“I don’t want Damon to find you,” Maddie said in a whisper.
“Now, you don’t worry about me, you hear?” she said in a light tone.
“Are you close to us? I miss you.”
“No, honey. I’m a bit far away from you guys at the moment. But don’t worry. Hopefully in a few more months, we can see each other.”
“I hope so.”
“Do you still have some of the money I gave you before I left?”
“Yes. I’m really careful so Mum doesn’t know I have it. I used some of it to buy materials for the art project I told you about. Mum didn’t even ask how I got them. She thought the school just gave them to us.”
“Okay, sweetie. You’re such a wonderful girl, you know that?”
“Thanks, Auntie. I really do miss you. But it’s okay if you don’t see us yet. I know you have to stay away for a while.”
Geri blinked back tears, her heart expanding for her perceptive, intelligent, too-mature-for-her-age niece. If it weren’t for Maddie, she would have left her sister to her own devices. Tricia needed to grow up and learn to be responsible. But Geri couldn’t stand the thought of Maddie suffering because of her mother’s stupidity. She didn’t want to think that badly of her only sibling, but Tricia kept on proving time and again that the word truly did apply to her. Tricia’s only saving grace was that she truly loved Maddie and wasn’t an altogether bad mother.
“I miss you too, Maddie,” she said in an upbeat tone. “When I get myself sorted, I promise we’ll see each other.”
“Okay.”
“Give me the phone, Maddie. I need to talk to your aunt,” Tricia said. “And go back to your room and finish your homework.”
“Okay,” Maddie said reluctantly. “Bye, Auntie Geri. I love you.”
Geri smiled. “I love you too, sweetie.”
“Here’s Mum.”
“So, Geri,” Tricia said. “Are you gonna send money for Maddie’s excursion? You have to help since your problems are not as big as mine.”
Heat rose to Geri’s face. “My problems are not as big as yours? Have you forgotten I can’t go home because I’m being threatened by your ex-boyfriend?”
“You were the one who chose to cross Damon, not me,” Tricia said indignantly. “If you’d let me lend him that money, you wouldn’t have to hide, would you?”
“You didn’t have any money to lend him, Tricia,” Geri said in a low voice, struggling to keep her temper. “You were going to borrow against the B&B business our parents left us. I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to cavort with a known criminal and promise to give him a ridiculous sum of money when you know that Damon would never have paid you back, ever. The B&B would have been crippled with debts, and we would have ended up with nothing if I hadn’t stopped you from doing something foolish for that ex-con ex-boyfriend of yours.”
“Of course he would have paid me! He promised! Now we don’t have any business at all because you sold it from under my nose!”
“I thought I’d explained it to you,” she said through gritted teeth. “Damon knew he had you in the palm of his hand when you promised him a quarter of a million dollars for whatever dodgy thing he was planning. I had to step in and stop you from losing everything we had left.”
“But I lost everything anyway because you ran away with my share of the money and stuffed up my relationship with Damon,” Tricia said angrily. “I haven’t forgiven you yet, Geri. I don’t think I can.”
Geri squeezed her eyes shut. “Your money is still your money, Tricia. I’m just holding it for safekeeping. If I gave it to you, you’d give it to Damon, believing he’d pay you back. You have to wake up to the fact that the guy is not in love with you. He just wants your cash.”
“That’s not true,” Tricia hissed.
“So where is he now, huh? Now that you don’t have any money or assets and can’t even pay your own rent, he doesn’t even call you.”
“Because he’s mad at me for letting you do what you did! And of course I am paying for my own rent. Just because it’s you who sends the money to the real estate agent doesn’t mean you’re paying for it. You’re simply using my money that you ran away with.”
Geri slumped in her chair. Tricia was too infatuated with Damon to see sense. Her own sister had even sworn that she’d back Damon up if Geri ever went to the police to accuse Damon of wrongdoing—which, in Tricia’s mind, Damon could never ever do again.
