"Yes. Go on."
"Well, I think he needs to be seriously reprimanded."
"Oh? Why?"
"Because he behaved terribly to Abbey."
Nick leaned forward in his seat. "Is she working for you again?" he asked quickly.
"Not exactly..."
Nick sat back in his seat and passed a hand in front of his eyes. "So what's the problem?"
"Well, he behaved in an ungentlemanly manner toward her. I don't like it."
What was this all about? Did Tarken want to get him into trouble because he was jealous? If that were the case, then shouldn't he be even more jealous of the real Damien Vane, pretending to be Nick Delaware, because he'd whisked her away at the cocktail party?
"What about me?" he asked, feeling like an even bigger idiot for pretending to be someone else who was pretending to be him. The lies had taken on Shakespearean proportions. "You approve of the way I acted towards her on Friday night, but not the way Vane acted during the week. Mind telling me why?"
Tarken cleared his throat. "Well, Mr. Delaware, now don't get offended but I don't think Abbey was all that interested in you."
"No? Why not?"
"I think she was just trying to make me jealous."
"You?"
"Yes. She was only pretending to flirt with you."
"Pretending? Really? And Vane?"
"He's just, well, I just don't like the way he was watching Abbey that night. He also got incredibly drunk and I don't think that's appropriate behavior for a man in his position."
Nick didn't know whether to laugh or curse him. "Thank you, I'll take that on board and deal with it accordingly."
He hung up.
So Tarken thought Abbey wasn't really flirting with Vane, just pretending to? He vaguely remembered Tarken saying something on Friday night as they watched them together. But he'd been so drunk he hadn't remembered it until now.
Could Tarken be telling the truth? It was possible.
So she was only pretending to flirt with the real Vane to make them jealous. No, not them, him, Nick. Tarken knew it and was worried about the competition, hence the phone call to get him fired and out of the picture.
Slimy little weed. If only Nick had taken more notice on Friday night and hadn't got drunk he might be able to determine if Tarken spoke the truth now.
But it was too late to think about what-ifs. Abbey was in Melbourne and he was in Sydney. Their paths were unlikely to cross again. In a few days or weeks he'd be over her and this whole sorry episode would be forgotten.
Damn he hoped so, because he couldn't go on like this. He needed to regain some control over his life again. He felt like he'd been free falling without a parachute.
Nick laughed quietly to himself. He imagined Tarken reading about Vane leaving Software Solutions in the business pages of the newspapers. He'd probably think it was because of what he said. Nick wondered if they'd print a photograph. Maybe he should send one in to the papers, just to confuse Tarken. But that wouldn't help his company's business prospects in Melbourne with hundreds of seminar attendees who'd also wonder at the difference.
There was a knock on Nick's door and his personal assistant popped her head around.
"Can I get you some lunch, sir?" asked the middle-aged blonde.
He shook his head. "No thanks, Beverly. I'm not hungry."
Beverly's face fell. "But you haven't eaten anything all day. Usually you have breakfast, and at least three cups of coffee by now —"
"I appreciate your concern, but I'm really not hungry."
She attempted a smile. "Sure. What about those appointments you cancelled this morning? Can I reschedule them yet?"
"I don't know when I'll be able to fit them in. You'd better cancel all of this afternoon's and tomorrow's meetings too."
"B, but, sir, that's a lot of appointments."
"Just do it," he snapped.
She bobbed her head and closed the door. Nick closed his eyes, immediately regretting his tone. She was the best secretary he'd had and she didn't deserve to be spoken to like that. He would apologize to her later when he'd calmed down.
He spun round to look out the window again.
The smog had settled in over Sydney, a brown sludge that stretched to the horizon in all directions. He sighed and wondered if he should maybe take a few days off. He didn't feel like dealing with the staff, clients and business proposals.
But he rejected that idea just as quickly. Going away by himself suddenly seemed dull. Only a week ago he would have jumped at the chance to go to his house in the Blue Mountains and relax for a while, but now he couldn't see the point.
Damn it, this was all Abbey's fault.
He sighed. Who was he kidding? It wasn't her fault it was his. He ruined everything right from the first moment he met her. He wished he could do it all again —he'd change the way he'd handled everything.
He glared at the phone. He still had Lucy's office number written on a piece of paper in the pocket of his suit jacket. Maybe he could call her. Maybe Abbey would be there and he could talk to her. If she wasn't, he could just ask after her, check to see if she was all right.
He reached for the phone, picked it up, then slammed it down again.
The woman had slept with Vane! Nick might have been to blame for most of this mess but the image of her with Vane was way too much.
He tapped his forehead on the desk and groaned. She'd slept with Vane and it was all his fault.
He heard the door to his office click open.
"Oh, my goodness, sir, are you ill?"
"Yes. Go away."
He heard Beverly hesitate before the door clicked closed again.
"Damn women," he muttered to the empty room.
***
Abbey wandered aimlessly around her apartment. She tried to eat an apple but threw it away after one bite. She wasn't hungry. She turned on the television but the daytime programs were dull. She opened the doors to the balcony and sat in a deck chair, opened her book and tried to read. She closed it again with the bookmark on the same page.
Maybe she should try to get more sleep. She'd barely slept a wink all week and she felt like a zombie.
She went inside, lay on the bed, and images of Nick Delaware floated in front of her closed lids. She groaned and got up again.
She opened the employment section of the papers and tried to concentrate. She could contact a few agencies, mail off her resume.
For the hundredth time she went over the events of Friday night and came to the same conclusion she'd come to every time —she was a fool for letting Nick think she'd slept with Vane.
Then she changed her mind again and decided she was better off without a lying cheat like Nick, then she changed her mind back again and lamented everything about her sorry situation.