He places down the SD card by her file and turns to leave. The light bulb above his head flickers and he smiles. “I know Elise, don’t worry. I won’t stop until I get to the bottom of this.” Instantly the flickering stops and becomes a streak of bright light; it seems to come from the bulb then flares and fills the room with a radiant glow. In the blink of an eye, it’s gone.
“Night, Elise.”
Mack turns off the light and makes his way upstairs to bed. ‘It’s a cruel world.’ He thinks. ‘Kilbride. That name shouldn’t be too hard to trace.’
18
I have no idea what time it is or how long I’ve slept but I still feel groggy. The bedside clock reads 10.00 a.m. That can’t be right!
I reach over to my watch on the bedside cabinet and it’s 3 a.m. A person could become very disoriented with this time zone business. Thank goodness we were able to sleep on the flight over.
Ayden has long since departed, and on his pillow lies a single white orchid with a note. I read it and hold the fragile flower to my nose, allowing the delicate fragrance to fill my nostrils and the rest of my body with a powerful stimulant that reminds me of last night’s impassioned lovemaking.
Morning, Beth,
You were dead to the world so I let you sleep. I’ve a 9 a.m. meeting but will be back around lunchtime. We’ll make our way upstairs for lunch …
By upstairs he means to the Ozone Bar, I assume.
Thank you for a wonderful evening…
Please don’t leave the hotel alone! If you want to go out for any reason, please call me, and I’ll make arrangements for you to have an escort. We both know what happened last time you wandered off alone!
I love you.
A X
Yes, we do ...
All the flowers from the previous night have been removed except for a single vase, full to the brim with delicate white lilies. Normality, of sorts, has been restored.
After a quick shower, a strong cup of coffee and two delicious Danish pastries, I’m ready to start my day. With no more than a fluffy bathrobe around me I boot up my laptop. Our first picture pops up, precipitating the inevitable pangs of guilt and remorse. I access my digital scrapbook; it’s taking shape. Pages are filling up with newspaper articles, photographs of us and press releases. The music I’ve added pulls at my heartstrings, but it’s truly a reflection of how I feel. I have to confess my undying love somehow amid all this pretence.
November #4
“Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.”
William Shakespeare: Hamlet.
Well, baby, we arrived at this wonderful hotel, The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong just before midnight local time. It’s such a magnificent suite. You spoil me, Ayden. Being eight hours ahead, our bodies were operating on UK time and we were, (how should I put this delicately?) Still full of energy… (Laughing)
We got all dressed up and made it as far as the door before you did what you do best; seduced the hell out of me. Mr. Stone, you are such a naughty man, but I do adore you …
For a brief moment, I stop and compose myself. I have to believe Ayden will remember the time we’ve spent together or, at least have the faintest memory. If not …
I can’t contemplate that now. I busy myself uploading a picture off my phone that Ayden took of us on the plane, and a stock photo of the hotel. The music I attach is a personal favourite. Lifehouse sings From Where You Are.
Before I can type another word, I have to take a breath - and hold back my tears before they cascade onto my keyboard like raindrops.
Even when we’re a room apart I miss you, Ayden. Wherever you are, I feel you reaching out to me, touching my heart. Last night we made love and the universe was ours while we were bonded together in the heat of passion. Nothing will keep us apart.
Yours, Beth X
I save the document and reach for my phone. I text a quick note to Charlie and snap a couple of photos: the lounge and the bathroom; just enough to impress. Knowing she’s tucked up in bed I don’t bother waiting for a reply. I move on to my third task, to text Sylvia, Ayden’s adoptive mother.
Thinking carefully about what I’m texting I begin:
Hi, Sylvia, Ayden’s in a meeting but we wanted to let you know we’re enjoying our honeymoon. Hong Kong is a spectacular city! We’re about to take in the sights tonight before leaving for the Great Barrier Reef tomorrow. Would you do me a favour? Please have Patrick scan & email Ayden’s Birth Certificate to [email protected] We’ll speak soon. Beth x
With all my jobs completed, I focus on my appearance. What does one wear to a lunch in the Ozone Bar? Smart casual, I think.
