The Rules of the Game (D'Arth Series Book 1)

by Camille Oster

  Hanging up the phone, she tucked her arms around waist. “I’m dead,” she said, to the taxi driver’s confusion.

  *

  The two young men, who were Jane’s main contacts at the bank, stared at her in quiet incredulity when she told them what she wanted, then they had an impromptu meeting between themselves as she watched.

  “We can try,” one of them finally said, “but you must realise that this is an extreme request. We really can’t promise anything.”

  “But you’ll give it a shot?” Jane pleaded.

  “Why not,” one of them said. “I wasn’t planning anything this evening.”

  Jane could have kissed them, she was so relieved, but her relief didn’t last long as they had tons to do. After moving into a smaller room, they sat working with their laptops around a small round table, for hours. Jane felt the tension constantly, and it only got worse every time she looked up and noticed that another hour was gone. She was more than grateful when someone brought her a sandwich at one point.

  She started making mistakes at around three in the morning, and they decided to call it a night, with the intention that they would resume at seven the next morning.

  It was actually a bit cool outside, well relatively. Her eyes were burning and her brain felt foggy. It didn’t take long for her taxi to arrive. The world was asleep as she passed by and there was only one young man at the lobby of the otherwise deserted hotel—obviously a casualty of jet lag.

  Feeling like she’d just closed her eyes for one minute before the alarm rung, she wasn’t sure if she felt rested; she felt groggy as she dressed. There wasn’t time for breakfast and she nodded as she walked past her guys in the lobby coffee shop, feeling Damon’s eyes on her as she walked past towards the door. It made her skin break out in goose bumps and self-conscious of every move she made.

  He made no secret of the fact that he was suspicious of her, and she dreaded to see the look in his eyes when she came back and told him that she’d failed. Somehow she didn’t want to disappoint him, maybe because he’d then feel justified in his disregard of her. She would also be known around the office as the one that failed to deliver the financing for the deal—and if they lost the bid, some would blame her. It was completely unfair, but fairness didn’t always count in the aftermath, particularly when people would be looking to dish out blame. She hated being put in this position, but she had little choice. All she could do was try her best.

  The two bankers also looked worse for wear. They all had large coffees delivered as they churned through the required documentation and quick meetings with general managers that needed to be involved. Damon called, but she had nothing to tell him other than they were working on it. He was a bit brusque, but conceded there was nothing more she could tell him.

  They’d done everything they could and had submitted it to the bank president shortly after dinner time that night. She offered to buy them both dinner, but they declined as they preferred to go home and sleep. The bank president would now read through the proposal and make a decision.

  Famished, Jane knew she couldn’t go back to her room; she’d fall asleep and maybe miss the call that told her that her financing had been approved. Feeling exhausted and nervous, she walked around the block to a fast food restaurant. It wasn’t the kind of food she normally ate, but there was a certain comfort in its salty, greasy decadence. She also didn’t have to contend with any attentive waiters. Sitting down at a table outside, she called Damon.

  “I’ve done all I can,” she said when she heard his deep voice answer the phone. “It’s with the president now, for his approval. We should find out in a few hours.”

  “Good, let me know when you find out. Where are you?”

  “I am still at the bank. I’m just having a bite to eat.”

  “Go get some sleep,” he said. “I want you here at the office at 3 am. Can you do that?”

  “Sure,” she said and was about to hang up.

  “Good work, Jane,” he said before the line cut. She had gotten recognition from Damon D’Arth, the world must have changed in some way while she was entombed in a small meeting room in the bank. Then again, she’d pulled out all the stops and made this happen; she deserved it. Damned right, she’d done a good job.

  She got the call from the bank president around ten. He’d grudgingly approved it with some conditions. She knew they were conditions they could live with and she thanked him, before doing a little dance in the hotel room. In truth, she was too tired to celebrate; she struggled to keep her eyes open. She made a quick call to Damon who was still at the office and told him the good news. Once she hung up, she was asleep within minutes.

