Give a Man a Bad Name

by Roberta Leigh

  Unfortunately there was nothing she could do about her dress; amusingly sexy when worn by Amalia Bradshaw, it was incongruous—and all the more startling—when worn by smooth-haired, gently mannered Marly. She hitched the low neckline as high as possible, but it still showed a lot of cleavage... Oh, well, she had done the best she could. Snapping shut her bag, she hurried out to Kevin, interested to see what he would make of her transformation.

  The foyer was emptying rapidly, giving him a good look at her as she came towards him.

  ‘Why the quick change?’ he questioned. ‘And what for?’

  ‘Who for?’ she corrected, and waited until they were seated—breathing easier when she glimpsed Alex Hamilton some distance in front of her—before explaining to Kevin what she had meant. ‘I’m playing a joke on my boss. He’s here and I didn’t want him to see me au naturel. I’ll fill you in properly later.’

  ‘I’ll hold you to that,’ Kevin said, still bemused. ‘There’s more drama being with you than on the screen!’

  She made a face at him and he chuckled as they settled back to enjoy the film.

  Though it was an entertaining piece of escapism, Marly’s thoughts centred on Alex. Was he here because like herself he was a Spielberg fan, or because it was the right place to be seen? She knew so little about him, and wished she’d had more time to question Andrea. She had half a mind to write and tell her what she was doing, but decided against it. Time enough to do so when Alex had bitten the dust.

  Two hours later, as the final credits faded from the screen, she moved slowly up the aisle. Though there was now no reason for Alex not to see her, inexplicably she still wanted to avoid him, but it was not to be, for he was chatting in the foyer to a European couple, beside him a young and pretty blonde. Across her head he glimpsed Marly, and murmuring something to the girl, he sauntered towards her.

  ‘Hello, Marly,’ he said. ‘This is an unexpected pleasure.’

  Composedly she waied him, irritably aware how insignificant he made all other men appear. A beige suit emphasised his height and wide shoulders, the pale colour heightening the bronze tan of his skin and drawing attention to his thick, tawny hair. There was no doubt he was a lion of a man and, like the king of the jungle, had the same air of confidence and supremacy.

  He was as aware of her as she was of him, for his eyes ranged openly over her, surprise apparent in their grey depths as they took in her swirling skirt and shoe-string-tied top that revealed as much as it concealed.

  ‘Did you enjoy the film?’ he asked.

  ‘Very much,’ she said composedly. ‘Did you?’

  He nodded, simultaneously glancing at Kevin, and she introduced them.

  ‘Why don’t you both join me for supper?’ Alex suggested, his eyes skimming her body again.

  ‘We’ve already booked a table somewhere,’ she said before Kevin could speak.

  ‘Another time, then,’ he murmured, and half raising his hand, returned to his friends.

  Marly gave a sigh of relief. ‘Thank goodness he didn’t persist.’

  ‘Not likely after the brush-off you gave him,’ Kevin observed as they inched their way through the foyer.

  ‘It wasn’t a brush-off. I just said we’d already made plans. He wasn’t to know I was lying.’

  ‘He’s not the type to take it kindly if he found out.’

  ‘It would just be a case of the biter being bit. Compared with him, Benedict Arnold was honest!’

  ‘It’s time you explained yourself, old girl. But first, why did you suddenly change nationalities this evening?’

  ‘I’ll tell you at dinner,’ she promised. ‘I’m too hungry to think of anything else.’

  ‘Where shall we go?’ he asked as they set off down the road, the evening as warm as an English heatwave. ‘Do you fancy Thai or Western food?’

  ‘If you’d care for Chinese,’ she suggested, ‘I know just the place.’

  ‘Lead on!’

  ‘Crawl on,’ she quipped, for the pavements were so crowded that one could only move at a snail’s pace.

  Only when they turned down a side-street was it quieter, though small, dimly lit dressmaker and tailor shops were still open.

  ‘Beats me the long hours they keep,’ Kevin muttered.

  ‘It’s tough for anyone who caters for the tourist trade,’ Marly stated. ‘Though hotels bear the brunt of it.’

