Not wanting to be nearby when he took off, Gaia hurried off the helipad, only to find Jay blocking the path to the villas.
"Do you want your answer now?" he drawled.
She deliberately delayed, letting her gaze rake down his body. Even in his salt-encrusted clothes, he still looked like sex on a stick. She had no illusions about her own appearance, though – her pressed shirt was now horribly creased, and the thought of the dried salt on her skin from seawater and sweat made her itch. Not to mention the dust that had gotten everywhere. She wanted a shower.
"I think we should both go clean up, have a rest and sleep on it. Tomorrow, let's meet for dinner to discuss my proposal."
He shrugged, then slouched off.
Gaia stared after him, not sure whether to call him back or call him a rude bastard.
"So that's a yes, then?" she called after him.
She wasn't certain, but she thought he gave her another shrug before he disappeared into the darkness.
TWENTY-FOUR
Gaia scrubbed her skin in the shower, but nothing she did seemed to make her feel fresh again. Plus, her feet hurt from being stuck in those awful boots all day. She needed a proper pedicure, or she wouldn't want to walk another step tomorrow.
She towelled herself dry and picked up the phone. "Get me the resort day spa," she instructed.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but the day spa isn't open right now," the flustered receptionist replied.
Gaia gritted her teeth. "Then when will they be open? I need the earliest possible appointment."
A nervous cough. "Not until June, ma'am."
"Nine? Fine. Book me in for their best pedicure and make sure it includes a thorough foot massage."
The girl tittered. "I said June, ma'am, not nine o'clock. As in, the day spa isn't open until peak season."
Anger charged Gaia's veins. "June? But that's weeks away. I simply cannot wait. Find me a beautician who can do a pedicure by nine tomorrow morning." She hung up.
After Gaia had dressed, ordered some room service and chosen a suitable movie for the evening, the phone rang.
"Yes?"
"As requested, I booked you an appointment at one of the spas in Cable Beach. They were the only ones with a vacancy tomorrow morning." The receptionist hesitated. "Would you like me to arrange transport for you, too, ma'am?"
Why hadn't she done it already? "Yes."
"Helicopter or jet boat and charter plane, ma'am?"
"The helicopter, of course," Gaia snapped.
"Very good, ma'am. Will there be anything else?"
There wasn't, but Gaia decided to invent things, anyway. "Arrange for a catered lunch for me tomorrow at the best restaurant in town. I don't care where, just make sure they have the best and the freshest Broome has to offer." Another thought occurred to her. "Oh, and I'd like a private dinner for two for tomorrow evening at seven. Tell the chef I want it romantic, private and of the highest standard. With two bottles of your best champagne. No, make it three." She'd definitely want to toast her triumph when Jay gave in to her.
Over the island, of course.
Winning him over in a romantic sense would be a piece of cake, what with the plan she had in place.
TWENTY-FIVE
"My feet have soaked quite long enough," Gaia told the girl irritably.
The spa attendant produced a serene smile. "A few more minutes, madame. You are here for a Polynesian foot spa, and the oils take time to penetrate your skin. This treatment isn't just about your feet. With the aromatherapy oils, you should experience total relaxation, which cannot be rushed. I promise you, this is like no other pedicure you have ever experienced before."
It certainly took longer than any other she'd experienced before. She hadn't even seen the colour chart yet.
Finally, the girl towelled her feet dry and began to massage Gaia's toes. Perhaps this wasn't so bad, Gaia decided, closing her eyes as she relaxed in her seat.
At some point, another girl appeared, carrying a tiny cup of herbal tea and the varnish colours. Gaia had picked her colours before the cup reached her lips. A French manicure in neutral colours with a slightly pearlescent sheen. Anything more garish would make her look like one of the common women who were nothing like her. She vividly recalled the one time she and Helen had painted their fingernails purple on the way home from school, only for her mother to summon her personal beautician to remove the offending colour, making Gaia promise never to cheapen herself in such a way again.