  *

  Standing outside a dark and deserted office building at three, she could see light up on the tenth floor as she waited for someone to come down and let her in.

  It was Stephen who came. He looked awful, his shirt was crumpled and sleeves were rolled up. He had dark bags under his eyes. She could only smile at him in sympathy, knowing exactly how he was feeling.

  “How’s it going?” she asked.

  “Good. We’re just finishing off the documentation. We need to have it at the printers at seven for delivery at nine am. Then there’s apparently life after this bid, but I’m not entirely sure what that consists of at this point.”

  “Food maybe.”

  “Ahh, one misses food.”

  Damon was standing by the table when she got there, looking serious and focused as he was read something over Frank’s shoulders. He’d obviously been there all night too. He looked up as she walked in and gave her a nod as she set her laptop up by one of the empty seats. Even working all night didn’t make him any less attractive; it might even make him look a little more human. He was similarly informal as Stephen, with his sleeves rolled up over his strong, tanned arms. He didn’t look rumpled; he looked comfortable and natural. Maybe that was the crux of expensive tailoring—it stood up to demanding situations.

  Jane got the task of pulling the appendices together and making sure there was consistency across them. It wasn’t difficult work, just fiddly and time consuming. She took a few minutes around dawn to have a look out the window at the sunrise, before she had to return to her task.

  The document came together a few minutes before seven when one of the boys was tasked with running a flash drive down to a waiting taxi. The mood shift in the room was immediate—a great weight had been lifted off them.

  “Who’s up for breakfast?” Damon asked with a broad smile. He looked pleased and relaxed, confident in the proposal they were putting in. Jane couldn’t help feeling the joy of achievement as well; it was an exhilarating feeling. The rest was just logistics, making sure the proposal was printed and delivered by the nine am deadline. Would Damon deliver it in person or would one of the boys do it?

  They all moved towards the lifts. Jane let some of the guys go before her and Damon sought her out. “You pulled through for me, Jane. I appreciate it and I won’t forget.”

  Jane couldn’t help blushing. This certainly was a demarcation in his regard for her. Maybe this meant that she wouldn’t be treated like a complete intruder anymore. It was also nice to be recognised as someone capable of pulling off really difficult work. She hadn’t known herself that she could pull something like that off, and now she was being recognised for it. She wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about it.

  They walked a couple of blocks in the early morning chaos to a restaurant that served breakfast.

  “I am getting drunk,” Stephen said.

  “It’s seven in the morning,” Jane said with amusement.

  “It might look like seven in the morning, but to me it’s the end of a really, really long day. I deserve a drink or three. Besides after being awake and wired this long, I won’t sleep without copious amounts of alcohol.”

  “Lucky for some,” Damon said. “Some of us have to wait until the package is signed, sealed and delivered.”

  “I’ve done my b
it,” Stephen said and held up his hand. “I’ll have a whiskey with my eggs, maybe even scrambled into it them.”

  The waitress was struggling to understand what he wanted, but Stephen settled it by ordering a whiskey with his breakfast. “Jetlag,” he said.

  “That’s just his excuse,” Liam pitched in to the confused waitress, “he’s just an alcoholic.” The waitress only gave one of those nods that said she was complying but didn’t understand, or cared to.

  “You’re ruining our reputation,” Stephen said. “Now she’s going to think we’re all complete lushes.”

  “The Singaporeans tend to guess we’re Australians,” Liam said.

  “That’s alright then,” Stephen said with nonchalance, and they all started laughing. The long standing rivalry between Australians and New Zealanders was always a source of jokes, particularly at the height of the rugby season. More likely they just needed to laugh, and as they started to relax and dissipate the tension and adrenalin of the last few days, the group settled down to enjoy a leisurely breakfast.

  Chapter 7

  Jane got down to the lobby shortly after six that evening. She’d slept most of the day and now the sun had started setting, changing the light and mellowing the atmosphere. She’d seen the sun both rising and setting that day, in this exotic place.