  Catching his arm, she stopped in front of the dimmest shop in the narrow turning, and ignoring his dubious expression, led the way through a dreary, white-tiled interior to a charming, candlelit courtyard beyond. She saw instantly that the dozen or so tables were all occupied, though at sight of her a rotund Chinese hurried across and greeted her like a long-lost friend, clearly remembering her from the two evenings she had eaten here with Nan.

  ‘This is Mr Wong,’ she said, introducing him to Kevin. ‘He makes the best Peking duck in the world.’

  Beaming at the compliment, Mr Wong hastily summoned a waiter to set up an extra table, and moments later she and Kevin, seated in a recessed area of the courtyard, were devouring crisp fried seaweed and bite-size spring rolls as they waited for their main course.

  ‘I’m still waiting to hear why you’re playing a joke on your boss,’ Kevin reminded her.

  Marly considered whether to lie—after all, Andrea’s misery was not for public ears—then decided to give him a monitored version. Yet even monitored, Alex came out of it badly, though surprisingly Kevin stuck up for him.

  ‘You’ve only heard your friend’s side of the story,’ he warned. ‘Wouldn’t you say that one good thing in Hamilton’s favour is that he was honest enough to say he no longer loved her?’

  ‘He proposed marriage.’

  ‘People do fall out of love, you know. And surely it’s better to admit it before you slip on the ring, rather than after?’

  ‘Put like that, yes,’ Marly agreed. ‘But the man’s an out-and-out swine. He had no intention of marrying Andrea. He fancied her and stopped at nothing to get her into bed.’

  ‘Women can be pretty ruthless too,’ Kevin said drily, the tightening of his mouth indicating it was more than simply a passing comment.

  ‘Have I touched a sore point?’ Marly asked.

  ‘It’s healed now.’

  ‘But you still don’t want to talk about it.’ It was a statement rather than a question.

  Unexpectedly he laughed. ‘But you would, wouldn’t you, Miss Nosy Parker?’

  ‘I’m not nosy,’ she protested, ‘just curious.’

  ‘Same thing. Anyway, I’ve no objection to telling you. I fell for a girl in medical school and we planned to marry when we qualified. Unfortunately she married someone else.’

  ‘You didn’t blame Alex Hamilton for changing his mind,’ she pointed out.

  ‘The difference is that Jenny turned me down for a highly successful plastic surgeon twenty-five years her senior!’

  ‘Seems to me you had a lucky escape.’

  ‘I know, but it soured me.’ His mouth curved upwards. ‘I’m getting sweeter by the minute, though.’

  ‘Not over me, I hope.’ She deemed it wiser to be frank, particularly in view of what he had just told her.

  ‘I was hoping,’ he admitted.

  ‘Please don’t. I’m not on the market.’

  ‘Is there someone else?’

  ‘No.’ Well, there wasn’t, she told herself; merely a fleeting hope that Andrea had unwittingly extinguished. ‘I’m just here for a short time,’ she said aloud, ‘and I’m not interested in any emotional involvements.’

  ‘May we meet as friends?’

  ‘I’d like that. It’s just that I didn’t want to go out with you under false pretences.’

  Kevin gave a shout of laughter. ‘You’re only false with Alex Hamilton, I take it?’

  She gave a wry smile. ‘Do you think it’s mean of me playing this joke on him?’

  Kevin took a moment to answer. ‘Not as long as it remains a joke,’ he said f
inally. ‘Don’t play him for a fool, Marly. He could be a bad loser.’

  ‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ she promised, and was glad of the arrival of their crisp and luscious duck, which precluded further discussion of the man she most wanted to talk about, but wouldn’t.

  CHAPTER SIX

  TOSSING in her bed that night, Marly acknowledged she was far more vulnerable to Alex Hamilton’s sexual magnetism than was wise, and wished she hadn’t agreed to have a drink with him the following evening. Yet if she didn’t see him socially she would not be able to bring about his emotional downfall, and since this was the crux of her plan she had no option but to make herself available. Angrily she pummelled her pillow, and when she finally fell asleep, it was to dream that she was pummelling Alex’s chest.

