'It's worth a try. Anyway, it will give us a chance of being together.'
Marly had to give him full marks for scheming. He could keep Fiona happy and chat up his next conquest at the same time. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Yet his suggestion suited her perfectly, for the more Alex saw of her, the quicker he would fall for her.
'I don't think you'll have trouble finding a man for Fiona,' she said aloud. 'She a beautiful girl.'
'But you are beautiful and intelligent,' came the swift reply as a long finger traced the curving bow of Marly's upper hp. 'I've a friend at the British embassy who may be willing to help me.'
'Why don't I ask Kevin?' Marly suggested, deciding it would be nice to have him on hand, since he knew the act she was putting on and could be an ally. Alex looked distinctly put out, and seeing it as jealousy,-she fanned the green-eyed monster. 'He'd be ideal. He's good- looking and fun to be with, yet he has a serious side too. I like him very much.'
'Really?' It was a clipped sound.
'And Fiona likes him too. She met him the day she arrived, when he was with me at the pool.'
'I'd prefer someone else.'
Marly fluttered her lashes and gave a tinkling little laugh. 'You can't be jealous of him!'
'I'm jealous of any man you know.'
'You flatter me.'
'Because I find you the loveliest girl I've ever met?'
'I'm sure you've known others far lovelier.'
'None who makes me feel as you do. And as an extra bonus, you don't act as if you want to rival me!'
'Don't bank on it,' she teased. 'I may yet decide to go into the hotel business! Many of our women hold down important jobs, you know.'
'But they manage to stay sweet and lovely with it,' he rejoined, 'and don't make their men feel insecure.'
'I can't imagine you being insecure.'
'I'm not.' Alex lounged back against his desk, and though his stance was indolent, power and determination flowed from him. 'But I know a number of men who feel as if they've been emasculated.'
Which is how you'll feel when I've finished with you, Marly thought, envisaging his shock when he discovered that a woman had made a fool of him, instead of the other way around.
'I still think Kevin is the right man to make up the foursome you want,' was what she said. 'Fiona met him through me, and won't be suspicious of him when he joins us.'
'You have a point there. So Kevin it is.'
'Shall I tell him the true position between you and Fiona?'
'Of course. If he thinks we're genuinely engaged he won't make a play for her—which is the whole purpose of the exercise.'
'She could get hurt.' 'Even more so if she continues throwing herself at me.'
How true! Marly thought. Any woman would suffer if she fell for Alex.
The intercom on his desk buzzed, and his secretary informed him there was a call from Hong Kong. Picking up the telephone, he signalled Marly to stay.
'Have dinner with Fiona and me,' he mouthed.
'I can't,' she whispered back, refusing to pander to him. He hadn't so much as rung her during his absence, and to return unannounced and expect her to be free for him was not on. 'I promised I'd be home to dinner.'
He looked as if he wanted to argue, but the voice at the other end of the line gave him no opportunity, and as he spoke into the receiver Marly took the opportunity of escaping.
It wasn't until that evening when dinner was over and she and Nan were alone together in her room that she was able to tell her of her conversation with Alex and what he had decided to do.
'He certainly has a devious mind,' Nan said. 'Do you think he's as innocent over Fiona as he maintains? With his record, he may well have given her encouragement.'
'I doubt it. She's a pretty girl but far too ingenuous to attract him.'
'The character you're pretending to be is ingenuous too.'
'But I'm doing it with subtlety!'
Nan blew her a raspberry, and before Marly could reply, Alex rang to speak to her.
'How far advanced are you with the software program?' he asked without preamble.
Uncertain where the question was going to lead her, she was careful with her answer. 'I'm ahead of schedule but problems can still occur. Why do you ask?'
'Because I wondered if you and Kevin would care to be my guests for a week in Phuket? A friend has offered me the loan of his house there and I thought the four of us could fly down the day after tomorrow.'
'It sounds very tempting,' Marly said, 'but I don't know Kevin's schedule at the hospital.'
'Can you contact him and find out? I'll wait for your call.'
'I'm too busy to do it now,' she lied, not wishing him to think she was a puppet that jumped when he pulled the string. 'I'll let you know some time tomorrow at the office.'
