Give a Man a Bad Name

by Roberta Leigh

  ‘I’m finishing off something.’

  ‘Can you finish it off later and come for a swim? I’ll meet you at the pool after my squash game. I’ll be an hour.’

  ‘Lovely idea,’ she said. An hour was ample to complete the notes she had to do, and leave them on Alex’s desk ready for his return.

  She still had fifteen minutes to spare when she went next door to his office. The whole suite was deserted, his secretary having taken the morning off, and she found it strange to be so aware of his presence despite his not being there. She was standing in the centre of the room, the smell of his aftershave in her nostrils—though this might have been imagination—when the door opened and a light, feminine voice said, ‘Alex, darling! I went up to your apartment but you weren’t...’

  The words trailed off as the two women looked at one another. We sure are a contrast, Marly thought, gazing at the tall, slender blonde whose pale blue eyes were regarding her with open frankness.

  ‘Are you Alex’s secretary?’

  ‘No. She’s not here this morning. I’m doing the software programing for the hotel.’ Marly introduced herself, remembering to give the Thai version of her name.

  ‘Alex mentioned he was having a special software program installed, but I didn’t realise it was being devised by a woman.’ Colour stained the pale skin. ‘Oh, dear, that sounds rude, and I—’

  ‘I understand, Miss—?’

  ‘Fiona Danziger. I’m going to marry Alex.’ Soft pink lips curved in a smile. ‘When I can find him, that is!’

  Marly felt as though she had been hit in the stomach. So much for her belief that she had misjudged him! Everything Andrea had said about him was true—except that he was a bigger swine than she had first imagined!

  ‘You’re—you’re going to marry him?’ she echoed when she could speak. She knew the question was stupid—hadn’t the girl already said so?—but she still had the urge to get confirmation.

  ‘When he stops running!’ came the reply. ‘Where is he?’

  ‘He left for Hong Kong this morning.’

  ‘What a bore! I wish now that I’d told him I was coming here, but I wanted it to be a surprise.’

  It certainly will be, Marly thought, and couldn’t wait to hear how Alex would explain away his fiancée to her. Or maybe he wouldn’t bother. After all, he had been pretty laconic when he had left Andrea, and might not feel that Marly—whom he had simply been dating—even warranted an explanation.

  ‘I can see you’re astonished,’ Fiona Danziger went on. ‘I suppose the poor darling’s been dating every glamour-puss in Bangkok?’

  ‘Poor darling?’ Marly repeated unbelievingly. ‘Don’t you mind?’

  ‘How can I? He has no choice. Our fair sex throw themselves at him like lemmings off a cliff! Trouble is, he’s too kind-hearted to turn them down. That’s why I think it’s best if we got married, though he’s still worried that I’m too young and may regret it later.’

  She perched on the edge of an armchair, one long, shapely leg swinging idly. She was no more than twenty, and had an untouched air that was genuine. Never in a million years would Marly have considered her Alex’s type, yet now that she knew she was, she could suddenly see why, for an ingenuous female was more likely to remain unaware of his womanising. Indeed, married to Fiona, he wouldn’t have to change his lifestyle one iota!

  ‘I realise I don’t look Alex’s type,’ the soft young voice continued artlessly, ‘but that’s my strength, don’t you think?’

  ‘I—er—’

  ‘I’ve known Alex since I was nine and he was twenty-three. Our mothers were best friends, and when my parents were killed in a road accident, his family adopted me. I was ready to marry him when I was eighteen, but Alex felt I should see more of the world first, meet other men...’

  ‘And did you?’ Marly couldn’t help asking.

  ‘Masses. But none could hold a candle to him. That’s why I’m here—to tell him I’ll never love anyone else, and to set our wedding date. Once we have, I’ll fly home and put the arrangements in hand. Do you have any idea when he’ll be back?’

  ‘I’m not quite sure. A few days, I think.’

  ‘That’s not too bad. If it were longer, I’d join him.’ The girl stood up. ‘I think I’ll unpack and go down for a swim. See you later.’

  ‘Miss Danziger?’

  The girl swung round. ‘Yes?’

