“Then that’s a big problem. Barker’s obviously toying with you and your family, and he appears to have chosen Eve to report on this. Maybe he has men following the two of you and discovering you’re dating. Remember, the bastard has a sick sense of humour. If Eve refuses to investigate and report on this, Barker might physically force her to do it. We don’t want it to get to that.”
Goosebumps formed on Xavier’s skin and his mind filled with a familiar lifeless body. But this time, it wasn’t Gail’s face he saw. It was Eve’s.
His heart thumped hard and sweat broke out of his pores. No. He’d never let that son of a bitch lay a finger on his Eve.
“You’re right,” he said to Aidan, his throat tight. “I’ll make sure she picks up the lead and works on it. Hopefully, she won’t ever get a chance to present it, but if she has to, then she has to. Her reporting on it is not likely to change anything for Dad anyway.”
“That’s right. It might even save your dad, because it’ll be following Barker’s plan. I’ll call with an update as soon as I can, but I doubt it will be tonight. I suggest you go home and get some rest.”
“Thanks,” he said dully.
Xavier did go home and, after hours of tossing and turning, he felt sleep pull him in…
“No!” he yelled, sitting up in bed, body shaking.
He glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief. It had only been a nightmare.
He rubbed his eyes, but his frightful dream played back in his mind.
No, he didn’t want to recall it. He shook his head vigorously to erase the image of Eve—his precious Eve—being shot by an unknown gunman while smiling for the camera and telling the public the best way to feed pelicans.
He bolted out of bed and poured himself some water. Then he took a long shower, scrubbing his face harder than necessary to rid himself of his nightmare.
But fear had lodged in his body, and it wouldn’t go away. He knew that Barker was now also starting to pull the strings on Eve.
He went to his gym, only sending brief waves of hello to his staff, who were surprised to see him at six in the morning. Then he jumped onto Obstacle X, going as hard and as fast as he could. He kept going and going, only allowing himself a few minutes of rest every now and again. Soon, his lungs were bursting and his muscles were screaming that he had to stop.
But that was how he wanted it. Hadn’t pushing his body like this helped him cope with Gail’s death? Now he wanted the same physical pain to help him ward off his fear for Eve and his dad—and the burgeoning pain in his heart.
He couldn’t be with Eve. He had to stay away from her while all this was going on.
“Xavier!”
He glanced down from the pull-up ladder. To his surprise, his receptionist was with a tall, slender woman and a balding man.
“Xavier, these people said they really, really need to speak with you,” Rochelle said.
“We’re sorry for coming without an appointment,” the balding man said. “But we thought we’d pop in to see if you’re available for a short meeting. We need your services rather urgently.”
Xavier dropped from the course and walked to them. “I’m afraid I’m not exactly presentable right this moment.” He indicated his sweaty body.
“I don’t mind,” the woman said with a smile, casting an admiring glance at his torso.
“Well, I don’t, either,” the man said, clearing his throat. “We need to be in another meeting in fifteen minutes, so we really only want five minutes to see if you can help us.”
Xavier stifled a sigh. “Okay.”
“Would you like some water?” Rochelle offered the strangers.
“No, thank you,” the woman answered.
Xavier was about to lead them to his office, but the woman started walking around the obstacle course.
“I like it,” she said to her companion.
The man nodded and turned to Xavier. “I’m Mario Clint and you already know Gloria Mendez. I’m her manager.”
Xavier shook their hands. “I beg your pardon, but I don’t recall meeting you before, Miss Mendez.”
Gloria laughed. “You don’t recognise me. I like that.”
Xavier’s brows furrowed. “You do look familiar.”
“Where have you been?” Mario asked in disbelief. “Hiding under a rock?”
Xavier simply shrugged. Could they go now? He really wasn’t in the mood to meet people, even if they were potential clients.
“Gloria’s a top model. She won the competition six years ago and has been in demand since,” Mario informed.
“Oh, I see.” So what?
“Anyway,” Mario said, “Gloria has been offered a role in a movie where she’ll be paired with one of her favourite actors. But this silly girl agrees to the condition that she’ll do most of the action scenes.”
“I think it’ll be fun,” Gloria interjected. “Anyway, I need you to train me. There will be lots of running in the jungle, swinging on ropes, climbing trees to avoid predators, and all that. I’m pretty fit, but I know I have to up my muscle strength and stamina to do those kinds of things. I have two and a half months before shooting starts, so I’m hoping to have some intense training with you. I really want to be good at this role. I’ve always wanted to go into movies.”
“Why choose me?”
Gloria gave him an almost apologetic smile. “I had another personal trainer lined up, but he suddenly became unavailable. He suggested you, saying you’re Holly Stirling’s brother. I love Holly. But now I see this, and I’m excited.” She indicated Obstacle X.
Xavier opened his mouth to decline, but something gave him pause. Didn’t he need an excuse to stay away from Eve? “I have to check with another client to see if I have the time to take this on.”
