The Rules of the Game (D'Arth Series Book 1)

by Camille Oster

  *

  Jane cried during the taxi ride home. She wasn’t sure why, but she did. He was so good, she thought to herself bitterly; he’d actually looked concerned she was leaving. Probably because he’d cultivated a route to Mr. Carmichael and it was walking out the door with her. Although bitterly angry, she was also relieved to have put it all behind her. It felt surreal that she could just let go of the pressure and stress of the situation she was in, being the representative of the enemy camp. She wondered if that was how medieval ambassadors felt in other courts, required, but distrusted. It was all gone now; she didn’t have to hang onto any of it. She just wasn’t entirely sure who she was without her job, but she was more than her job; she knew that, she just didn’t really know the details that well.

  Arriving home, she cleaned for a while, then jumped onto the computer to see what else was out there on the market. All that crap was her past and it wouldn’t be her future. She would never have to deal with it again, or him, whatever kind of human being he was.

  Chapter 11

  Staring at the little screen, Jane considered not taking Edmund’s call, but that would be callous and cowardly, so she answered. Edmund was, of course, very disappointed, but understood as she explained how she needed a change.

  “This role does wonders for your CV,” Edmund pleaded. “Who knows where you could go, if you only stayed.”

  “I know, Edmund, and I appreciate everything you and the company have done for me, but the joy has gone out of it for me, so I think its best that I move on.”

  “Tell you what, Jane, a friend of mine runs a publishing house in Sydney. They’re going through a bit of change at the moment and could use some help. Why don’t you take that on for a while, try a completely different industry. It would be a challenging role and you would have Sydney as your playground for six months. After that, you can decide what you want to do.”

  Jane bit her lip. Spending six months in Sydney would be exciting; it would mean a bit of a change, but change was her aim. She would also be preserving her relationship with Edmund, and despite being the political creature he was, she did appreciate the support he’d given her.

  “Sounds exciting,” she finally admitted.

  *

  It turned out to be a four month contract—involved another merger, but she was a bit more experienced this time. Jane would be working directly on the merger, which would be interesting. She set herself up in a little studio apartment in one of the inner suburbs. It was tiny and it cost an absolute fortune, but she loved it. She missed her cat, but it was only four months—too short a time to bring her over and short enough for her mom to cat sit.

  Being Sydney, she wasn’t exposed to Damon and his model dates every time she opened a magazine. While she told herself that the whole thing hadn’t affected her, she wouldn’t even consider going on a date with the attractive man at the office who’d asked her. She felt too raw and too betrayed to even consider it. Even though she knew she shouldn’t feel this way—it’s not like they were in a relationship, she told herself—they’d had a little fling. She should not be feeling affected at all. Still, she wasn’t interested in dating anyone right now.

  A few months passed rather quickly, the work was exciting and hectic, but tensions were running high as they did when significant change was involved. She did like to take a bit of time out for lunch and had started retreating to a sunny park bench she’d found not far from the office. She hadn’t made many friends in the office, which was understandable as she was there to specifically mess with people’s jobs. And although the people in the office were lovely, they were a bit wary of her and her purpose there. Again she was a bit of an outsider.

  Jane sat in the small park and ate a salad. Each day, she liked to escape for a while and recoup. The sun shone as she read the paper she’d grabbed on the way and an article grabbed her attention; it announced Contil-Symax as the winner of a significant infrastructure account in Singapore. They had won the contract. It started sinking in that the work she was involved with had won a major contract, and her part had been instrumental in the achieving it. Although feeling really proud, she also felt a little sorry that she wasn’t there to receive the news with everyone else. She could well imagine the excitement in the office as the news came through.

  She tried to imagine how Damon would be receiving the news. He seemed so cool about everything, while she would be a nervous wreck in his shoes—but he was forever cool. She wondered if anything affected him.

  He wasn’t specifically mentioned in the article and she wasn’t sure whether that pleased her or not. As much as she hated it, any little titbit about him seemed to draw her complete focus. She wouldn’t let herself seek out any information about him online, but there was always that little hope that she would stumble across something purely by accident. She couldn’t quite understand why she reacted every time she thought she might come across a piece of new information, but it’d happened more than once.

  Her phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Jane, dear.” Edmund’s distinct drawl. “Have you heard the news?”

  “I am just reading about it.”

  “We’re having a bit of a celebration tonight. I want you to come.”

  “But—?

  “I’ve had my girl book you a flight later this afternoon; she’ll email the details through.”

  “I have work,” Jane said. She couldn’t just drop everything and get on a flight.

  “Do you want me to clear it with your boss?” Edmund asked and Jane baulked. Having Edmund approach her boss like she was a child would be unbearable.

  “No, I’ll do it,” Jane said with resignation. He would if she didn’t, she was pretty sure, and she was better off dealing with it herself. Edmund would have his way; he always did, irrespective of what she wanted. On the other hand, it was a celebration and she did deserve to be a part of it. She just wasn’t that sure about being in the same room as Damon. It wasn’t something she would do by choice, but then again, she was a big girl and she wasn’t going to be chased off because she found something confrontational.