By 11.30 a.m. I’m ready to go. My black Calvin Klein Blazer looks smart over my Pepe Jeans and white blouse. I slip on my black ankle boots, tie a scarf to my bag and fill it with my camera, purse, phone and basic make-up. Who knows where this simple lunch date will lead.
The TV is on the business channel. There’s a live news report on foreign investment, unilateralism and trade wars. A gathering of business types are leaving a high rise building in the financial district and stopping to address the media as they exit. I spot Ayden and reach for the handset to turn up the sound.
Surely he’s not going to meet the press? He is …!
Instinctively, I stand. My thumbnail hits my teeth and I move towards the enormous screen, as if that will make the slightest difference to the way he carries himself.
I needn’t have worried. Seeming totally self-possessed, he delivers a statement looking perfectly poised and regal in his signature suit; he’s flawlessly disguised. After waiting for silence, he breaks the news like a raconteur spinning a yarn so adeptly you would easily believe he had done it a thousand times before. I’m so taken with him, I actually find myself applauding.
Before departing, he finds the camera lens and looks into it – at me! A sexy smile forms and I find myself smiling back as if sharing an intimate secret that no one else is aware of. He winks and I’m so startled I jerk backwards into the coffee table. Thankfully I manage to steady myself, by which time the report has ended.
By way of a final touch, I dab my lips with a little gloss and head for the door. A midday text stops me in my tracks.
I’m on my way back to the hotel. See you on the roof! A X
I quickly reply:
See you there. B X
It’s a short ride in the lift one floor up. Unfortunately, it’s crowded with tourists and the mishmash of languages and perfume has my head in a spin. The narrow corridor to the bar is bustling with bodies coming and going like a dual carriageway. Cheerful voices and music set the tone and prepare me for the shock and awe of a world-class view.
At first there is only sky and the promise of high-rise buildings with a panoramic view that stretches all the way across the harbour, as far as Victoria Peak. The swirling blanket of white foam widens and there is little to witness, except the smile from the smart bartender as I pass. I head for the window and claim two high-backed stools with a small marble table between. It isn’t until I feel the wind in my hair I realise it has an open roof; wearing my blazer was a good idea.
I envision what there is to see beneath the smoky ribbon wrapping itself around the building; last night we saw only lights and today only rainclouds. I feel a bit cheated.
Five minutes pass, then ten; I check my watch. Perched up on this high backed stool I pretend to peruse the cocktail menu when really I’m thinking through the events of the past six days. I find myself lost in thought; my chin on my upturned palm, and my head in the clouds …
I really don’t know what to make of these circumstances in which I find myself. My ‘husband’ and I have an understanding of sorts and, with every new day, I’m beginning to feel a little more comfortable in his company and in his arms. I suspect it’s not because of any grandiose ideas about omnipotence or spirituality but the simp
le fact that he is becoming more like Ayden; in each new situation and conversation there are flashes of him. When we made love in Stone Heath, I saw flickers of the man I love - I know I did; shimmering hues of sapphire gazed back at me through the miasma of a distant universe. And last night! I heard Ayden’s voice as real as if we were back in my apartment all those weeks ago … the breathless whisper of a man experiencing unadulterated rapture. I saw the love in his eyes and was so desperate to hold onto him but …
Out of the blue, it hits me: maybe that’s the way to keep his spirit alive, not only in my memory but within a body seized by an imposter. Is it the physical act of making love or a heightened emotional state that sparks him into life? I have no way of knowing.
“What do you have no way of knowing?” asks Ayden, appearing through the horde of noisy tourists. He pulls me to him for a soft kiss.
“Whether this mist will clear,” I reply, reminding myself to shatter my thoughts before they wing their way to this mind reader extraordinaire.