  In the morning, heavy-eyed, she frowned at her face in the bathroom mirror. A few more restless nights like the last one, and the bags under her eyes would be large enough to put shopping in! Then, instead of wanting to get close to her, Alex would be off and running. A man of his calibre would never be attracted to a woman unless she was beautiful.

  ‘Not that you’re beautiful,’ Marly said to her reflection. ‘But in the role you’re playing you’re certainly different from his usual girlfriends.’

  An hour later, showered and dressed in a cheong-sam—a peacock-blue cotton this time—she headed for the hotel and another meeting with Alex to try to finalise the program she was devising.

  Entering his office, she found him seated in a black leather chair behind his desk, and had to steel herself against the devastating smile that lit up his fine-boned face. Watch it, old girl, the objective is to make him fall in love with you for Andrea’s sake, not so you can have him for yourself!

  Greeting him with her customary wai, she extracted a sheaf of papers from the file she had brought with her, and handed them to him. ‘I’ve outlined the program I think you need, Mr Hamilton,’ she said demurely. ‘If you could spare the time to read it...’

  ‘Right away,’ he smiled. ‘And when we’re alone you promised to call me Alex.’

  Acknowledging this by a movement of her head, she modestly lowered her eyes and waited for him to study the document she had given him.

  ‘Excellent,’ he commented after several moments. ‘You’ve obviously given these questions great thought.’

  She fluttered her lashes at him, aware of his graceful long fingers raking back a tawny lock of hair from his forehead. How would those fingers feel on her skin? Banishing the treacherous thought, she concentrated on what he was saying.

  ‘There are several more questions I wish to add,’ he went on, and picking up a gold pen from his desk, wrote them down in a strong, flowing hand. ‘See if you agree,’ he said, scanning her face as he handed her back the questionnaire.

  Marly read through his additions and nodded. ‘We’re clearly on the same wavelength.’

  ‘I hope that will apply to more than business,’ he said, and leaning back in his chair added deliberately, ‘Did you enjoy yourself last night?’

  ‘Very much.’

  ‘Where did you eat?’

  ‘At a little place we found last time,’ she said, awarding herself top marks for adding ‘last time’.

  ‘You know Kevin Rossiter well, then?’

  ‘Quite well.’ Triumph coursed through her. He sounded jealous, which was great. Inclining her head, she glided towards the door.

  ‘How did you meet him?’ The deep voice stopped her in her tracks and she glanced over her shoulder.

  ‘He works at the hospital with Professor Damrong—Nan’s father.’

  Alex opened his mouth and shut it again—as if thinking better of pursuing the subject. ‘I’ll see you tonight,’ he said, and with a lithe movement came round the side of the desk to open the door for her.

  Marly spent the remainder of the day photocopying the revised questionnaire and distributing it to the guests. Because she was so busy she turned down Nan’s invitation to lunch with her in the coffee-shop, and had a sandwich delivered to her office.

  At six-fifteen, exhausted but satisfied with the progress she had made, she went to the cloakroom to freshen her make-up and tidy her hair. She had caught it back from her face with a wide tortoiseshell slide, but now she let it fall free to her shoulders, aware that it made her appear considerably younger, though this might also be due to the added sparkle in her eyes and the pink flush in her cheeks. She was as excited as a teenager at the prospect of going out again with Alex, and firmly told herself it was because her plan was proceeding the way she wanted.

  Returning to her office, she found him waiting for her. He had changed from his formal grey business suit to white linen trousers and unstructured jacket, with a black sports shirt, open-necked to show tanned skin and a smattering of bronze hair.

  Silently he took her arm and steered her towards the glass-encased lift. Although her body tingled at the pressure of his hand she managed to hide it, determined not to give him the satisfaction of knowing how physically aware of him she was.

  The revolving roof-top tower afforded a stupendous view of Bangkok and the river, and though she and Nan had treated themselves to drinks here while she had been waiting for Alex to return from abroad, she pretended she was seeing it for the first time and was entranced.

  ‘It’s unbelievable,’ she breathed. ‘I’ve never seen anything so lovely.’