  Marly moistened lips that had suddenly grown dry. She longed to tell Fiona exactly the sort of man her future husband was, yet staring into the guileless face she realised she would be wasting her time.

  ‘I—er—just wondered if I could get you anything?’ she mumbled.

  ‘No, thanks. The Hamilton hotels are home away from home for me, and I have everything I want.’

  Including the son and heir, Marly thought bitterly when Fiona had gone, and sank on to the nearest chair. The perfidy of the man! He obviously intended marrying Fiona at some stage, but meanwhile was not letting it cramp his love-life. She could almost pity the girl for the marriage she would have, for no way could she see him as faithful.

  Yet why feel superior to Fiona when she had been equally naïve—and with far less reason, for Andrea had warned her the sort of man he was? Yet one glance into his smoky grey irises and she had fallen under his spell like a lovesick schoolgirl. Remembering that an hour ago she had argued with Nan in his favour, she was filled with shame. It permeated every cell of her being and she writhed with the agony of it.

  ‘No!’ she cried suddenly, jumping to her feet. ‘I won’t let him get away with it. He was definitely falling for me, and that makes him vulnerable.’

  She relished the knowledge, determined that as soon as Fiona returned to England she would use his vulnerability to pay him back for the heartache he had caused. Thank goodness she had not had a chance to confess her charade to him.

  Returning to her office, she locked her desk, picked up her bag and headed for the lift. Punching the button, and wishing it were Alex’s well shaped nose, she stepped inside and went down to the lower ground floor and the hotel shopping centre to buy a swimsuit and cotton robe. But even as she riffled through the excellent selection, she was filled with disgust for him. The emotion disturbed her, for she was afraid it might destroy her judgement, and when it came to dealing with this two-timing Lothario, she needed all the judgement she possessed.

  As usual, the lush green lawns abutting the vast swimming-pool were dotted with sunbeds, the majority shaded by palms. Those that were ranged around the pool itself were shaded by pink and yellow umbrellas, giving the scene a festive air that in no way matched her mood, which was grey, bordering on black!

  But it was difficult to remain despondent when surrounded by holiday-makers all intent on having a good time, though she was glad that for the most part they did it quietly, due in no small measure to the staff, whose duty it was to see that transistors were played low and children kept under control. Not that there were many children present, for they had their own pool on the lower terrace.

  She had already had a swim and was lounging on a sunbed when Kevin appeared, skin flushed, hair tousled and damp from the shower after his squash game. A thin terry robe was loosely belted round his waist, and as he dropped it down on the sunbed next to her, she saw he was more ruggedly built than he appeared when fully dressed. It made her wonder whether Alex would be the opposite. Muscular and magnificent in clothes, was he puny and pale in the nude? Who was she kidding? He’d be sensational.

  ‘I’m glad you could see me,’ Kevin said, sitting down with a contented sigh. ‘There’s nothing like a beautiful woman for giving meaning to a beautiful day.’

  ‘I bet you have a beautiful bedside manner too!’ Marly forced a smile to her lips, not wishing to spoil Kevin’s mood.

  ‘I try my best, and with you it requires no effort.’ He slid her a quizzical glance. ‘What’s eating you? When I spoke to you an hour ago, you were happy as a sandboy. Is it anything to do with bos
s man?’

  ‘Unfortunately, yes.’ Careful not to disclose her personal hurt, Marly told him about Fiona, and had the pleasure of seeing his jaw drop incredulously.

  ‘It’s hard to believe the guy is such a louse!’ he exclaimed. ‘It puts his behaviour to your friend Andrea in a worse light than you thought.’

  Marly nodded. ‘And look how strongly he’s been coming on to me. He had the nerve to invite me to go with him to Hong Kong!’

  ‘What do you intend doing now that his fiancée is on the scene?’

  ‘She won’t be staying long, and once she’s gone I’m sure he’ll pretend he’s going to break with her, and I’ll pretend to believe him.’

  ‘Be careful you don’t get your fingers burnt.’

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Marly asked, knowing full well that, like Nan, he was warning her not to lose her heart to Alex.

  As Kevin went to reply, his mouth dropped open and his eyes glazed over.

