Chapter 15
15
After Renee waved Eva off in her Uber, she paused at the base of the steps up to the door to the house, biting her lip.
The Virtu team worked standard business hours. They’d be home, or with friends, or at a bar or restaurant or something—doing normal evening things, not expecting to get a weird message from their boss. She could text Nathalie, but Nathalie never checked her phone in the fraught hours from five to eight p.m., until she finally managed to wrestle Thomas into bed.
And that was it. Renee had exhausted the people to whom she was close enough that she could call on them in an emergency.
Which this was. She was going back into the house to be alone with a furious man who’d had reason to resent her even before this evening’s loss of face. A man who had historically shown little sign of caring about her well-being—rather, the reverse. She’d never seen Su Khoon get physically violent, but there was a first time for everything. Andrew Yeoh had never used force with her, until the day he’d pushed his way into her flat and grabbed her phone because he was convinced she was texting a new boyfriend.
Renee slipped her phone out of her bag. She would ring Nathalie.
Or there was one other option. One other person in London who understood the context. Who wouldn’t need any explanations about her family history, or what was at stake here.
For the second time that day, she typed Ket Siong’s name into WhatsApp. This time, she sent a message.
Long story, but if you don’t hear from me in an hour’s time, could you ring me? And if you can’t get through to me, could you ring the police and ask them to check I’m OK? I’ll send you my location.
(Sorry for the drama. I’m meeting up with my brother.)
That was probably the best she could manage by way of precautions. Hopefully Ket Siong would check his phone some time within the next hour. Even if he didn’t, the messages were some assurance that if they found her body in the Thames the next day, suspicion would fall squarely on her brother.
She had just placed her foot on the second step up to the door when her phone buzzed.
It was Ket Siong.
Of course. Call me if you need anything.
She was smiling as she came back into the reception room where she’d left her brother. Su Khoon was sitting on the grey moleskin sofa. Renee dropped her eyes when he looked up, ironing out her expression.
Su Khoon had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. The dampness at his hairline suggested he’d washed his face, and he’d even managed to get the lipstick stains off his ear. An espresso cup was cradled in his hands, the smell of coffee hanging in the air.
He was still pink, but he was probably as sober as he was going to get tonight. Good. That he’d made the effort showed he took Renee seriously. And she wanted him in a state to negotiate.
Renee dropped into a white leather armchair across from Su Khoon.
“Poor Jessie!” she said. “I really thought you loved her.” She shook her head. “I always thought she was too smart for you. But I figured you knew that.”
Su Khoon put his cup down on the coffee table with more force than was necessary, sloshed dark liquid over his hand, and swore. Renee extracted a tissue from her bag and held it out. He swiped it from her.
“Didn’t know you got along so well with my wife,” he said, drying his hand off. “You know, it was her idea to get that model on board. The girl who…”
“Said I threatened her when she got harassed,” said Renee. “I know the one.”
There wasn’t much Su Khoon could do to hurt her anymore, at least with mere words. He didn’t seem to realise that making someone lose all faith in you freed them from caring about your opinion.
“Don’t get me wrong. I never thought Jessie liked me,” she said. “But I don’t have a problem with her. You’re her husband, of course she’s going to be on your side. You have to admit, though, I might’ve been a better bet. I may not be a son and heir, but I am loyal.”
Su Khoon made an abortive swing, as though he was fighting off a monster in a nightmare. “What do you want? For me to pull out?”
Renee couldn’t resist. “I hope you were planning on using better protection than that .”
“Don’t be disgusting,” Su Khoon said curtly. He looked in his espresso cup, grunting when he remembered he’d emptied it over his own hand.
“I’m not the one bringing sex workers to the family home,” Renee pointed out. She glanced at the family portrait over the fireplace. “I can’t believe you were snogging her with Dad’s picture staring down at you. Men really are different.”
Su Khoon didn’t see the funny side. “You think you’ve won because of this? Go ahead, tell Jessie. Tell the whole world. You think I’ll hold back? I’ll make sure your boyfriend’s photos are all over the Internet.”
“Jason’s not my boyfriend anymore.”
Su Khoon ignored this. He leaned forward, his mouth a grim line. “First place I’ll send them is Dad’s inbox.”
“That’s what I came here to talk to you about,” said Renee. “Look, I know you don’t have the pictures.”
Su Khoon raised an eyebrow. “I thought you might try this. You sure you want to call my bluff? That’s a risky strategy for you.”