  *

  Arriving at the party just after eight, she felt a bit nervous walking in, but she was greeted by a squeal from Angelique. The party was being held at one of the restaurants down by the harbour. “I didn’t realise you were coming. It’s so awesome you’re here.”

  “Didn’t Mr. Carmichael tell anyone I was coming?”

  “He didn’t tell me.”

  Looking around the room, she saw it was full of familiar faces. It seemed the whole company was there, not just the people directly on the project. She scanned the room and spotted Damon on the other side with a group of people, including some board members. He spotted her too, and he frowned when he saw her. He was obviously not pleased. Jane guessed they were back to scowling terms.

  “Don’t worry,” she said quietly under her breath. “I won’t be staying long; I’ll be out of your hair again in a couple of hours.” He looked good as always. He certainly didn’t look like he’d been worrying about the outcome—like he’d known it all along how it would turn out and the world had just caught up with him. She didn’t know him well enough to tell if that was how he actually thought—more likely, she was just being mean and assigning him with extreme arrogance. Then again, who knew what bounds his arrogance had? One thing was for certain, he would be the golden boy at the moment—the company celebrity, the one the board patted on the back and bragged about to their competitors.

  Seeking out Carmichael, she found him standing with another group. He was the reason she was here and she needed to thank him for bringing her, and thinking of her—even though he completely bullied her into it.

  “Jane,” he said. “There you are. This is Jack Smith; he is our friend at Vester. Have you been introduced? This is Jane, a very clever young woman. She put together the financing for this deal.” Jack seemed impressed. She was also surprised that Edmund was complementing her, especially as
she fixed the financing for the partner that Edmund didn’t want. Edmund didn’t seem to hold grudges, which was good for her, she guessed. As peculiar as Edmund was, she didn’t want to be ungrateful for what he’d done for her. He was what he was, and he wasn’t going to change because she didn’t like some of his methods. Still, she didn’t have to be involved with it, which was her decision. Saying that, here she was again. “You could certainly do with someone like Jane on your team.” Jane blushed at the blatant endorsement.

  “Maybe we should talk,” Jack said.

  “She’s under contract at the moment, but that finish soon. How long do you have left, Jane?”

  “A couple of months.” She was still uncomfortable being discussed like this.

  “Take my card. Give me a call when you are free from your current contract. We can always use clever people. If Edmund is dumb enough to set you free…” Edmund tapped his nose suggesting he had plans for her. This was news to Jane, but it could just be Edmund putting on in front of his friend. Saying that, his endorsement did mean a lot and there was a good chance there could be an opportunity for her because of it—not that she’d remotely considered what she was going to do after her contract finished. Four months had seemed like a long time, but a chunk of it had already passed in a flash.

  “How are you enjoying Sydney?” Edmund turned to her as Jack started talking to one of the other board members.

  “It’s different. Exciting project.”

  “They are good people over there.”

  “Yes, thank you for recommending me for the project.”

  “You are welcome. Have you spoken to Damon?”

  “No, I just arrived.” She had no idea why Edmund would expect that she’d be speaking to Damon. Then again, she supposed she would have to say hello at the very least, although it was tempting just to ignore his presence.

  Edmund moved on to greet a new arrival, someone she didn’t know.

  “Jane,” Stephen said to her right. “I didn’t expect to see you here. I guess you’ve heard.”

  “Yes, it’s fantastic. Congratulations.”

  “Pretty exciting. I will be heading back to Singapore next week. I am a part of the project team.”

  “The others too?”

  “Yeah, all hands on deck, at least for the start. Shame you won’t be with us.”

  Jane felt a twinge of regret that she wouldn’t be a part of it. But then, having to spend time in Singapore with certain members of the current company might not be the best idea—her judgement had proved seriously lacking last time. Casting a glance at the cause of her misjudgement and the predicament that had caused her to essentially leave the country, she noted he looked relaxed as he stood with his back to her, talking with some of the board members.

  “He must be a bit of a celebrity at the moment,” she said.

  “A bit. It means a lot to the company and he pulled it off. He is the cause celebre with the board right now.”

  “Bet that won’t go to his head,” she muttered. She felt a bit petty saying it, but she couldn’t help it—she still had trouble reconciling what had happened. She hadn’t expected being back here, staring at his back—not something she’d planned when she’d woken up that morning.

  She spoke to Steven for a while, then chatted to some of the others. She had a room booked at a hotel a couple of blocks away and was thinking about sneaking away before long. Having spoken to Edmund, seen and been seen, she wasn’t going to stay for the end of the night when the most enthusiastic celebrants hit the town. She wasn’t enjoying this enough to want to drag it out more than she had to.