  ‘Nor have I,’ he admitted, staring at Marly. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this all day.’

  ‘I can’t imagine why,’ she said with artless innocence. ‘I’m not as sophisticated as your girlfriends.’

  ‘Thank heavens for that! If I—’

  He broke off as a waiter came over to lead them to a table by the window, the only one unoccupied. A bottle of champagne in an ice-bucket stood on it, with two fluted glasses, and he signalled the waiter to fill them.

  ‘To us,’ Alex toasted her, raising his glass.

  Uncertain how to reply, she remained silent. Nan, of course, would have made some witty response, but then she had had the benefit—if benefit it could be called—of a British boarding-school education, while she herself was pretending she had been raised in the traditional manner. Lowering her lids as if shy, she sipped the bubbling liquid. She was no expert on champagne, but the mellow biscuity taste told her this was one of the best, and sight of the Cristal label confirmed it. Alex was sparing no expense to please her—or did he treat all his women with the same largesse? Somehow the champagne no longer tasted vintage, and she abruptly set down her glass.

  ‘Anything wrong?’ he asked instantly.

  ‘I am embarrassed by your extravagance towards me. I’m happy to be with you even if we drink only water.’

  ‘I appreciate you saying so.’ His voice was serious though she sensed his amusement. ‘But I can afford the best and that’s what I’d always want for you.’

  In which case you should get out of my life, Marly thought silently, recollecting the lies he had fabricated to seduce Andrea. Behind them came the tinkling of a piano playing tunes from the Thirties, which seemed to go well with the elegant art deco furnishings, and she forced her bitter thoughts away in case they reflected on her face and set him pondering. Intrigued by her though he appeared to be, Alex was nobody’s fool and she would do well to remember it.

  ‘Have dinner with me tonight,’ he said suddenly.

  ‘I can’t. I told you I promised to have it at home with Professor Damrong and Khun Ladda.’

  ‘Khun Ladda?’ he queried.

  ‘The professor’s wife. Khun is our equivalent of your “Mrs”, and Ladda is her maiden name.’

  ‘You mean she isn’t really married to the professor?’ Alex was astounded.

  ‘Of course she is.’ Marly was hard put to it to keep a straight face. ‘But it’s the custom for a wife to retain her family name and just add the word Khun, to show she has a husband. It’s a little more complicated than that, but I don’t wish to confuse you.’
<
br />   ‘Thank God for that! You’ve already confused me enough!’

  She laughed, and taking it as a sign that she might be weakening, he repeated his request that she have dinner with him.

  ‘I’m expected at home,’ she reiterated.

  ‘Can’t you call them and say your boss has asked you to work late and then have dinner with him?’

  ‘I couldn’t show such disrespect to Nan’s parents.’ Marly came as close as she dared to showing offence. ‘Not when they treat me as if I were their daughter.’

  ‘Why is it disrespectful? You’re single, and free to have dinner with me or anyone else you like.’

  ‘But tonight I am not free. I have given a promise and it would offend my elders if I changed my plans.’

  Alex muttered under his breath, and Marly eyed him soulfully.

  ‘The other evening you said you preferred docile women,’ she reminded him in the gentlest of voices. ‘But I see now that you mean docile to your wishes.’

  He got the point instantly and his eyebrows rose in surprise. ‘You see me as autocratic, then?’

  ‘It is not seemly for me to comment on your character.’

  ‘You just have—by implication!’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ Marly fluttered her hands at him and tried to look distressed. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you. I was merely illustrating the inconsistency of your attitude.’

  ‘Very successfully too,’ he said wryly. ‘I’ll watch my step in future.’

  ‘You aren’t angry with me?’

  ‘Definitely not.’

  To prove it, he set out to charm her, and she had to keep all her wits about her not to be bowled over. How difficult it was to believe he was nothing more than a two-timing wolf in sheep’s clothing!

  ‘Let’s finish this before I take you home,’ he said, lifting up the quarter-full bottle of champagne.

  Shaking her head, Marly rose to leave, and without demur he followed. He had learned his lesson well, she thought, hiding a smile.