Deleilah

by Bowes, K T

  Aloadae’s biggest competitor would swallow the company whole and spit out her cheating husband as collateral. Michael’s fifty-one percent and the small amounts owned by other businessmen would count for little against the might of Alasdair Grayson. The others would cave in against the other man’s entrepreneurialism and sell, or ride the wave of change. Dee’s snort turned into laughter and she pressed her fist into her mouth to stop the sound carrying through the thin walls of the apartment. Michael delighted in stealing Alasdair’s personal assistant and former fiancé. He made a big deal of his new acquisition in the media while her spurned lover mourned the valuable customer list she took with her. When Dee challenged him about the unethical practice he shrugged, so puffed up with pride, he no longer saw the clear line of morality he regularly stepped across. “Sleep well, Michael,” Dee whispered into the darkness. Adultery with Alasdair’s bride-to-be would cost Michael Hanover more than just his marriage.

  Dee slept soundly, not hearing the occasional chorus of pukekos and coots on the lake. The open ranch slider allowed a warm breeze to snuffle in, soothing away the stress of the last six months and banishing the image of herself as not good enough. Like a righteous parasite she sucked all the sleep owed to her former husband, healing in Hamilton as he tossed and turned in fear in Auckland, knowing his days of supremacy were over. The strong, aggressive giants after which he named his business in the basement of his first marital home, were about to be cut off at the knees.

  Chapter 3

  Harvey

  “Come and stay with me for a few weeks.” Harvey Gilroy strode along next to Dee as she processed his offer, seemingly made out of sympathy.

  “We don’t know each other that well,” she said with a shrug. “We’ve met twice since Deana’s wedding and spoken on the phone a few times.”

  “Yeah, but I know how I feel about you.” Harvey stopped and grabbed Dee’s writhing fingers. “I know we could be good for each other.” His height blocked out the sun and his strong, muscular body looked honed by hard work, not hours at the gym. His angular features gave him confidence and Dee felt for her broken heart, hoping to sense a skip of recognition. Nothing. She sighed and stepped around the bent leaves of a flax bush.

  “It’s not that I don’t like you,” she said, allowing Harvey to hold her hand in guilt. “This is way too soon.”

  “I get that,” Harvey said, squeezing her fingers. “My fiancé ran out on me a month before our wedding. It hurt like hell.”

  Dee smiled sideways and nodded. “It does. How long ago was that?”

  “Ten years,” he said, his voice laced with practiced bitterness. “You never completely get over something like that.”

  Dee rolled her eyes. “Great! Thanks for the encouragement.”

  “Sorry,” Harvey squeezed her fingers. “You will; you’re stronger than me.”

  “Haven’t you had other relationships since?” Dee asked, her fear increasing. Lonely old age threatened her from afar, laughing at her isolation with glee. Yet the thought of another male in her space with his dirty underpants and incessant chatter churned her guts.

  “Yeah,” Harvey said. “A few, but nobody I could spend the rest of my life with.”

  They walked around the lake at a leisurely pace, stopping to admire the fluffy pukeko babies and a set of cute ducklings following their waddling mama across the path. Dee reminisced over Deana’s wedding, the first she’d attended alone since the divorce. Her cousin didn’t invite Michael, sparing her the awfulness of seeing his mistress on his arm; an act of pure kindness. Dee and Harvey collected on a table with other singles, getting slowly drunk and laughing much louder than the other married couples as though proving to the world that singleness was better.

  Harvey’s blonde hair blew backwards in the gusting breeze coming off the lake and Dee tried to summon up feelings for him, knowing she should be flattered but unable to reciprocate anything but friendship. “Just think about it,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. “The offer’s there if you need it and the farm’s off the main roads; your ex won’t be able to hassle you because there’s no phone reception.”

  Dee snorted as her phone buzzed in her pocket again. Michael’s desperate pleas ranged from pitiful to hateful and back again. “He can’t raise the money,” Dee sighed. “Derek said he wouldn’t be able to.”