“Please,” Mario said hurriedly. “Gloria needs a personal trainer, and it’s so hard to find one at the last minute.”
“Let me make a phone call.” He went to his office and called Aidan.
“Hey, what’s up?” Aidan asked drowsily.
He smirked. So the man did sleep. “I’ve been thinking about the current situation, and I think Eve will be safer if I’m not seen around her at all.”
There was silence before Aidan spoke. “Right now, it’s still only you who can get close enough to her to get information. How else would we know her plans or who she’s spoken to?”
“I’ll still talk to her by phone. Hopefully, Barker will think we’ve broken up or had a fight if we suddenly stop seeing each other. Last thing we want is for him to think he can hurt me further by hurting Eve. This is an extra precaution we should take for Eve’s sake.”
“Hm. Okay. Hang on.”
Xavier watched Gloria and Mario inspecting Obstacle X as he waited.
“Okay,” Aidan said when he came back on the line. “The chiefs agree that your suggestion has merit. But you have to keep in close communication with Eve. All our agents are on assignments, so we don’t have anyone to physically shadow her.”
“Got it,” he said with a deep breath, hanging up.
He returned to his visitors. “Okay. I do have availability.”
Gloria grinned. “Great!”
“How many times a week do you want to see me?”
Mario answered. “She needs to go to Milan for a show in two weeks, and she’ll be there for a month. So she’d want to see you every day for some intensive training in the next two weeks, then go back to it when she comes back from Milan.”
“Do you promise to go to the gym and do the workouts I tell you to do while you’re in Milan?” he asked Gloria.
“Yes, promise,” Gloria said.
Xavier brought up the matter of payment, and Mario agreed to it readily.
“Okay. I’ll ask Rochelle to email you some paperwork. When do you want to start? Tomorrow?”
“What about later today?” Gloria asked. “I want to start ASAP.”
“Wait,” Mario said to Gloria. “You have a shoot at Shelly Park Beach at
midday, remember? Then you have a dinner meeting. I don’t think you’ll have time to come back here today.”
Gloria pouted. “I want to start today. I need all the time with Xavier I can get.”
Mario turned to Xavier. “Can you go to Shelly Park Beach for today’s training? Then she’s already there and can get ready for her dinner meeting straight after.”
“Okay. That’s not a problem.”
“Good. Can you be there by… let me see… three? You and Gloria should have an hour for your training.”
“No problem.”
“Good,” Mario said. “We have to run, but I’ll leave my email with your receptionist.”
“Thank you.”
Xavier escorted the duo to Rochelle. Then he went back to his office and picked up his phone, staring at it as his heart pounded.
What should he tell Eve? That he was cancelling on her to work with a supermodel? The last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt and jealous.
Regardless, he had to disappoint her. He couldn’t let Barker use her against him.
Chapter 17
Eve grabbed her ringing phone from her dining table, and her heart skipped. Her mind had been going round and round in circles since yesterday’s conversations with Aaron and Chester, but she couldn’t help but get excited at hearing her boyfriend’s voice.
“Hi.”
“Hey. Am I interrupting?”
She frowned at Xavier’s lack of cheer. “No, I’m still at home. Is everything okay?”
“I’m calling to say that I can’t see you for at least a week. I’ve got a new client, and I need to go with him to Perth. We leave this afternoon.”
“Perth? Why so sudden? And why do you have to go with him?”
“It’s unexpected. He’s a model who got a role in an action movie and they’re filming some scenes in Perth. Anyway, he’s realising that he’s having a hard time with some of the stunts. He could have a double, but he wants to do his own stunts to impress the director and the production company. So he wants me to go with him and train him intensively in between filming.”
“Wow, that sounds exciting. Who’s this model-actor?”
“Sorry, babe. I signed an NDA.”
She chuckled. “Don’t worry. I understand. It’s a shame, though, because I really need to talk to you about something.”
“About what?”
“Um, there’s been another anonymous tip, and it’s got something to do with your dad.” She held her breath for his response.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Do you know if he’s into property development?”
“Hmm, not sure. Maybe. My parents have a couple of investment properties, but I don’t know if they’ve invested in a development. Why?”
“This tip-off has something to do with a property development scam that your dad’s apparently involved in. So I’m hoping to speak with him and get his explanation.”
Xavier sighed. “Honestly, Eve, I don’t think he’d want to talk to you if it’s regarding a tip-off. He doesn’t want to appear on Your Eyes and Ears again, whether or not he’s gonna look good.”
“Aaron’s pushing us to do a segment on this next week. If I don’t work on it, Chester will. So I’d rather do it than hand it back to Chester.”
“Chester was going to work on it originally?” Xavier asked in surprise.
“Yes, Aaron gave it to him, but he’s too busy, so he asked me to do it.”
“Well, I’d much rather you do it, too. I know you’ll be fair. Chester sensationalises his content too much.”
“Xavier,” she said hesitantly, “if I find anything, you know I’ll have to report all of it.”
“I know. I won’t get in your way, and I won’t blame you for doing your job. I trust Dad, though.”