“Just come back, Geri. You can live here with us, but just give me my share of the money. It’s mine to do with as I wish. It’s not fair that you’re drip-feeding me with it, paying my rent for me. I can’t afford so many things, and there you are, sitting on hundreds of thousands. You’re so incredibly selfish.”
“Tricia, you know I can’t come back while Damon is after our money,” she said patiently. “He threatened me if I didn’t give it to him, remember?”
“He said he asked you nicely, and I believe him. He’s not gonna do anything that will land him in jail again, Geri. Why can’t you see that?”
Geri bit her tongue. She’d be wasting her breath telling Tricia she was blind. Her sister wouldn’t realise that Damon had no heart until Damon had squeezed every cent from her and disappeared from her life, never paying her back. And for a quarter of a million dollars, Geri was sure someone like Damon would take any risk, even the possibility of going back to jail.
“Anyway, Geri, I want you to send me some more of my money. I need some business capital.”
“No, Tricia.”
“Please, Geri. Just a couple of grand. That’s not a lot to ask.”
“Sorry, Tricia.” I can’t.
“Oh my God! I hate you!” Tricia hung up on her.
Geri rested her head against the backrest of the sofa and stared at the ceiling. It hurt like hell that Tricia was mad at her, but that was exactly how Geri needed her to be. Tricia’s clear hatred for what she’d done meant that Damon believed that Tricia didn’t have a single cent to give him. Damon had been leaving Tricia alone. Problem was, he was now after Geri.
Like Tricia, Geri had also thought the man would steer clear of anything that might put him behind bars again after having been released from prison just eight months ago. But she’d been wrong. Damon’s eyes had been pure evil when he’d told her he expected her to give him the money promised by Tricia. The threat was clear even though the words hadn’t been uttered.
Fortunately, Damon had believed her when she’d said the B&B buyer had to borrow from the bank and that it would take eight weeks before she could get the funds from the sale of the business. That had given her time to secretly prepare for her trip with Ingrid and see to it that Tricia and Maddie were settled into the three-bedroom apartment she’d bought without her sister’s knowledge.
But even though the B&B had been sold for a good price, there were huge debts that had to be paid. Unbeknownst to them, their mother had been borrowing against the business to fund her gambling addiction—something she’d developed after their father had passed away three years ago.
With Tricia struggling to get a good paying job after the B&B had been sold, Geri didn’t think her sister could make enough to cover any rent or mortgage. So she’d decided to use all of her savings to buy the apartment outright so there would be no borrowings for her or Tricia to worry about.
Now Geri was the one stripped of her savings and without a home. Gosh, she felt like a fugitive!
She let out a frustrated sigh and walked to the kitchen to get a drink. She spied the door leading to an indoor pool, and it beckoned to her. Hmm, a swim would do her good after that argument with Tricia.
She went in and smiled. The big room felt warm, and the sparkling water was inviting. This really was the place to relax after that troubling conversation with her sister.
She scooted down to check the water temperature of the kidney-shaped pool. Perfect! Oh, how she wanted to just strip naked and jump right in!
Well… why not? Ingr
id, Simon and Rolf wouldn’t be back for another couple of hours. Plus, there were already clean towels sitting on each of the five daybeds, ready for use.
Ha! This might be her one and only chance to go skinny-dipping. Might as well take advantage of it.
She took off all her clothes and laid them neatly on the daybed closest to the door, then went into the pool, revelling in the soothing sensation of the warm water. Ahh, she felt better already.
She swam freestyle from one end to another for a few minutes until she got a good workout. Then she simply floated face-up on the water, closing her eyes to savour the moment of peace and tranquillity.
Admittedly, for all the drama regarding Damon and her sister, she still felt lucky. She was travelling Australia, living in places like this, and getting paid for it. Who else had that opportunity?
So she really shouldn’t complain. She had the most generous employer, and now she also got to work with the most handsome man she’d ever met.