Just as the first butterfly-soft strokes of the undercoat touched her toes, Gaia's phone rang.
The girl kneeling at her feet frowned. "No phones in the spa, madame, for it will ruin the relaxation experience. I must ask you to – "
Gaia ignored her. "Hello?"
"Miss Vasse, it's Stephanie. I received the files you sent yesterday and forwarded them to my contacts with a modified press release. Are you sure you want this to replace the announcements about the new mine?"
"Of course I do. I said so, didn't I?" Gaia snapped.
"It's just that we've been preparing the campaign for the new uranium mine for months now, and if we give the evening news spot to this media release, one of the other channels might pick up the mine opening in a less favourable light before we've had a chance to solidify our approach in the hearts and minds of – "
Gaia's breath hissed out angrily. "I don't care about the uranium mine, or what the public has to say about it. The mine can wait a week or even a month if it has to. This is essential to my negotiations today. We have far more invested in Lorikeet Island than we'll ever have in a uranium mine that's barely a hole in the ground right now."
"Yes, Miss Vasse." A pause. "Oh, and there's another matter. The editor of their women's magazine wants to run a celebrity gossip piece with the pictures you sent. A follow up to tonight's TV spot. Would you like me to issue a statement refuting the rumours, or allow them to stand?"
A gossip magazine wanted to show the world the pictures of her and Jay? Gaia rubbed her hands together in glee. Her mother had bought shares in the international media company because she'd wanted control over what they printed. Morrigan hadn't understood that the media didn't work that way – the papers printed what they wanted, unfounded or not. The trick was to give them exactly the sort of thing they wanted to print, while spinning it in such a way that they couldn't help but take your side in controversial matters. What the gossip magazines wanted was a trusted source who gave them more than they could invent on their own.
"Neither. Tell the editor, off the record, that the rumours are true." By the time the story went to print, they would be. "Say it's been kept secret for a while, because of my mother's ill health, but now it's time to reveal the truth or whatever it is you say."
"Yes, Miss Vasse." Stephanie's nails ticked on a computer keyboard. "The report I sent last night has just hit the morning news programmes. It looks like another media frenzy, bigger than the first. Would you like me to send you the links?"
"Forward them to my email. I'll look at them if I have a chance," Gaia replied. She didn't care what the media said, unless it reflected badly on her or her company. "Anything I should be concerned about yet?"
"Definitely not. I sent the report anonymously; there's nothing that can link it to us. I was just a concerned and unusually observant citizen who accidentally came into possession of some compromising emails sent from a computer in an internet café..."
Gaia smiled. She knew there was nothing accidental about her media manager's ability to acquire access to email accounts that weren't hers. That's why she kept the woman onside as much as possible. There was so much Mother hadn't understood about public perception and media management, but Gaia hadn't done a double degree, majoring in both media and business, for nothing. Mother had been too old fashioned in so much of what she did, believing her father's way to be the only way to do business. And Grandfather had been conservative at heart, a legacy he'd definitely passed on to his daughter.
But Gaia did thi
ngs differently, and there was no one to hold her back now. This was her time.
Gaia glanced at her boring toenails, as the girl brushed the last two with pale pink polish. Conservative. Boring. Time for a change.
"I don't like the colour," Gaia declared. She fished through the colour charts and found the one she wanted. "It should be this one." She squinted at the name. "Feeding frenzy red."
"But, madame, I am almost finished. You asked for – "
Gaia interrupted, "I've changed my mind. I want this one instead. And on my fingernails, too."
Purple might have looked tawdry on her teenage self, but Gaia knew nothing the chairman of Vasse Prospecting wore would ever appear cheap. Her blood-dipped talons couldn't wait to get stuck into Jay Felix and his island. Romance Island Resort would soon be hers. Along with the romance she craved.
TWENTY-SIX
By the time Gaia climbed into the helicopter for the flight back to Romance Island that afternoon, she felt much more herself. Her pedicured feet were no longer a source of shame; the day spa had talked her into a body wrap to bring out the best in her skin; and a hair appointment had dealt with the damage from yesterday's field trip. If it weren't for the red dust and boabs in town, she'd almost think she was in civilisation again.