Renee leaned back in the armchair, crossing her arms.
“What I don’t get,” she said contemplatively, “is why you were in such a rush. Why not wait until I couldn’t call your bluff? Didn’t it occur to you I might be able to get ahold of Jason?”
For the first time, doubt flickered across Su Khoon’s face.
“I made him a better offer,” said Renee. “The photos are off the table.
“I mean, talk about risky strategies,” she continued. “It wasn’t a great plan anyway. I’m sure the photos would’ve come from an anonymous source. But if I did get Dad to believe you were behind it, how do you think that would have worked out for you?”
Su Khoon was pop-eyed. The flush fading from his skin returned in full force, creeping up his throat. A vessel throbbed in his forehead. “You—”
“No threats,” said Renee. “No shouting. Why don’t we try talking like civilised people for a change? Remember, you have no leverage here.”
Su Beng would probably have lobbed one of the marble lamps at her. Su Khoon sat snorting like a winded ox. He looked like he couldn’t quite believe Renee was saying all these things to him, and he was letting her.
Renee couldn’t quite believe it, either. She felt high on adrenaline, her pulse thrumming in her temple.
“What makes you think Jessie would believe you anyway?” said Su Khoon. “You have no evidence.”
“Er Ge,” said Renee. “Why do you think I waited outside with Eva for her Uber? I was amazed you let me go off with her. Didn’t you think we might, I don’t know, talk ?”
This took a moment to sink in. Then Su Khoon reared up onto his feet, his face an ugly red. “If you think you’re going to get out of this house with whatever she gave you…”
Renee had chosen her seat carefully. She was nearest the door, no obstacles between her and a quick exit.
Her palms were damp, her heart racing. Fear constricted her throat, but she took a deep breath, pushing through it.
“I’ve told a friend where I am and who I’m with.” She was pleased to hear her voice was steady. “They’ll call the police if I haven’t been in touch in about an hour’s time.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Make that forty-five minutes.”
That took the wind out of her brother’s sails. He said, “You’re acting like—what do you think I’m going to do? I’m your brother.”
Renee stared at him. Su Khoon looked hurt .
No matter how well-prepared she thought she was, she could never predict how anything would go with her family.
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” said Renee. “Er Ge. Don’t you think it’s time you stopped underestimating me?
“You think of me as your dumb little sister. That’s normal, everyone’s like that about their siblings. But it’s making you make mistakes, like letting me talk to Eva without you around.”
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Maybe I haven’t made this clear enough. I want to work with you. I don’t want to be gathering blackmail material, or upsetting Jessie and the family. It’s not how I do business.”
Su Khoon stood immobile. His head was bent, his face in shadow. Renee couldn’t make out his expression. He might have been about to slap her, or weep.
Finally he collapsed back onto the sofa. “So what, you want us to shake hands and be friends, just like that?” He gazed at her blearily. He looked rough in the cold white lighting Dad favoured, older than his thirty-nine years. “Look at it from my point of view. I’d be stupid to trust you, no?”
“Why don’t you try pretending we’re not related?” said Renee. “Give me the same chance you’d give any lateral hire Dad brought in.”
Though she couldn’t imagine Su Khoon being helpful to any hire of Dad’s that he hadn’t approved himself. She hurried on:
“Dad wants us to prove we can work with family. Whoever wins Chahaya is going to have to do that, whether they like it or not. It’s in both our interests to do a good job. Can’t we put aside our personal shit for once and focus on work?”
Su Khoon rolled his eyes. “Don’t try and fool me. Like this whole business isn’t personal for you. You expect me to believe you won’t be trying to sabotage me?”
“No, of course not,” said Renee, exasperated. “I’m not an idiot . We’re competing. But we can either cooperate and get the Freshview deal nailed down, or we can keep squabbling. Then you might as well wrap up Chahaya and give it to Da Ge with a bow on top.”
Mentioning Su Beng had the desired effect. Su Khoon went quiet, frowning.
“What happens?” he said. “If I don’t agree to work with you.”
Renee blinked. “I told you. We both individually try to get Freshview on board. They get a terrible impression of Chahaya as a result and swear off working with us, leaving Dad absolutely delighted with you and me.”
“You know what I mean,” said Su Khoon impatiently. “What are you going to do with what you got from Eva?”
“What, this?” Renee rummaged in her bag and produced a crumpled Post-it note, placing it on the coffee table.
Su Khoon picked it up gingerly between his index finger and thumb, as though it might explode. He read off the scribble: “‘Kip’—what?”