  *

  Damon hid his surprise when Jane walked through the door. He knew instantly that Carmichael was responsible for bringing her. He’d heard through the grapevine that she was in Sydney and for some reason he had expected to never see her again. Carmichael obviously had different ideas. It was disturbing how easy she could just sneak back into existence when he’d dismissed her from his thoughts. He’d worked hard at doing it, while at the same time, not entirely understanding why she was featured so prominently in the first place. There was quite a bit about Jane he didn’t understand, least of all his own reaction to her. She was so far removed from his usual type, yet somehow he seemed to have lost some of his control around her, which was inexcusable and unforgivable. Over time, he’d convinced himself that her departure was the best thing that could have happened. He’d started to regain his equilibrium, and now Carmichael just brought her back. He was convinced the old man did it just to mess with him—not that he begrudged her a place in the deal because she had fixed the financing, but it was personally awkward for him. The old man had certainly discovered a way to mess with him, and it was effective.

  He did feel her presence in the room, like some kind of radiation that hit him in the chest making it feel tight. She looked good, her hair was a bit darker and the Australian sun had tanned her skin. She wasn’t gorgeous like the girls he usually saw, yet somehow, she’d managed to seduce him—and the worst was that she’d done it effortlessly and without being aware of it. It wasn’t something he planned or even wanted, he’d just been compelled into it. And he felt whatever the temptation she posed even now. If she was trying to manipulate him, he’d know exactly what to do, but she wasn’t. Or else she was a much more consummate player than he’d given her credit for. He wasn’t even sure she realised Carmichael was using her as a pawn in this game of politics.

  He knew she believed he had used her to further his own objectives and it bothered him that she thought that way about him, but in all honesty, he wasn’t entirely sure that he wouldn’t have, in the end—the temptation of manipulating Carmichael would probably have been too strong to resist. He wasn’t the type to hurt girls deliberately, but he was what he was, and she put herself in the game as a player.

  She was a smart girl—if she wasn’t aware who she had been offering herself to, she should have known better. Although he wasn’t quite sure why he was justifying things in his own mind, he hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t sleep with her to use her, not having had any intentions at all. It was something he’d done against his own good judgement. Perhaps he was paying for not taking his own advice.

  As he watched, she conversed with Stephen, who made her laugh. He hated that she could take his presence so lightly when he felt hers so keenly. He also felt irrational annoyance at Stephen for being there with her and for being so damned friendly.

  Excusing herself, she walked towards the restrooms. He couldn’t stop himself from following her with his eyes, knowing he shouldn’t; that he should pay attention to the people speaking around him, but that didn’t stop him. He excused himself.

  He waited until she emerged from the ladies.

  “I wasn’t using you,” he said. It was true; it hadn’t been something that had been on his mind at the time. In truth, there was nothing logical going on in his brain back then. She stopped in her tracks, looking a bit startled, like she wanted to escape. He wasn’t used to girls ignoring him or trying to avoid him; he was used to being the one who effortlessly slipped out of reach. It irked him that she was the one who had taken that role in this relationship. They didn’t have a relationship, he corrected himself. “You accused me of it, and I wasn’t.”

  “I appreciate you saying that,” she said, looking him in the eyes for the first time. He knew what he said was true, but she didn’t entirely believe him. At the same time he would have reproached her if she had. Smiling tightly with a nod like she would give to someone she dismissed, she was about to step away when he felt an urge to stop her, but he didn’t have anything to say and he knew he shouldn’t drag this out. Nice clean cut was what was needed.

  “Where are you now?” he asked against his own will. He already knew the answer, but he’d asked anyway.

  “In Sydney.”

  “Right. I hope you are enjoying it. I’d better return.” At least he got the last word. He felt ridiculous for even ca
ring; it was juvenile, but he wanted to be the one that walked away.

  *

  Jane felt adrenalin running through her system. She had gotten out of the bathroom and he’d been there, saying he hadn’t been using her and there was that ridiculous part of her, the romantic that wanted to believe him. Then the reasonable part of her that still knew the big question was there, if she wanted to explore it: what was a guy like him doing with a girl like her when he ran with a league that she wouldn’t even get a spectator spot for? It would never do her any good delving into that question, because the answer was probably never going to correspond to any fairy tale she knew. If he wasn’t using her for political leverage—a declaration she didn’t entirely buy—then he was just using her for a quick lay. He’d made it abundantly clear that there was nothing between them going forward.

  Urging herself to dismiss that little scene, she to refuse to think about it. A couple of more people to greet and she could escape this place. It really was ridiculous flying over here just to show her face at a party, even with the bonus of getting to spend some time with her mum.

  When it came time to leave, her feet felt heavy. It felt like she was giving away an opportunity; that the night had potential if she stayed. Or so thought that same part of her that wished he was sincere about telling her he wasn’t using her. It was the same part that hoped that he had completely fallen in love with her, and thought she was the most interesting and fabulous female he’d ever met. Granted, she was neither gorgeous nor particularly fascinating, but she was to him—she was the one he’d been waiting for all his life. Stupid notions that made her feel nothing but silly. She had to get a grip, and a smart girl would walk out the door and get on with her life, not hang around waiting for some unattainable guy to decide she was the one for them.