  Curious to know why he was looking pole-axed, Marly glanced round and saw Fiona sauntering along the path. She was dressed in a hyacinth-blue bikini that showed off her creamy skin and other more voluptuous attributes, and Kevin’s eyes weren’t the only male ones to follow her.

  ‘That’s Alex’s fiancée,’ Marly muttered as Fiona, passing by on her way to secure a lounging chair, saw her and hesitated.

  Before she could move on, Kevin jumped to his feet and extended his hand, leaving Marly no option but to introduce him. Before she knew what was happening, he had settled Fiona in a chair beside them and ordered fresh pineapple juice all round.

  ‘All I need is Alex here and it would be perfect.’ Fiona sipped her drink and stretched out her long, shapely legs on the foot-rest.

  ‘Alex?’ Kevin asked, playing dumb.

  ‘Alex Hamilton, my future husband.’

  In her soft, breathless manner, she repeated the story she had told Marly, and Kevin listened as though hearing it for the first time.

  ‘You need a swim to cheer you up,’ he suggested when she came to the end. ‘I’m sure your fiancé wouldn’t want you to be miserable while you’re waiting for him to return.’

  As he finished speaking, Fiona gracefully rose and padded across to the shimmering water. ‘Race you to the end!’ she cried, and dived in, Kevin hard on her heels.

  He beat her by a yard, but Marly recognised she was an excellent swimmer. She was probably good at all sport, just the kind of woman Alex would go for. Well, she herself was no mean sportswoman either, though her lack of inches and delicate build was against her when it came to tennis or squash.

  She watched the two of them cavorting together, splashing, laughing, and throwing water over each other. The girl’s fly-away blonde hair lay wet and limp on her shoulders, and liquid droplets sparkled on her thick-fringed lashes. Unlike most other women who, when soaked, looked their worst, Fiona was more stunning than ever, for it served to emphasise the naturalness of her beauty: glowing skin, baby-blue eyes sparkling, perfectly proportioned body vibrant with vitality.

  Quickly Marly lay back and shut her eyes to the scene, but instead the tableau changed to Fiona and Alex, his dark head bent to her blonde one, their naked bodies entwined. Jealousy, sharp as a dagger, brought her upright, and she saw Kevin and Fiona somersaulting together in the water—a far more suitable couple, she decided!

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  MARLY managed to avoid seeing Fiona in the next few days, for, bumping into her in the corridor on her way to her office the morning after their swim, she had stopped her from coming in for a chat by the simple expedient of saying she had to complete her software program for the hotel by a specific date, and was already behind schedule.

  But her main reason was that the girl irritated her with her constant references to Alex, and how much they loved each other. Not that Marly gave a damn! Far from it. It was simply that she found the subject boring—the subject of their love, of course, not the man himself. That would be impossible!

  Three days later he walked into her office. Marly, engrossed in her work, did not hear him come in, and only when a shadow fell across her desk and computer screen did she glance round.

  ‘Alex!’

  She jumped up and backed away from him, then stopped, angry with herself for the confusion she displayed. But then it was normal to be confused when one’s boss walked in unexpectedly, looking like every woman’s dream in a tropical-weight cream suit that heightened the bronze of his skin and threw his silver-grey eyes into relief.

  ‘Why are you startled?’ he smiled.

  ‘You’re back sooner than I thought.’

  ‘I missed you too much to stay away longer.’

  Unfortunately it was a sentiment she endorsed, but she was not going to admit it. If truth be told, she was furious to find she still had any feelings for him whatsoever.

  ‘I have a surprise for you,’ she said quietly.

  ‘You have?’ He spoke softly too, his expression telling her he was only half listening, his eyes too busy devouring her.

  Marly was wearing her butterfly-wing cheong-sam, and with her hair sculptured away from her face she could have stepped straight from Puccini’s opera. But there all resemblance to Madam Butterfly ended, for she was no innocent girl taken in by a callous lover, but a liberated lady intent on bringing a womaniser to heel.

  ‘What kind of surprise?’ he went on.

  ‘Your fiancée is here.’

  ‘My who?’

  What a marvellous actor he was! His confusion appeared completely genuine.

  ‘Miss Danziger,’ Marly stated.