  “When will the sale go through?” Harvey asked.

  “The end of March unless he settles. He won’t be able to and Derek says Alasdair Grayson’s holding his breath. He’ll pay over the odds just to get his hands on Aloadae. He’s already bought out two of the other directors and Derek thinks he’ll merge the companies and oust Michael once he has them.”

  “I thought your ex owned more than half.”

  Dee shrugged. “I can’t pretend to understand it. Alasdair can force a vote of no confidence in Michael and make his life hell. Even if he paid Michael off, the foolish man would lose it all back to his creditors.”

  “How much is your share worth?” Harvey asked and Dee felt a flicker of fear, ignoring the question. The moment passed as her companion corrected himself. “Sorry, it doesn’t matter, none of my business.”

  He kissed Dee on the lips before climbing into the red utility vehicle. The wheels were crusted with mud and the bodywork adorned with splashes of red earth. She resisted the show of attraction at first, allowing the peck but softening as Harvey’s soft lips covered hers. She allowed him to deepen the kiss, feeling the first budding sense of desire in her stomach and relieved she wasn’t dead after all. His large hands felt good around her trim waist and he didn’t push her, not roving his fingers or using his tongue. Dee waved him off, leaning against the passenger door as Harvey wound the window down. “Remember, I’ve got a spare room if you need a break.” He smiled, blue eyes glinting like precious stones in the sunshine.

  “Selina arrives on Monday,” Dee said. “But thanks.”

  Chapter 4

  A Split Decision

  Dee finished making up the spare bed, flattening the new duvet cover with her hand and admiring her choice of colour. The pretty flowers looked fresh against the stark vanilla walls and rudimentary furnishings. Her mobile phone rang in her pocket making her jump and she dropped the nail scissors and packaging from the duvet and sheets. “Hey,” she answered with relief, seeing her daughter’s name on the screen. “How far away are you?”

  “I can’t make it.” Selina’s voice sounded strained. “Dad’s had a meltdown over the sale of the company and I’ve been here since yesterday. I got the doctor and he’s prescribed pills to calm him. I don’t think he’s been sleeping or eating.”

  “Oh.” Disappointment coursed through Dee’s veins and she tried not to let jealousy join its rampage through her body. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “I don’t want to take sides, Mum,” Selina said. “It’s impossible because I love you both but I don’t know what to do.”

  “Stay with Dad,” Dee said. “I hope he gets better soon.”

  “You blocked his number. He’s been trying to call you.” The accusation in her daughter’s voice cut Dee like a knife.

  “Only yesterday.” Dee’s voice wavered. “He called me twenty times in an hour and it was all shouting. I don’t want him screaming at me when I’ve done nothing wrong. He had an affair and now we’re all walking through the consequences. Perhaps his new girlfriend can help.” Dee swallowed.

  “He hasn’t seen her for days, which is just as well, really. He’s a mess.”

  “Ok, if you get free later in the week, just text me and pop down. I’ll be here.”

  “No, I’d better stay here with Dad. We’ll catch up another time.”

  Dee’s chest hurt as Seline disconnected and she sank onto the bed, her phone dropping into the centre of a large, printed daisy. She put her head in her hands and wept, dragging out the last vestiges of misery from her empty soul. There wasn’t enough energy left in Dee’s heart to feel anger at her unfor
tunate daughter, caught in the crossfire between two different types of betrayal. When her phone bleeped with a text, she reached for it with clumsy fingers and read the message. ‘I’m sorry, Mum. I did want to see you. Forgot to tell you I got 90% in my equine exam.’

  Dee gulped and forced her fingers to press the stiff buttons. ‘I’m so proud of you, babe. Grandpa Hector would be too.’

  She flicked through photographs on her phone to cheer herself up, scrolling through pictures of happier times. Her sim card held a record of her daughter’s achievements over the last few years; rosettes at pony club followed by the more elite horsemanship competitions run by her expensive equine college. At twenty, Seline had almost finished her animal science degree and Dee wondered if Michael would expect her to pick up the bill from now on, funding the dressage horse too. She brushed the bitter thought away and watched her redheaded daughter scroll into a beautiful woman before her eyes.