She smiled, her heart beating faster at the thought of Simon. He was a wonderful man. Even Rolf liked him—
“Arf! Arf!”
Rolf?
Geri opened her eyes as she scampered to a standing position.
There was Rolf, being carried by… Simon, who was gazing at her intensely.
She covered herself with her arms, her movement in the water feeling like slow motion. But it was too late. Simon would have already seen everything.
Everything.
Chapter 4
Simon stopped debating with himself on whether he should stay or go. Geri was clearly horrified, so he had his answer—she hadn’t gone naked in the pool to attract his attention.
“Sorry, Geri!” he said, turning around to leave the pool room. He closed the door behind him and walked to the kitchen, shaking his head at himself. Geri obviously hadn’t seen his text saying he was coming back with Rolf. So much for wondering if she’d been trying to seduce him.
Seriously, he was so used to women being blatant in their flirtations that the first thing he’d immediately thought was that Geri was signalling her interest to him by floating on the water without a stitch on, her limbs splayed alluringly. Obviously not. She’d been so embarrassed!
Argh, he was ashamed of himself right now for staring. He’d been rude, and he wasn’t usually ungentlemanly despite his playboy ways. Well, it served him right for being egotistical.
“Let’s hope she’s not angry with me,” he whispered to Rolf. “But she’s really hot, isn’t she?”
Rolf looked at him, mouth open and tongue slightly out.
He sighed as he placed Rolf on the floor and encouraged him to enter the portable playpen that Geri had set up in the lounge room earlier. Then he secured Rolf inside after the dog had happily settled in with his chew toy.
“Good boy, Rolf,” he said before going back to the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of cold water. Hell, he really liked what he’d seen. Geri’s smoking-hot body was still etched in his mind, stirring his loins.
The pool room door closed softly, and he tried to slam the lid on his lusty thoughts before turning around.
Geri was fully dressed, embarrassment written all over her face. “I’m so sorry,” she said in a small voice.
He smiled, relieved that she didn’t seem angry. “What for? I’m the one who’s sorry. I just assumed you’d seen my text saying that Rolf and I were coming back because Justin’s hotel didn’t allow pets inside their premises, but obviously you hadn’t. Anyway, I didn’t mean to stare, but…” But, what? He couldn’t very well tell her the real reason why, could he?
“Well, I didn’t mean to shock you,” Geri said with a laugh. “But I’ll have you know I don’t often swim naked.”
Ah, she seemed to want to make light of the situation. He followed her lead. “Don’t often? Aha! So you’ve done it before, huh?”
Geri chuckled. “What can I do to make you forget that you saw me in my birthday suit in there?”
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. “Tell you what,” he said. “How about we stop talking about it and go to Harry’s Cafe de Wheels for some pies? I know you said you’re happy with the banana bread, but surely that’s not a satisfying dinner.”
Geri’s face lit up. The popular caravan cafe at Woolloomooloo was a Sydney institution and one that Geri had mentioned she’d love to go to. “Is Harry’s near here?”
“Yup. And if Mrs. Lawrence calls to get picked up, we can go from there.”
“Then, yes, please.”
“Great! I’m ready when you are. And Rolf went to the toilet when we arrived, for your info.”
“Oh, thanks! We’re ready to go, then. We can leave Rolf in his pen. It’s set up so we can leave him alone for a few hours.”
They grabbed their jackets and walked to the vehicle.
Simon switched on the engine and an uptempo song came out of the speakers. “Have you ever driven naked before?” he asked, wanting to see how far he could take this teasing.
Geri gave him a playful push. “You won’t let me live that down, will you?”
He chuckled, glad that she was well and truly comfortable with him again. “Well, have you?”
“No. Have you?”
“No, but there’s always a first time,” he said, giving her a sideways glance.
“Fine. I dare you to do it, then.”
His eyes widened, leaving the road for a moment to look at her. “Really?”
“Watch where you’re going,” Geri said sharply.