He attempts to seat himself on the high-backed stool, opposite me, but he’s obviously unhappy with the setup. With his feet on the foot rest, his knees project forward, so much we are a metre or more apart. His leather-soled shoes slip off the footrest, frustrating him further. He huffs and stands. “We can’t sit here.”
I’m too busy looking out of the window to be distracted by his cantankerous comments. “Can’t we just enjoy the view?”
He raises a brow. “View? What view?
He has a point.
“Maybe it will clear later?” I suggest returning to the drinks menu.
“I think it might be a good idea to clear it now.” He takes my hand, helps me to climb down from my perch, and escorts me to a vacant space where we are able to gaze out onto the sea of swirling mist unobstructed.
I feel his lips against my right ear.
“Blow.”
Looking startled I turn to face him. “Here?”
He smiles mischievously. “Yes.”
I glance about the bar, now full to overflowing with cheerful customers and tourists with iPhones and video cameras held high. “In front of all these people?”
“They won’t know what you’re doing,” he explains.
Wide-eyed I shake my head. “The minute I unzip your trousers, I think they’ll work it out.”
He throws back his head and fills our little space with raucous laughter. “My darling, you are adorable.”
I have no idea what’s about to happen and attempt to return to our stools before they’re claimed.
He circles my waist with his arm. “I meant for you to blow out there.” He tips his head towards the window.
“Why would I do that?” I ask.
“To disperse the clouds, of course. Go ahead.”
I’m frowning and constructing a look of utter disbelief. “You want me to blow at a plate glass window?”
“Why not? Let’s see what happens.” His wink tells me this is going to be a lot of fun, now we’ve cleared up the initial misunderstanding.
I look around before tipping my body forward, purse my lips and blow.
“Harder.”
Feeling foolish, I do as he orders; I lean back to set myself for the task and blow hard like a child extinguishing candles on a birthday cake. Before my eyes a small crack appears in the clouds; it opens up and widens, making me laugh. I blow harder, encouraged by his boyish smile. In a matter of minutes the curtain between two worlds clears completely. We are looking out towards Hong Kong Harbour and can even pick out the towering peek of Mount Austin in the distance.
He slips a hand in a pocket and whispers into my ear. “Now that’s what I call a view.”
“Me too. That trick will never grow old,” I remark, propping myself up against him, relishing the skyline.
“I like to think of it as a crowd pleaser,” he teases, looking at the people now beginning to converge around the windows.
“Well, you’ve certainly pleased this crowd and me.” I kiss his cheek and wipe away the evidence with my fingertips. “And what’s your next trick going to be?”
He scans the room. Our stools have been taken and we appear to have nowhere to sit. “Getting us a table. Wait here. I’ll sort something out.”
I’m just about to say, “Never mind …” but he’s gone. Finding myself alone, once again, I return my attention to the spectacular view and smile as I replay the miraculous event over in my mind. I’m still smiling when he returns, looking decidedly pleased with himself.
“Get your bag.” He takes my hand and we follow a waiter to a small table that has a reserved sign on it. “We’ll be more comfortable here.”
Less than a minute after we’re seated, a fleet of staff appear, carrying two trays and what looks like a heavy-duty ice-bucket and a stand.
“Thank you,” Ayden says, pointing at the table and issuing instructions in flawless Chinese. The servers disperse, leaving the head waiter with the unenviable task of popping the cork. He does so with minimal fuss and pours from the bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée.
“Champagne? What’s the occasion?” I reach out for a toast.
“We’re on honeymoon - isn’t that occasion enough?” The skin around his eyes wrinkles as he smiles and so does mine.
“Of course it is. Cheers.” The delicious elixir tickles my tongue then slips down my throat like liquid gold. “It’s delicious.” I reach out for a cracker. “What’s this?” I ask, placing a napkin across my lap.