'Don't accept the invitation,' Nan said as Marly replaced the telephone. 'Phuket's such a romantic island, it will give Alex ideas.'
'He already has them!'
'All the more reason not to go there with him. I wish you'd forget this charade of youfs. Come clean with him and tell him it was a joke you did for a bet.'
'And forget what he did to Andrea?'
'What good will it do her if you make him fall for you and then laugh in his face?'
'You never said any of this when I first suggested the idea.'
'Because I never thought you'd get emotionally involved with him—and don't pretend you aren't. He isn't capable of deep feelings, Marly, and he'll forget you long before you forget him.' Nan's usual smiling face was serious. 'I know you're halfway to being in love with him, and I'd hate to see you hurt.'
'So you've already said. But you're worrying needlessly. He means nothing to me.' Marly gave her friend a hug. 'Stop predicting doom and gloom and throw yourself into the fun of it, like me. If turning the tables on Alex does nothing other than clip the wings of one chauvinistic predator, it will be worthwhile. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go telephone Kevin.'
As luck had it he was free for the weekend, as well as having several days' leave, but to her astonishment he was hesitant about making up a foursome.
'I thought you liked Fiona?' Marly quizzed.
'I do.'
'Then why the reluctance?'
'I don't go in for masochism. And the way she dotes on Alex Hamilton, no other guy stands a chance with her.'
'Except that she stands no chance with him.'
There was a momentary pause before Kevin spoke. 'You're kidding me.'
'No, I'm not.' As concisely as she could, Marly filled him in on the true story.
'Poor kid,' Kevin remarked when she had finished. 'Pity you can't tell her the way Alex let down your friend Andrea. It would put paid to her fantasies.'
'I doubt it. She'd probably find loads of reasons to explain away his behaviour.'
'If she's so besotted over him, what chance do I have with her?' Kevin demanded, his tone dry.
'You can be her shoulder to cry on when Alex leaves her alone and flirts with me; and you know the old adage about catching someone on the rebound?'
'Thanks a million. You do wonders for my ego!'
Marly bit her hp. 'If you don't want to come, I'll understand. Alex has a friend at the embassy who '
'No, I'll do it.' Kevin was brusque. 'At least if it's me, I'll be gentle with her when I pick up the pieces. Let me know where and when to meet you, and I'll be there.'
Ending the call, Marly swung round to face Nan. 'It's all fixed.'
'Fixed being the operative word,' Nan said drily. 'I don't know who's the bigger schemer—you or Alex.'
'I'd say it's a photo finish!'
'At least promise me you'll end it when you get back from Phuket? If you can't have him grovelling at your feet by the end of a week in paradise island, you should give up!'
'I promise I will,' Marly asserted. 'And that day can't come quickly enough for me.'
CHAPTER NINE
Marly did not see Alex t
ill half an hour before their departure for Phuket, a rarely occurring migraine having laid her low for twenty-four hours.
Nan had spoken to him, however, explaining Marly's absence and saying she and Kevin would meet him at the airport, and she was not in the least surprised when he sent a limousine to collect them.
'Your boss does things in style,' Kevin remarked, leaning back against the soft leather seat of the Mercedes. 'But I guess thaf's easy when you're heir to the Hamilton chain. I suppose that's why women go for him?'
She gave a non-committal murmur, cognisant of the fact that Alex's style and appeal to women was not dependent on money. Even poor, he would exude style; it was part and parcel of him.
This realisation was brought home to her when she entered the VIP departure lounge and he rose from his chair and strolled leisurely towards them, relaxed into holiday mood in casual beige trousers and cream cotton top, the short sleeves disclosing bronzed arms with a fine sprinkling of dark hair. There were no accoutrements of wealth around him yet he conjured up an image of power and authority. That was what attracted women, she acknowledged; that, plus his good looks and potent virility.
'Are you fully recovered?' he enquired, nodding to Kevin and then giving her his whole attention.
'Yes, thanks. I'm fine.'