  ‘Fiona? I don’t believe it!’

  ‘You should.’

  ‘When did she get here?’ he grated.

  ‘The day you left for Hong Kong. She came—and I quote—to inform you she’s ready to set the date for your wedding.’

  Alex’s mouth thinned to a grim line, and his eyes darkened to deep, smoky grey. Little wonder he was taking the news badly; so would any Casanova on learning his fiancée had arrived to clip his wings.

  ‘I’d better go and talk to her,’ he said curtly. ‘I’ll see you later.’

  Alone again, Marly returned to her computer. Alex had looked less than delighted to learn of Fiona’s arrival, and she could not help feeling sympathy for her. Yet surely the girl must have known that someone as charismatic as Alex Hamilton wasn’t going to spend his nights going to bed with a book! But obviously Fiona trusted him, just as Andrea had, and probably all the other women in his complicated life.

  With an effort Marly tried to concentrate on the software she was creating, but the letters were a jumble and she finally turned her back on the screen. How would Alex explain away Fiona? If he had been here when she arrived, he might have tried to keep her identity secret, but now his only option was to brazen it out. And knowing him, brazen it out he would!

  Bitterness swamped her as she admitted he had only been amusing himself with her, and her belief that he might have genuinely fallen in love with her was just an illusion. Like the cuckoo he would go his selfish way, stealing and plundering whatever took his fancy, with no regard for the pain and damage he left behind him.

  Glancing at her watch, she saw it was time to go home. Switching off her computer and slinging her bag over her shoulder, she was at the door when the telephone rang. Automatically she reached for it, tensing as she heard Alex’s secretary say he wished to see her in his office.

  ‘It’s past six and I’m leaving—I have another appointment,’ Marly protested, deciding she’d had enough of acquiescing to his lordship’s beck and call.

  ‘Mr Hamilton sounded very—er—positive,’ the woman stated, ‘positive’, as Marly very well knew, being a euphemism for brooking no argument.

  ‘Very well, I’ll be with him right away,’ she answered, and knew from his secretary’s expression as she walked into the outer office a few moments later that she had made the correct decision.

  This was confirmed when
she stood facing Alex across his desk, for he looked distinctly bad-tempered.

  ‘You wanted to see me, Mr Hamilton?’

  ‘Yes. We have things to talk over. Personal things.’

  Ostentatiously she glanced at her watch, and the tightening of his mouth told her he hadn’t missed the gesture.

  ‘I realise it’s after office hours,’ he drawled, ‘but that’s the best time to discuss the personal, don’t you think?’

  Remembering her role, she lowered her head. ‘I can’t imagine what you have to say to me that’s personal.’

  ‘Give you the date of my wedding perhaps? How would you feel about that?’

  Marly’s heart missed a beat, then raced alarmingly. ‘I’d be very happy for you.’

  ‘Indeed?’ He rose and came round the side of his desk, stopping so close to her that she was enveloped by the musky scent of him. ‘If you told me you were going to be married, I’d be devastated.’

  ‘I’d never leave without completing my contract,’ she said swiftly, deliberately misunderstanding him.

  ‘I don’t give a damn for your contract, and you know it! Be honest with me. When you learned who Fiona was, weren’t you even a little upset to think I’d taken you out and not mentioned I had a fiancée?’

  Marly’s slender shoulders rose in a shrug, allowing him to think what he liked.

  ‘Except it isn’t true,’ he continued. ‘I am not and never have been engaged to her.’

  A billowing wave of joy surged through Marly, leaving no room for any other emotion. She forgot his callous treatment of her friend, forgot his reputation as a Lothario, forgot everything except the bliss of hearing what he had just told her. Yet as swiftly as logic left her, it returned, and so did her common sense.

  ‘If what you say is true, why does Fiona carry on like this?’

  ‘Because she believes that if she says it often enough, it will happen.’

  Marly found this hard to accept. Admittedly the girl had struck her as naïve, but she wasn’t stupid.

  ‘I’m speaking the truth,’ Alex reiterated, correctly reading the emotions chasing themselves across the face in front of him, and taking her hands in his warm, strong ones, lowered his lips to them.