Soon. Once she'd negotiated everything she wanted from Jay Felix.
Gaia stopped at the resort's business centre to print out the contract documents she'd asked the Vasse Prospecting legal department to assemble for her. If she and Jay reached an agreement tonight, she wanted to have all the paperwork on hand to sign right away, before he changed his mind.
She placed the pile of papers carefully on the dining table, garnishing it with a hotel-issue pen. She wouldn't be caught unprepared.
Tonight was definitely about business.
Instead of white, this time she chose a black dress, matching her nails with a glossy lipstick she'd bought from the range at the day spa. She reached for a pair of heels, then reconsidered and picked a pair of strappy sandals instead. Slightly more suitable for a romantic walk on the beach, if she chose to invite Jay for one later.
At precisely seven, her door chimed.
"Who is it?" she sang out.
"Catering, ma'am," came the reply. "Your private dining room is ready for you. Romantic, as requested."
Gaia palmed open the door. "Show me," she commanded.
The waiter bowed before gesturing toward the path to her private beach. "This way, ma'am."
She followed the man to the beach, where she found a white-skirted table set for two. But her date was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is Jay Felix?" she asked.
The waiter shrugged. "I believe he's at home, ma'am. I can call Reception to check for you."
Gaia waved him away. "Don't bother. I'll find him myself."
He wasn't going to keep her waiting for this dinner. Even if she had to drag him all the way from his house to the table.
She held her head high as she marched to Villa Penguin. When she reached the veranda, she rapped sharply on the door, but no one answered. Had the man forgotten their meeting again? She pressed her ear to the door, hoping to hear some movement inside. To her surprise, she heard his voice, speaking low and fast, though she couldn't discern the words.
"It's all over the six o'clock news! They hounded me at home and at work and my own boss called me a whore before she fired me!" a female voice shrieked tinnily, as if through television speakers.
"Flavia, baby, please. I swear – " Jay began.
Or on the phone, Gaia thought with satisfaction.
"You're a lying, cheating sack of shit, you arsehole. I saw you with that other girl. She has more money than me, and I meant nothing to you, because you were after her all along! At least James paid for his prostitute – did you pay her, or did she pay you? You know what? I don't care. You're a selfish, cheating bastard, and I never want to see you again!" the harpy continued.
"Baby, wait...WAIT!" Beeping and swearing, then the sound of something smashing against the floor. "Fuck!"
His little tart was his no longer. Gaia grinned.
The door flew open, and she found herself face to face with an anguished rock star wearing a shirt and shorts, but no shoes. "What are you doing here? Get out of my way," he growled, pushing past her.
"Our dinner engagement," she reminded him. "We agreed to a dinner meeting to discuss my proposal about the island."
"Not interested. Unless you have bourbon." He eyed her balefully.
He wanted to get drunk? Gaia panicked for a moment, before calm washed over her. Negotiating with inebriated businessmen was easier than sober ones. Perhaps she could get a better price for the island if she waited until he was drunk, or close to it.
"I'm sure the waiter can provide whatever you'd like to drink. I understand the resort has a well-stocked bar," Gaia said.
"Fine."
Gaia linked her arm with his, but he shook her off. She shrugged and said instead, "This way. I asked for a romantic dinner, so your staff set up a table on my private beach."
"Fucking awesome." He stomped off, but he did head in the direction of the beach.
Gaia followed, picking her way carefully to make sure no crab tried to steal her shoes this time.
When Jay reached the table, he stopped dead. "This is the worst fucking joke I've seen all year. How did you know?"
"Know what?" she asked.
He waved at the table. "This. All this. I romanced Flavia with a dinner on the beach. All candles and flowers and shit."
"I had no idea," she admitted truthfully. "How about you sit down and tell me all about it?"
"Why the fuck should I talk to you?"