  The next photo showed a newborn calf which Harvey sent the evening before in a text. ‘A late one,’ the message said. ‘Not sure where this one came from.’ Interested, Dee researched on the internet, finding the period July to September was the official calving season. The baby looked slick from birth, its dark eyes huge in a tiny face. Dee ached for the calm atmosphere of her father’s stud farm, the solid brown earth and his crinkled steady smile. Her fingers twitched with the memory of leather reins under her fingers and the feel of half a tonne of muscle power under her command.

  ‘Please can I take you up on your offer?’ She sent the text without proper consideration and Dee held her breath. Harvey’s reply was immediate.

  ‘Awesome! I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon. I need to drive up to Hamilton, anyway.’ Dee’s protests she could drive herself were met with dismissal and she allowed herself to enjoy being taken care of again. Something stopped her texting Seline to tell her where she was going and apart from Derek, nobody else in her life cared.

  “I’m going to a farm out near Feilding with a friend,” Dee said, hearing Derek turning the television down. “I need to get away for a few days.”

  “Palmerston North? That’s a long drive. How are you bearing up?” Derek asked. “Has your ex stopped ranting yet?”

  “Seline’s been dragged into looking after him. Apparently he’s medicated now.” Dee kept regret out of her tone. “She thinks I’ve betrayed him.”

  “Did she say that?” Derek sounded surprised.

  “Didn’t have to. I heard it in her voice. It’s made me doubt. I thought revenge would be sweet, but it tastes sour.” Dee admired her neatly rounded nails as a distraction as Derek ripped into her.

  “Not revenge, Deleilah! Protection. I thought long and hard before I put that clause in and did my research. Pride makes stupid men do foolish things and he’d expressed an interest in four smaller companies in the last few months. Michael Hanover’s ripe for the picking and fifty percent of nothing is nothing, love. He got too cocky for his own good, expanding across the city like a bloody world takeover merchant and he’d backed out of the business so much he was set to lose the lot. All I’ve done is safeguarded what he owed you. Hector would’ve been rolling in his grave over the farm selling; that place was meant for you, not for that arrogant prick to carve up and sell from under you!”

  Dee heard Derek’s breaths coming in short rasps as he apologised to Mabel in the background for swearing. She swallowed. “I didn’t know he was expanding,” she said in a whisper and heard Derek snort.

  “You didn’t know much, sweetheart. That man’s got more dirty secrets than a whore’s closet...sorry Mabel! Go for your wee holiday and enjoy yourself. Don’t get sucked in though, Dee. Ring me if you’re not sure and I’ll put Leech on an investigation over this new friend. Let’s keep what you’ve earned, shall we?”

  Dee smiled as the face of the elderly investigator came to mind, his bent body and gnarled appearance contradicting his lethal mind. The retired police detective scoured Auckland city like a ghoul, his ready sources of information willing and accurate. Whatever he’d found out about Michael drove Derek to add the clause and she trusted her father’s former friend with her life. After a bout of coughing, Derek disconnected and Dee’s thoughts turned to her role as Michael’s deluded wife. She thought about the groups of women who enfolded her as Mrs Michael Hanover, professing friendship through the last ten years of affluence and dropping her like a brick with the announcement of her divorce. It didn’t matter that Dee was the injured party; she became persona non grata in minutes, spoken about behind their hands and ostracised in public. They put up with their wealthy husband’s visits to prostitutes and a succession of designer Barbie dolls in hotel beds. Dee’s refusal to succumb to their brand of mute acceptance turned her into an outcast of epic proportions.

  Dee threw a few belongings into a bag. Her array of farm clothes were non-existent and she packed light summer dresses and shoes, a case filled with riches when she would have been better off with rags.

