, he must suspect Leighton had stirred up real trouble. Trouble that they had to deal with.

  The problem was — as it had been throughout her trip to Melbourne — that she couldn’t imagine how she could help. If this dinner was just Theo checking up on her health and to see if she could withstand whatever Leighton had started, then her being here had only added to his burden.

  She had never been so glad for her phone to ring and stop her thinking. Theo. ‘I’ll be down in a minute.’

  Her pulse accelerated. She checked that the door had locked behind her, put the passkey in her bag and called the elevator, deep breathing all the time. Calm, she was calm. It wasn’t as if Theo would be wearing motorbike leathers. No sex god meets desperate girl. This time he’d be a boring businessman in a suit and she’d be… ‘I’ll be me.’

  That was a fantastic and sane expectation right up until the lift doors opened, she stepped out and saw Theo.

  Jeans and a white shirt under that same leather jacket. His face honed with some long-held tension that only made him edgier, more exciting, because he clearly had it under control. He stood to the side of the couch the hotel offered as inadequate seating in the busy foyer and watched the lifts. When she walked out, he smiled, not bright and glamorous, but small and real. A private smile that said he was glad to see her.

  Her reasons for being there and her tension evaporated. Where there should have been strangeness — he’d seen her at her worst, heard her desperation, been treated to the family disaster and was about to have his reputation shredded in the media by her cousin — instead he smiled.

  She smiled back.

  ‘No need to ask if you’re feeling better.’ He kissed her cheek, casual but friendly, not a business greeting.

  ‘You look tired.’ Even tired, he radiated energy and purpose. She enjoyed the feeling of being close to him.

  ‘Long day and I could do with some dinner.’

  ‘So let’s eat.’

  He stared at her a moment, then his mouth curved. ‘Yeah.’ He hooked an arm around her shoulders and walked her out.

  Using super-powers possibly known only to Melbournites or sex gods, he’d nabbed a parking spot near the front of the hotel.

  Cassie fell in lust with his car.

  He grinned as she stroked the shiny chrome and admired the outrageousness of the fins. ‘Usually lives in the garage and I get around in an economical electric hybrid, but you liked the hired bike, so I figured you’d appreciate a 1950s Chevy.’

  ‘Oh, I do.’

  The gleaming sky-blue car was, at a conservative estimate, the size of a boat. People walking down the street turned to gawk again at it.

  ‘Well, hop in.’

  Leather bench-seats front and back, no luxuries like power windows or steering, but absolutely beautiful design. Cassie leaned back and sighed with happiness. She watched with appreciation as Theo expertly manoeuvred the car out of the parking bay and into the stream of traffic. ‘Did you restore her?’

  ‘No. One of my uncles — my mum’s older brother — is a mechanic. Since he retired, his hobby of restoring old cars has become an obsession.’ Theo patted the steering wheel. ‘She’s a gift.’

  ‘Nice gift.’

  ‘Uncle Phil drops in about once a month to check I’m treating her right.’

  Cassie laughed.

  ‘I thought we’d eat in St Kilda. The beach is totally different to Jardin Bay, but it has its own appeal.’

  ‘Suits me.’

  The drive was awesome and when Theo parked at the beach, the flashy Chevy fitted right into St Kilda’s exuberant scene. Even midweek, people were out and doing. Music pumped from the cafés and passing cars and the smell of good food had Cassie approving the restaurant Theo chose.

  They entered a stripped-back space with polished concrete floors, wooden tables and chairs, and huge windows overlooking the bay. It was all about the view. Their table was right by the windows and the wait staff knew Theo by name, greeting him casually and openly assessing her.

  He caught Cassie’s amused smile. ‘I live in St Kilda so I eat here a lot, business dinners as well as a quick meal alone. Tipping a bit over the top is worth it, and most of the kids serving are students so they can use the money.’

  ‘Well, then, what do you recommend?’

  ‘The chargrilled mushrooms on bruschetta.’ No hesitation there. ‘And I’m going to have roast chicken.’

  She checked the specials board. The roast chicken came with pommes noisettes and spring greens. ‘Sounds good.’

  The first bite of the bruschetta, topped with fetta-filled mushrooms flavoured with olives and thyme told Cassie he’d chosen well. It also freed them of hovering waiters and she got down to business. ‘Leighton.’

  Theo frowned. ‘Your cousin is a pain in the butt. I had a friend of mine, a lawyer, ask some questions of the media group that signed his exclusive.’

  She put down her slice of bruschetta. ‘Do you mean he’s being paid to lie about us?’

  ‘Might be more accurate to say he’s being paid for his lies. He concocted the story of my nefarious behaviour by himself, unprompted.’

  ‘But paid.’ She crunched the crispy edge of the bruschetta. ‘What a snake.’

  ‘I was going to turn the matter over to Brigid’s PR department. If JayBay’s brand is being damaged, it’s a company issue.’

  ‘It’s also your personal reputation.’ Cassie felt compelled to point out.

  He shrugged. ‘I’ve had a good run, longer than I thought, before the media attacked. It wouldn’t matter, except — ’

  ‘Except?’

  ‘Remember in Jardin Bay I told you a bit about how Brigid Care was set up? Different family members hold differing amounts.’

  ‘I remember.’

  ‘There’s a board meeting tomorrow.’

  ‘You said on the phone.’

  He blinked, shocked. ‘Did I?’

  She decided not to tell him that it was mention of
the board meeting that had gotten her on the plane and over to Melbourne.

  ‘I guess it’s been on my mind. Is on my mind.’ He sighed and finished the entrée.

  When he didn’t continue, she prompted him. ‘You seemed pretty confident about running Brigid Care when I met you.’

  ‘I still am. My dad isn’t.’ He gave her a moment to process that, and smiled a bit at whatever it was her expression showed. ‘Yeah, you’re not the only one with family problems.’

  A waiter cleared their plates, giving her a chance to add two and two together. ‘You said your dad had been running Brigid Care till he had a heart attack. I take it he wants to come back?’

  ‘Yep.’ He sat back in his chair, watching her.

  She didn’t leap in to judge him power hungry. ‘Can he stand the stress?’

  ‘Good question. He’s bullied his doctor into saying he can. Mum’s argued with him and given up. Basically, he’s cleared the decks for his return — except I’m sitting in the CEO’s chair.’

  ‘And you want to stay.’ Not a question.

  Their mains arrived. Cassie ignored her plate and the appetising aroma of roast chicken.

  ‘Brigid Care competes with big pharma, the multinational pharmaceutical companies, in the Australian market and we do it well. We have a trusted brand, one which we’ve added to gradually, to retain the strong health and quality promise. However, Dad thinks we need to be bigger and at the forefront of research to stay competitive. He took on a lot of debt to acquire some medical start-ups, initiatives that show a lot of promise but with a very long time till they deliver, if they deliver at all.’

  ‘Someone has to fund research,’ Cassie said.

  ‘I know, but not by borrowing to do it. And things like gene therapy don’t belong under Brigid Care’s brand and now is not the time to expand. Money’s tight for everyone, most especially our customers. We need to go back to Great-Granddad’s philosophy of supporting everyday good health for everyone. Those are the sort of products, including JayBay’s, that people continue to buy even when money is tight.’

  ‘You’ve thought about this a lot.’

  ‘Endlessly since Dad had his heart attack. A lot of his stress was because of how much debt Brigid Care was carrying. When I took over, I sold off most of the start-ups Dad had acquired, taking a hit on the sale price if I had to. He saw it as selling off assets and future profit for a short-term balancing of the books. Me, I’m conservative about business. I wanted us in the black before the next financial crisis.’