  She hadn’t seen anyone since returning from breakfast, but before they’d broken up, they’d agreed they would go out together to a restaurant that night.

  Smiling, Jane gave a wave when Stephen stepped out of the elevator. “Stephen, are you wearing Bermuda shorts?” one of the boys teased. “You look like a complete tourist.”

  “For twelve hours, I am nothing but a tourist,” Stephen said adamantly. “I will at least pretend that I am on holiday. I have actually lost conception of what a holiday is like, but I can pretend.”

  “And why not?” Jane said. Who was she to argue with his logic? He did look ridiculous and once the sun went down, his pasty legs would shine like beacons, but if he didn’t mind, then neither would she. Damon looked gorgeous as always in a lighter grey suit—a bit less formal, but he still looked like he’d stepped out of some Italian men’s magazine. The worst thing about it, she suspected, was that he didn’t even try, he just pulled something on and he looked awesome.

  “Where are we going?” Jane asked.

  “To Boat Quay,” Damon answered. “It’s lovely; you’ll like it.”

  “Oh,” Jane said. Feeling self-conscious again, she was embarrassed how tongue-tied she felt around him. She had now succumbed to his charm like most of the office girls.

  *

  Damon had chosen a Malaysian restaurant from along the many on the bank of the Singapore River. The sun was just setting and it shimmered on the water of the dark river. It was still incredibly warm and it lulled him into a sense of wellbeing. The last few days had been a concerted effort of constant focus and tension. It was a process he’d been through a number of times before, so there were no surprises. The feelings involved were still the same, as was the elation when the deliverable was in the right shape and in the right place, on time.

  He’d fully accepted that he’d probably have to go with Clarion, and he’d end up having to deal with the problems that fell out of that partnership for the next couple of years, if not any more. Although, somewhere in his gut, he’d hoped that Jane would come through for him, and she had. He wasn’t sure what she’d done to pull it off, but it was clear that he had underestimated her.

  Looking happy sitting across the table, she listened to some story Stephen was telling. There was a certain sweetness about her that disturbed him, but there was also steel in her. The last few days had proved that beyond a doubt. She wasn’t just some trumped up secretary; she had the skills and intuition to pull off a fairly complex arrangement in an inordinately short amount of time. It was also devastating, because Carmichael’s little pet had capabilities. He already knew she had guts, but he hadn’t been sure it wasn’t just sheer ignorance.

  Watching as she tucked her hair behind her ear, he took in her blue dress. It was the first time he’d seen her out of office garb. Sweet was not good; it wasn’t something he readily understood. The women he associated with didn’t understand the concept, and it was not something he usually admired.

  She noticed him looking and blushed while returning her attention back to Stephen. Her blush made him wonder if she was attracted to him. It wasn’t unusual that girls were; he’d just not gotten that vibe off her before. She hadn’t like him one bit, not that he’d cared. Maybe she’d been smart not to, because he’d been out to get her as far away from his territory and dealings as he could, no matter what it took.

  Her actions in the last few days would have an impact on his life for quite a while and he was grateful, but she was still Carmichael’s agent, which meant he fundamentally could not trust her. He also couldn’t deny there was something quite exciting about that. There was also a more subversive desire, one that involved winning her away—not that he would indulge such childish sentiments, but there was that part of him that relished a competition, any competition. Luckily he had more self-control than being at the mercy of such immature urges.

  “You’re leaving tomorrow?” The object of his regard asked Stephen with surprise. “Are we all leaving tomorrow?”

  “You’re not,” Damon said. “You have to stay another couple of days in case more information is requested about the financing. I can’t speak to that, so you have to stay.”

  “Oh,” she said.

  “Don’t worry, it won’t be gruelling, just sitting around and waiting to see if you’re needed. You can even go shopping, sunbathing, whatever you want, as long as you have your phone on you.”