“We were talking about Austrian food. I said I’ve only had it at the Delaunay and would she recommend anywhere else,” said Renee. “Eva said I should try this place, Kipferl. It’s in Angel.” She plucked the piece of paper out of his hand and put it back in her bag.
“You were right. I don’t have evidence,” said Renee. “I didn’t ask Eva for anything on you guys. I’m not planning to report you to the family. If you don’t want to work with me, I’m not going to force you. You have to be willing, or it won’t work.”
Su Khoon was silent. Was he actually looking ashamed? Had she somehow managed to prick his conscience? She wouldn’t have bet on either of her brothers having one of those.
It should have made her feel triumphant. Instead she felt deflated, grubby and sad. She wished she was home, or on Nathalie’s sofa with her feet up, drinking cocktails, or anywhere but here. In this family home nobody lived in.
“I liked Eva,” said Renee. “We had a nice chat about her studies. She’s obviously bright.” She studied Su Khoon, trying to figure him out, as she had done with both her brothers so many times in the course of her childhood. “Jessie’s clever, too. You’re drawn to smart girls. Why do I piss you off so much?”
There was a long pause.
“You don’t piss me off,” said Su Khoon.
Renee raised her eyebrows. “Sure.”
“It’s nothing personal.” He was softening, becoming almost human.
So Renee didn’t say, Can’t you see, that makes it worse? If everything you do to me isn’t personal. If you’re not doing it because you hate me or you’re mad at me, but simply because I’m in your way.
She held her tongue. And her family claimed she had no self-control.
Su Khoon tipped his head back on the sofa, letting out a windy sigh. “Dad pits us against each other. Survival of the fittest. Then he expects us to hug and kiss and pretend everything’s fine.”
Renee’s therapist had once put forward this analysis of why her family was so dysfunctional, but it startled her to hear it from Su Khoon. She’d had no doubt he resented their father for any number of reasons. It had never occurred to her before that any of those reasons might be legitimate.
“I don’t think normal siblings kiss,” she said. “Hug, maybe. Not kiss .”
Su Khoon snorted. “How would you know? You don’t have any normal siblings.”
That surprised a laugh out of Renee. “True.”
She let several moments pass in silence. Su Khoon was lost in thought, gazing at the ceiling as though the secrets of the universe were to be found there.
Renee had long given up on being pleasantly surprised by her family. But she’d already been proven wrong once, when Dad had rung her about the Chahaya opportunity. Maybe she should stay open to the possibility of being proven wrong again.
“So,” she said. “How about it?”
Su Khoon raised his wrist to check his watch, a handsome Omega Seamaster. If they had been friends, Renee would have asked if it was vintage.
“How long did you say I have?” he said. “Am I about to get swatted if I don’t say yes?”
Renee wasn’t sure if she was enjoying finding out her brother possessed a sense of humour. Was this a late-in-life development? Part of his midlife crisis, along with cheating on his wife with blonde twenty-year-olds? “Swatting is an American thing, isn’t it?”
“Fine,” said Su Khoon.
Renee waited. But her brother was getting to his feet, picking up his espresso cup.
“Fine?” said Renee. “That’s it?”
Su Khoon looked up, faintly surprised. “What else am I going to say? You’ve got me over a barrel. You know and I know you don’t need evidence to cause trouble for me.”
Renee frowned. “I said I’m not going to tell on you.”
Su Khoon waved this away. “Sure, sure. Let’s leave it at that.” He was even smiling.
Renee saw, with a surge of indignation, that he didn’t believe she’d never intended to blackmail him, and that had gone some way towards restoring his self-respect. He’d decided the fact she’d decided not to play dirty was a pretence, part of some deep-laid scheme of her devising. Which meant he didn’t need to be disquieted or confused, and he definitely didn’t need to reflect on how he’d treated her. It was all tactics, from Su Khoon’s point of view.
Before she could open her mouth to defend herself, he said:
“Maybe you’re right. I need to forget you’re my dumb little sister. Let’s start over. Clean slate. I’ll play nice on this deal, but that’s it. You don’t expect anything else from me. That’s the agreement, right?”
“Right,” said Renee.
Su Khoon held out his hand. “Shake on it, then.”
Renee reached out and took her brother’s hand. His palm was dry, his clasp firm, but not aggressively so. It was the first time she had touched him in years.
She was going to need so much therapy.
“No hard feelings?” said Su Khoon. He seemed to have cheered up, now he thought he’d seen through Renee’s game.