Before she could say any more, Fiona joined them, arrestingly dressed in a blue mini sundress that showed off her long, shapely legs to perfection, and was the same colour as her large ingenuous eyes. Not all that ingenuous if you studied them carefully, Marly noted, aware of a wilfulness in them that was echoed in the slight thrust of the chin, a wilfulness that Alex, blinded by affection, misread as vulnerable.
'I'm so pleased you were well enough to make it, Marly. Otherwise this silly man of mine was threatening to call off the trip.' A limpid blue gaze rested on him meltingly. 'He was worried in case I'd be bored alone with him.'
Linking her arm through Alex's, she stayed close to his side as they settled down to wait for their boarding call.
'Thanks for inviting me to Phuket,' Kevin said to his host. 'I spent a few days there not long after I arrived in Thailand, and I've always wanted to go back.'
'What stopped you?' Fiona asked. 'I'm sure you could have found a job in a hospital there.'
'I didn't come here just to find a job,' he smiled, 'but to study under Professor Damrong.'
'Don't you get tired of studying? When I was at school I couldn't wait to leave!'
Both men smiled indulgently, and Marly marvelled at the way males—no matter how intelligent—always enjoyed the company of a bimbo. As she thought it, Alex turned his head towards her and raised his eyes heavenwards, and she instantly and happily revised her opinion of one male at least!
'Where exactly are we staying?' she asked.
'At Karon Beach. My friend's home is built on the shore and you can practically go from bed to sea.'
'Sounds idyllic,' Kevin put in.
'The whole island's idyllic—and we can use Jack's boat to explore it, and all the nearby islands as well.' A tawny head swivelled in Marly's direction. 'I suppose you've been to Phuket often?'
'This is the first time. I've been too busy working.'
'I can't think of you as a career woman,' Fiona said prettily. 'In England they're all into power-dressing and competing with men.'
"ITiai women are competitive too, though we take mote pains to disguise it.'
'That's probably why I enjoy living here,' Alex teased. 'I don't feel the draught of competition!'
'You wouldn't feel it regardless of where you lived,' Fiona stated. 'You're invulnerable!'
'Would that I were.'
Marly's eyes turned to him. Leaning back in his chair, smiling and relaxed, he gave the lie to his comment. Fiona was right. He was invulnerable; so confident of his power that he could afford to be indulgent of rivalry. And that applied to his personal life too, for the gods had showered him with gifts. What did he know of unrequited love, of sleepless nights, days of depression, of tears shed and unshed? They were for the trail of broken hearts he left behind him, while he went happily on to pastures new. And for the moment she was the object of his desire. The attraction she felt for him washed over her with renewed force, making a mockery of her assertion to Nan that she was indifferent to him.
Hurriedly she focused on Kevin. Despite knowing he was a doctor—and a damn good one according to Professor Damrong—she couldn't help regarding him as a lightweight; yet how much happier her future would be if she had fallen for him instead of Alex.
'What's the night-life like?' Fiona suddenly demanded.
'There's more than enough discos to satisfy you,' Alex informed her with a lazy grin. 'I take it you're still crazy about dancing?'
The girl's nod and smile showed a set of small white teeth, and watching her catch his hand and hold it against the hollow between her breasts, Marly thought that here was another person on whom the gods had lavished many gifts. No wonder Kevin was bowled over. Could Alex have been bowled over too, and made promises he no longer wanted to keep, as had happened with Andrea?
With a feeling of relief she heard their flight called, and they gathered their hand luggage and boarded the plane.
Fiona sat at a window-seat for two, with Alex next to her, and Marly and Kevin took the two behind them. The noise of the engines prevented her from hearing their conversation, but she could not avoid the intimate gffi- tures the girl lavished on him, her hand resting frequently on his arm, fluttering over his cheek or touching his leg. Kevin glowered, and for the first time since she had met him he was ill-humoured, giving away more of his feelings than he realised.
Determinedly Marly concentrated on the passing scene below her. Nan had spoken rapturously of the beauty of the islands to the south of Thailand, and it was plain she hadn't exaggerated, for with the sun still high in the summer sky Thai Airlines flew them low over one luxurious landscape after another. Not for nothing did the travel brochures dub this part of the country 'paradise'. Enraptured, she gazed at the string of beaches, bays, headlands and coves, and lushly covered mountains emerging from an azure sea.