She shrugged. "I'm a willing ear and I'm here. You're evidently upset about something. I thought you might like to talk about it. Unless you wish to discuss business, like we're supposed to. I'm amenable to that, too."
"Amenable. What kind of fucking word is amenable?"
She coughed to cover a laugh. "It means – "
"I know what it fucking means. I'm not an idiot, even if I am an arsehole, according to some." Jay glared at her. "I don't want amenable. I want bourbon. A lot of it."
A waiter who must have been hiding just out of sight cleared his throat as he approached them. "Can you get you anything to drink? Champagne, perhaps?" He gestured at the bottle in the ice bucket.
"Yes," Gaia said at the same time as Jay snapped, "Bourbon. And bring the whole bottle."
The waiter popped open the champagne and poured her a glass before he trotted off to fulfil Jay's order.
Jay slumped onto his seat, driving the chair legs deep into the sand.
Gaia tucked her skirt carefully as she sat, before lifting her champagne glass. To new beginnings, she toasted silently as she sipped.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Jay swigged from his half-empty bottle of bourbon. "And that's why you should never sleep with a virgin," he finished.
Gaia blinked. That wasn't the conclusion she'd drawn from his tale at all. Leaning across the table, she said, "Maybe it's not because she was a virgin. Maybe it was all about the money."
"Money?" Jay snorted. "She gave it back to me. Didn't take a cent. Said she wanted the sex more."
"And you believed that?"
The bottle slammed down on the table. "Of course I fucking did. I'm awesome in bed. Ask anyone. Even that maid...Audrey...tried to pay her, but she wouldn't take my money. We were perfect together. But she called me names and shit, too. Said I cheated on her." He sighed.
"Did you?" Gaia asked before she could stop herself.
"Sort of," Jay admitted. "She was off doing her weather girl thing and I was being a rock star. Had to sleep with the fans. They expected it. Not that many, though. Only four or five a night."
Gaia's jaw dropped. No man could have sex five times in a night. It wasn't humanly possible. She must have heard wrong. "How many?"
"No more'n five. I only had a six-seater limo, see. We
'd get started in the back seat, go back to my hotel room, and once everyone had their turn, we'd go again. Well, some of them. Some of those girls had no stamina. Fell asleep after the first round, when I wanted to go all night." He smirked. "Didn't stop them from asking for more the next morning, though. Once they've had a taste of this rock star, they always want more. I'm just that good."
Gaia felt faint. More than five times in a night, and still up for more in the morning? This man sounded like more than she could handle. Or he was lying. Her eyes narrowed. "Sounds to me like none of those girls were good enough for you."
Jay shrugged. "Good enough for a night, at any rate. They wanted it, I wanted it...that's about it, really. They never forget me and I don't remember them. Yeah. Maybe they just weren't good enough. Not for...me." He tipped the bottle up again.
"Maybe they just wanted to sleep with a rock star. A rich man with your money must be irresistible to girls like that."
Jay eyed her. "I'm irresistible to most women, baby, and a whole lotta men, too."
A blush warmed Gaia's cheeks. He was definitely right about that part.
She cleared her throat. "But what if they only want you for your money? For your fame and what you can do for them? They all want a piece of you, but they've got nothing to offer you in return. Not good enough for you. I bet what you really want is someone who's your equal. Someone who understands what it is to be rich and powerful and wanted."
Jay snorted. "You think I want to fuck some rich bitch? So up herself she doesn't know what the world looks like outside her own arse?"
Gaia shifted uncomfortably. Why did he have to be so coarse? A normal man would apologise. A normal man would realise he'd offended her, that he was wrong about her, and try to make amends.
But she didn't want a normal man. She wanted to prove to Jay Felix that she wasn't the sort of girl he thought she was. She knew how the world worked. People like them shared the power, while the masses lived their insignificant lives not knowing what real power was like.
"Have you ever bedded a billionaire before?" Gaia asked.
The Rock Star and the Billionaire Page 7