  “So some people actually get a bit of a holiday,” Stephen said with a harrumph.

  “Just a couple of days.”

  *

  Smiling, Jane realised she’d get a few days of freedom to explore this interesting place. She’d heard the shopping was good, she might even check it out. She could also swim during the day. Maybe even go back to that fantastic seafood restaurant. The possibilities were completely open.

  “So what happens next?” Frank asked. It wasn’t actually something she’d thought about, she’d been too busy with the bid to even think beyond it.

  “Well,” Damon started, “if we get the bid then we’ll have to start putting the project team together for the delivery. If we don’t, then we move on to the next.”

  The whole table was quiet. “Guess there is nothing we can do about it now,” Stephen said. “So what’s the plan for after dinner? I want to go out.”

  “You always want to go out,” Liam said.

  “Hey, I have two small children at home; I don’t get to go anywhere without easy-wipe furniture. I have ahead of me, a night of freedom from diapers, cartoons and bed time stories. I am taking full advantage.”

  Sneaking a glance at Damon, she remembered their discussions the previous evening—that would just about sum up hell on earth as far as he was concerned. There was only a wry smile on his face as he busied himself peeling the label off his bottle.

  “Come on, Jane, you’re my last hope. You have to come dancing with me,” Stephen pleaded. “I’ll look like a complete idiot on my own.” She hadn’t even considered dancing, and frankly it might have been just as long since her last night out dancing as it had been for him, and she didn’t have the excuse of two small ones at home.

  “Particularly in those shorts.” Liam laughed. “I don’t even think Jane can rescue that scene.”

  “Come on, Jane, please,” Stephen begged.

  “Fine,” she said, “but I warn you, I have two left feet and I’ll likely trample on you with both of them.” She wasn’t quite that bad, but she didn’t want anyone to think she was anything spectacular on the dance floor.

  “I don’t care,” he said. “We’re going dancing.” He did a little shimmy in his chair.

  They chatted a li
ttle further before the food came and Jane got a dish that was brown. There were chunks of chicken in it, then rice and some kind of salad. It smelled nice. She speared one of the chunks of chicken and put it in her mouth, which then exploded in fire. Her eyes began to water and she struggled to swallow the morsel.

  “Oh my god, that’s hot,” she said with a croak. “I’m not sure I can eat this.”

  “Let me try,” Liam said and dipped a piece of Roti into her sauce. Jane watched as the heat of the sauce exploded in his mouth as well and he started to cough. “Yep, that is diabolical. Do you want some of mine?”

  “You can order a new dish,” Damon said.

  “No, it’s alright; I just have to scrape off some of the excess sauce.”

  “And drink beer,” Liam said. “Beer helps quench the burn. That is one special sauce.” Liam handed her his beer and she poured the golden liquid into her glass. Her dish was a little better once she’d scraped some of the sauce off, and the beer did help. She had to take a few gulps every once in a while, just to cool the burn down a little.

  “That will clear your sinuses,” Frank said. “Can I have a taste?”

  “Knock yourself out,” she said; she’d had enough anyway. The cooler night air didn’t seem so cool just at the moment; she was very hot, but she conceded it might just be the food.

  “Dessert?” Frank asked.

  “No, but I might have to have another beer though.” Her lips were burning and she felt it more now that she’d stopped eating.

  Nursing her beer, she watched while Stephen and Liam had this fried banana ice cream dish.

  “That was fantastic,” Stephen said after he’d finished. “I am completely full. I don’t think I can take anything more, although maybe there is a little room for a beer.”

  Somehow they got on the topic of sailing, one for which Damon was apparently enthusiastic. He described his boat, which he had bought in Tahiti and sailed back on his own. Jane had never even been on a sail boat; she seemed to only know people with motorboats, and fishing equipment. She could imagine him on a sailboat, the sea whipping his clothes around him. It wasn’t a scenario she would have thought of on her own, but it made sense now that he’d mentioned it.