But it was Phuket that was the ultimate jewel, and carefully descending the gangway in her flowered cheong- sam, and breathing in the tangy sea air, she felt a sense of excitement.
'Strange you've never been here,' Alex remarked, walking alongside her.
'We vacation at another part of the coast,' she murmured, keeping her wits about her. 'It's nearer to Bangkok, and just as lovely.' As she spoke, she prayed he wouldn't ask her the name of it. The fat would really be in the fire if he did. Hastily she fluttered her lashes at him. 'But being here with you gives Phuket the advantage.'
A tawny eyebrow lifted. 'That's the first compliment you've paid me.'
'Alex!' Fiona called. 'Wait for me!'
Muttering under his breath, he stopped walking, and Marly continued on her way alone until Kevin caught up with her.
'She can't bear to let him out of her sight,' he grunted. 'Beats me what she sees in him. He's far too old for her.'
'I wouldn't exactly say he's ready for a bathchair!'
'I guess I'm jealous,' Kevin admitted sheepishly. 'But he has everything going for him.'
'You're no slouch yourself,' Marly said kindly. 'And I bet you're a killer at sports. Most Australians are.'
'I'm not bad,' he conceded as they reached the taxi rank and stopped. 'When it comes to surfing, sailing and swimming, I can give any guy a run for his money.'
Conscious of Alex almost abreast of them, she laughed up at Kevin as if he had uttered the most brilliant joke, and lightly placed her hand on his arm. 'Don't keep staring at Fiona with sheep's eyes,' she advised under her breath. 'Girls don't go for men who are push-overs.'
'Yes, ma'am. I'll take note of what you say!'
The beach house where they were staying was exactly as Alex had described it. Set on the edge of silver-white sand, bordered on one side by an azure sea and on the other by w
aving green palms, its wood exterior bleached pale grey by the tropical sun, it had the air of having grown on the shore and not been built by man.
The interior was simple but luxurious: creamy fabrics spiced with royal blue and yellow, bamboo easy-chairs softened by thick feather cushions, Western-style furniture in the dining alcove and bedrooms, and colourful rugs on the teak floors. The kitchen was small but well equipped and, best of all, was presided over by Sumalee, a dainty, sweet-faced girl who informed them, in halting English, that she was there to take care of them.
'You should ask your friend if we can have this place for our honeymoon, Alex.' Fiona dropped on to a lounger on the veranda. 'It's perfect.'
'It certainly is,' he said shortly. 'But right now let's decide on our rooms. I suggest you girls take the two facing the sea.'
Kevin picked up his case and Marly's. 'I'm for a swim as soon as I've unpacked my gear.'
'Me too,' she agreed.
'And me,' Fiona volunteered, slipping past Marly and heading for the bedroom furthest from the living-room.
Because it afforded her more privacy should Alex decide to spend time in it? Marly conjectured, an idea which left a distinctly nasty taste in her mouth. Swallowing hard, she went into the other sea-view room and quickly changed into a one-piece cerise swimsuit.
Pity she couldn't wear one of her many bikinis, she mused as she twisted her hair into a single plait down her back, entwining it with a matching ribbon, for though she was petite, her body was beautifully formed, with delicate curves and roundness, and full, high breasts. But a well brought-up Thai woman would be happier in a one-piece, preferring to be seen in a garment that left more to the imagination!
Alex, to judge by his reaction when he saw her, had a highly active imagination. He was alone on the veranda when she went out, and at sight of her his lower hp moved sensuously, as if he were tasting her. For her part, she was equally bemused at seeing him in the most minimal of swimming-trunks. The width of his shoulders, she realised, had nothing to do with skilfully padded jackets, his narrow waist curved into well muscled thighs, and his long legs were strong and lean. The tangle of hair she had glimpsed on his chest through the open neck of his sports shirt was, she now saw, thick and silky, and a paler gold than his bronzed skin.
Roberta Leigh - Give A Man A Bad Name Page 8