She let out a sigh of relief. See? If Xavier thought his dad was guilty, then he’d have tried to stop her from reporting this, right? And even if Gerald proved to be less than innocent, well, Xavier wasn’t Gerald.
She let herself relax. “Thanks for being understanding, honey.”
“Of course. Hey, I have to run to the airport to catch my plane. I don’t know what the shoot’s gonna be like, but I’ll call regularly, okay?”
“Okay. I’m gonna miss you.”
“Me too, babe,” Xavier said in an almost-whisper. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
Wistful at the thought of not seeing Xavier all week, she got ready for work.
Like always, it was going to be a busy day. She had to keep interviewing other leads, even if they weren’t what they hoped to report on. They had to have contingencies in case their main stories had to be pulled at the last minute for one reason or another.
She was gobbling down a late lunch at a quiet café when she received a text from Alex.
Hey, girl, not sure if you want to follow this up, but a man named Louie Finn rang. He said he was the one who originally tipped us off about a property development scam that Gerald Stirling is apparently involved in. He’s happy to talk to someone, but preferably you, and only today at three. He said he’s not sure if he’ll be available later. He runs the kiosk at Shelly Park Beach, and he can meet you there. Thought I’d ask you first as you’ve been investigating the Stirlings. Plus I know Chester is so busy that he’s starting to run around like a headless chook.
Eve laughed at Alex’s description of Chester. She checked her watch. She could get to Shelly Park Beach by three.
Yes, I can meet with him. I’m not far from Shelly Park Beach. Thanks, Alex.
No worries. Hope it won’t be a waste of your time.
Eve smiled. Alex was truly becoming a good friend.
She got up to go, her nerves beginning to attack her. She prayed the news from this witness would be positive for Gerald Stirling.
“Hello, Eve!”
Eve smiled at the man who was enthusiastically waving at her as she made her way to the Shelly Park Beach kiosk. She didn’t mind stopping and saying hello to viewers, but she was already a couple of minutes late for her meeting.
“I’m Louie Finn,” the man said.
She stopped in surprise. “Oh, sorry, Mr. Finn. I was expecting to meet you at the kiosk.”
Louie grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously. “Just Louie, please. I’m so excited to meet you. Thank you for coming to see me.”
“No problem.”
“Can we talk over there?” Louie pointed to the far end of the park, away from the hustle and bustle of the area. “I don’t want my regular customers noticing I’m talking to you and asking too many questions. You never know what they might think. Can’t afford rumours about my business.”
“Of course.”
Louie walked briskly, and Eve tried to keep up with him. Thankfully, her heels weren't too high.
“Well, Eve,” Louie said when they sat on a park bench, “I don’t want to badmouth people, but I think I should say something about Gerald Stirling. I hate it when people try to scam others.”
Eve nodded. “Do you mind if I record this conversation?”
“Sure,” Louie said with a dismissive wave. “I’m just glad I didn’t fall for it. I mean, I was going to invest in that development because my friend swore the presentation was excellent and the people involved were all trustworthy. But I didn’t have enough spare cash, so I passed. But my friend isn’t as lucky. He borrowed money, and now he stands to lose thousands and thousands.” Louie shook his head in disgust. “I encouraged him to talk to you too, but he’s the shy type. He doesn’t want the hassle of having to be on TV and all that. But people have to know about this! Too many dishonest people getting away with things these days.”
Eve repressed a sigh. “So this friend of yours, how did he hear about this investment?”
“He’s a client of Stirling Mortgage Brokers. Gerald Stirling personally sold it to him, vouching for what a sound and perfect investment it was.”
“And what makes him no longer believe it’s sound?”
“Where is this development being built?”
“In Adelaide, I think, because they have a lot more clients from South Australia than anywhere else.”
Eve frowned. Hadn’t her dad been offered some property investment scheme over there?
“I’ll give you my friend’s friend’s details,” Louie said. “His name’s Edward Johnson. Nice guy. He wanted to speak to you too, but he’s in New Zealand. He said you can call him, though.”
“That’s great. Thank you.” Eve waited for Louie to forward her the contact information before asking the next question. “So do you know what Gerald Stirling’s role is in this whole thing?”
“Well, apparently, he’s been very active in promoting the scheme. But Edward said he probably didn’t have the necessary license to get involved in the selling of something like this, whatever that means. The other people selling it interstate also probably weren’t licensed. I think the main seller in Adelaide is a guy called Shaun or Scott. I can’t remember, but Edward should be able to tell you more.”
Scott. That was the name of her dad’s friend who’d tried to push him into a questionable investment.
Her breath hitched. So this lead could be accurate. Xavier’s dad could be a conman.
“Well, that’s all I know. Hopefully that’s helpful.”
“It is, Louie. Thank you so much.”
“Even if I wouldn’t want to be on TV, I hope you consider filming in this area. You can have this beautiful backdrop, especially on a glorious day like this.” Louie swept his arm from the direction of his kiosk to the sand and water before them.
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