“That’s sushi and that’s caviar.” He seems disinterested.
I place a couple of morsels on my plate. “I thought you didn’t know about food.”
“I don’t. One of the waiters walked past me with that. I asked what it was and then told him to bring it to us with the most expensive item on the menu. It was an easy selection to make.” He sits back into the cushioned sofa.
“Aren’t you going to have anything to eat? God knows it must have cost a fortune.”
He shakes his head distractedly and checks his watch. “I can’t stay.”
I return a cracker to the plate before it reaches my mouth. “You can’t stay where? In this bar?”
“I need to go and check something out…”
“Didn’t you discover the identity of your embezzler at the meeting this morning?”
“No.”
“It wasn’t Jake then?”
“He wasn’t there. He said he had to check out one of the manufacturing units.”
I shrug my shoulders and continue eating. “In that case he probably did. So where do you have to go now?”
“I plan on paying an unscheduled visit to the same unit.” He checks his watch again.
“Please stop checking your watch.” Disappointment is written all over my face. “Why did you order all this if you knew we wouldn’t have time to eat it?”
“Just because I have to leave doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.”
“On my own? Up here in the clouds?!”
He chortles. “Of course not. I’ve arranged for you to have a companion.”
I take a long sip of champagne, put down my glass and top it up. “Some honeymoon this is turning out to be,” I huff, despairing of his lack of consideration.
“Would you prefer I renege on my duties?” he asks, pinning me in place with a disparaging stare. “To allow ASMI to suffer the indignation of a court case whereby the guilty party is sought out by investigators and prosecuted in the full glare of the media?”
I’m shaking my head. “Of course not.”
He stands and fastens his jacket. “Then, I have to go and sort it out.”
I inspect him from his knees to the top of his head, not stopping to take in the cut of his trousers or the way his jacket clings to his muscular body like a second skin, but revering everything most sacrosanct in the male form. I find myself licking my lips, coating my tongue in lip-gloss at the merest thought of him - and last night.
He clears his throat and walks aro
und the table, eases back a couple of strands of hair from my left ear and speaks softly. “You know how hard it is for me to keep this revving libido under control as it is without you coveting me with your eyes.”
“I wasn’t,” I lie. “Stop reading my thoughts” I’m giggling.
He licks my earlobe and continues. “I don’t have to read your thoughts, Beth. Your eyes betray your every desire.” He stands upright and adjusts his trousers as best he can to conceal the bulge that just happens to be at my eye level. “Now look what you’ve done.” He grins and shakes his head. “You’re a terrible flirt, Mrs. Stone.”
“You’re a horny bastard, Mr. Stone,” I reply, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a broad smile.
“This is true,” he answers as naturally as breathing. Something or someone catches his eye over by the bar. “Your companion is here.”
Companion?
Jake appears, catching the eye of every female en route. When he and Ayden combine forces the body heat in the room tends to increase a couple of degrees; I know mine has.
“Well if it isn’t Mr. and Mrs. Stone enjoying an afternoon snack.” He winks at me and pats Ayden on the back. “So, you have me baby-minding now?” he asks Ayden, sitting down and kissing my cheek. “Hi, Beth. You look as lovely as ever.”
“Thanks, but I don’t need baby minding,” I huff indignantly.
Jake is about to place a cracker in his mouth but stops before it reaches his lips. “There’s approximately one and a half million people over there on Hong Kong Island. Take it from me, you’ll need a minder.” He taps my knee. “Stick with me, baby, you’re in safe hands.”
I glance up at Ayden, who has adopted a look of unaccustomed concern. It would appear he’s thinking twice about leaving me in Jake’s safe hands.
Jake continues to dig into the caviar. “How long you gonna be, Ayd?” he asks between mouthfuls.
“A couple of hours. I’m hoping it won’t take longer than that to check out a couple of things.” He looks over to me apologetically.
TouchStone for ever (The Story of Us Trilogy) Page 22