He obeyed, trying to suppress a surprised grin. Was Geri flirting with him? “What prize will I get for driving naked?”
“Nothing,” Geri said with a snort. “As if you’d really do it even if I dared you.”
He laughed. Geri had no idea just how playful he could be.
“Anyway,” Geri said, “how long were you standing by the pool before I noticed you?”
Simon inhaled deeply. How honest should he be?
“I’m thinking,” Geri continued, “that you went in there, then saw me, then got shocked, then Rolf barked. I’d say all that happened in… less than ten seconds?”
Simon smirked.
“What? You were staring for longer than that?”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to. It was just that I thought you’d read my text, so…”
Geri gasped. “You thought I did it on purpose?”
“Only because I thought you’d seen my text,” he repeated pointedly.
“Oh my God,” Geri said, half-incredulous, half-appalled.
“For what it’s worth, I was ashamed of myself when I realised how awkward I made you feel. I’m really sorry.”
“So… exactly how long were you standing there?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. Two, three minutes?”
Geri gaped at him for a long moment before sitting straight on her seat and staring out the windscreen.
Simon waited for her to say something again, but she remained quiet. Damn it, had he ruined their friendship even before it developed? He stopped at a red light and looked at her, ready to apologise more insistently.
But Geri was biting her bottom lip, seeming to hide the upward tug of her mouth. And with the aid of street and building lights outside, he could make out that her cheeks were flushed.
He hid his own grin. If he wasn’t mistaken, Geri liked that he’d ogled her, but was embarrassed about it.
“You know,” he said, ignoring the warning in his head to get back to being professional, “if Rolf hadn’t barked, the only way you’d have known I was there was after I’d stripped naked and joined you in the pool.”
Geri covered her face. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“I know, I know,” he said with a chuckle. “What I’m trying to say is, I liked what I saw.”
Geri inhaled sharply. “Goodness, Simon. You’ve only just started working with us and you already want to get sacked?”
His jaw dropped, gaping at Geri in surprise. “Sorry.
I thought we were joking around.” Hell, he certainly didn’t want to get booted from this job.
“Are you like this with other women you work with?” she asked sternly.
“No.” Guilt pricked him for his lie.
Well, technically he hadn’t lied. He’d never slept with anyone who worked at Alexander Jets. His business was too important to him to fool around with his female employees. Even though some had shown interest in him, he considered them off-limits. And as for the clients he’d hooked up with, they’d made the first move.
Which reminded him that he shouldn’t be pushing this. Geri hadn’t made the first move. She hadn’t gone naked for his benefit.
Didn’t he want to meet girls who didn’t know him as Simon Alexander, the playboy? Now, Geri probably thought he was exactly that. What was more, as a chauffeur working with her, he’d been very inappropriate.
He took a deep breath, focusing on the road ahead. If he were to ask Geri out on a date later, he wouldn’t want her to turn him down, so he’d better watch himself from here on in.
“Hellooo,” Geri said with a chuckle.
He glanced at her, frowning.
“Hey, I was just kidding. I’m still embarrassed at what happened, but I’m not a prude. I know we’re just joking around.”
His lips curved into a relieved smile. “Phew! You got me nervous for a second there.”
“And there I was thinking you wanted to jump in the sack.”
Simon hit the brakes harder than he intended to slow down with the traffic, making them lurch forward against their seat belts.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I said that,” Geri said, laughing at herself as she waved her hands in front of her face as if warding off the words she’d just uttered.
“Geri Blaine, you’re much naughtier than I thought,” he said with wonder.
“I meant to make a joke with the word sack. You know—wanting to get sacked and hitting the sack because you saw me naked…” She shook her head. “Oh, hell, that was terrible.”
“It was funny.”
“Thanks,” she said dryly.
“So if I’m not getting sacked from my job, does that mean I’d be getting in the sack…?” He paused meaningfully.
The Unmasked CEO (Captured by Love Book 7) Page 4