  Chapter 5

  Feilding

  “You look beautiful.” Harvey kissed Dee’s forehead as he met her at the front doors of the apartment block, her suitcase trailing behind her. “I can’t believe you’re really coming.” His awe had a childish innocence and Dee let him put the case on the back seat of the ute as she climbed into the front, revelling in his adoration.

  “It was the picture of the calf,” she said with a smile. “It made me miss home.”

  “I didn’t know you grew up on a farm,” Harvey said, revving the engine to get up speed as he pulled onto the main road. He eyed her slender legs through the light material, his lips turning up at the corners. “You can’t tell.”

  Dee looked out of the window as misgivings tormented her. She’d made it clear she wasn’t ready for a relationship but instinct told her Harvey wasn’t listening. “This visit is just as friends, right?” Tension made her voice wobble.

  “Of course!” Harvey smiled sideways and reached across, squeezing her hand in his. “Where did you say you were from?”

  “A tiny town, you wouldn’t know it.” Dee hedged the question and stared through the side window, not wanting to send her brain or their conversation down that track.

  The drive took four hours, travelling on the Desert Road past Mount Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe. The mountain looked sunburned and brown, the craggy outcrops harsh without their dusting of snow. Only the highest peak still bore its proud white cap, the white hair of a fine old gentleman. They stopped once for food in Taupo but pressed on, the day disappearing rapidly once the sun quit sentry duty. “At least let me contribute towards gas,” Dee said, reaching for her cash card inside the petrol station.

  Harvey waved her offer away, buying pies to eat in the car and juice to wash it down.

  “But you’ve driven for hours to Hamilton and back,” Dee complained. “Surely you must be tired.”

  Harvey turned his handsome face towards her and smiled. “I do it often,” he said. “I’m fine.” He stretched out a hand and clasped her fingers in his. “I love how you care though.”

  They pushed through Waiouru and left the main road, turning onto winding, stomach churning lanes before bumping onto a rough track winding through the mountains. The views were spectacular as the ute climbed through lowlands filled with healthy Friesian cows, many with calves at heel. Dee drank in the beauty of her surroundings like a welcome breath and stared at everything; the heaviness leaving her shoulders. “I thought you were beef farming,” she said, turning to find Harvey watching her with pleasure.

  He shook his head. “Na, dairy. That’s hard enough work for me. Were your folks into dairying?” Harvey pressed on the brake and pulled up in front of a farm gate. He opened the driver’s door and waited for Dee to speak.

  “Dad ran a small pedigree dairy herd, but he also bred and trained horses.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Harvey tried to sound interested but disappointment crossed his face. “Not proper farming then.”

  Dee watched
as he opened the wide gate and came back to the car, kicking up a swathe of choking dust under his feet. He drove the ute through the gap and got out again to close the gate behind them. Dee remained silent, thinking of her father’s long hours building his formidable reputation as a horse trainer. Her memories included many scenes of him taming a kicking, screaming stallion with his gentle voice and endless patience. Perhaps it wasn’t proper farming in Harvey’s eyes but it was hard enough for a man on his own with a child.

  “Well, this is it!” Harvey pulled the ute into a turning circle crowned by a statue of Venus at its centre. The beautiful single storey villa stretched out in front of her, renovated to perfection with white linear board and sash windows. The view from the rear of the house dropped away into a spectacular ravine.

  “It’s gorgeous!” Dee exclaimed. “It looks like something from a painting.”

  “I’m pretty proud of it,” Harvey said. “This farm’s been in my family for three generations and I’ve worked hard to keep it.” Something in his voice stopped Dee in her admiration as shades of Michael’s prideful eulogising resounded in Harvey’s voice. It acted as a warning and Dee flinched.

  Chapter 6

  From Bad to Worse

  Once under the safety of his roof, miles away from plausible help, Harvey’s attitude towards Dee changed. When she woke up bright and sunny on the first morning, Harvey narrowed his eyes at her couture dress and matching sling backs. “You can’t help in those,” he said with a sneer, eyeing the other men in his kitchen for approval. They shifted on uncomfortable feet and faked camaraderie, swilling mugs at the sink and showing eagerness to escape.