“No hard feelings,” said Renee.
This new, reformed version of Su Khoon suggested Renee could stay for dinner, but he didn’t press when she declined. There was a shared recognition that, even if a truce had been achieved, they shouldn’t push things too far.
Their goodbyes were civil. Su Khoon said his PA, Penny, would send her the documents for the Freshview pitch the next morning. Renee said she looked forward to reading them.
She took out her phone once she was on the pavement outside, checking the time. It was thirteen minutes past eight. She’d been in the house for just over two hours. It had felt longer.
She clocked the notification as she was about to put the phone away. A message from Ket Siong.
How are you doing?
The timestamp was precisely forty-five minutes after she had texted him.
It was hard not to read something into this. Renee had a vision of Ket Siong, his eye on the clock, waiting till it was no longer too early to check in.
Wishful thinking. Or was it? Ket Siong was a nice, normal person. He’d worry about anyone who was sending him cryptic messages suggesting she might need the authorities to intervene to rescue her from her own brother.
She replied:
All good. Tell you everything another time.
The double blue ticks appeared straight away, but there was no response. Renee decided it was beneath her dignity to wait for more than a minute for a reply, and slipped her phone back into her bag.
She could get an Uber, but she wasn’t that far from her flat. About half an hour’s walk, which sounded exactly what the doctor ordered. She’d worn comfortable shoes on purpose, in case she needed to run.
The narrow townhouses here had little by way of frontage, with just enough paved yard to place a potted plant or two in. Passersby could peer over the railings right into the front rooms, which was why all the windows facing the street either had blinds or shutters on them, screening out prying eyes. Golden light spilt through the chinks, blotted out occasionally by shadowy figures moving around their homes.
The Gohs were never in London long enough to make their neighbours’ acquaintance. Renee wondered what families lived in the other houses, and whether they could possibly be as messed up as hers.
It was a well-lit residential street, quiet on a Monday night. She hadn’t seen anyone else on it, so the voice behind her made her jump.
“Renee!”
Renee whipped around. She recognised the tall, broad-shouldered figure crossing the road even before he moved into the amber light of the streetlamp.
Ket Siong looked decidedly sheepish.
“What are you doing here?” said Renee.
“Sorry,” said Ket Siong. “I was worried.” He looked her over, conducting a thorough and unapologetic survey.
His gaze should have felt intrusive, but it didn’t. Renee was reminded of being inspected by her nanny for injuries, when as a child Renee had run to her, seeking comfort for a bump on the head or a skinned knee.
The look, and the association, should have been weird. It wasn’t. She felt… cared for.
She cleared her throat, pushing down an unexpected swell of shyness. “How did you know where to find—oh, I sent you my location. Of course.”
Ket Siong glanced over his shoulder at her family’s house. “I wanted to be around, in case… I’m sorry. I should have told you I was coming.”
“Oh my God, no. I should be the one apologising,” said Renee. Necessity had taken precedence over self-consciousness, earlier, but it was coming home to her exactly how bizarre this situation must seem to Ket Siong. “I had no business dragging you into my stupid family drama. I just couldn’t think of anyone else to message.”
She immediately wished she hadn’t said that last line—way too pathetic.
But Ket Siong didn’t seem to mind. “I’m glad you messaged.” He paused, his eyes searching. “Are you OK?”
“Yeah,” said Renee.
How did she keep ending up locking eyes with Ket Siong? There had to be some way to avoid this. It felt like he was about to unpack every embarrassing secret she had, every vulnerability she hid from the world.
She tore her gaze away. “It was fine. As fine as things ever are with my family, you know. Really, you shouldn’t have come.”
That sent Ket Siong’s shoulders up around his ears. “I’m sorry—”
“ Don’t apologise again,” said Renee. “I didn’t mean it that way. I didn’t mean to break up your evening, that’s all.”
She didn’t want to meet his eyes again, in case he saw more in hers than she wanted him to, so she looked at his chin.
Ket Siong had a great chin. She hadn’t known it was possible for chins to be that attractive. Men’s forearms, yes. Their shoulders and thighs, absolutely. But the male chin had never made it onto her list of physical attributes capable of provoking desire, before now.
“It was nice of you to be worried,” she said. “Thank you.”
Ket Siong ducked his head. “How are you getting home?”
“Oh, I’m going to walk. It’s not far.” Renee hesitated.
Ket Siong must have things to do, places to go, people to see. On the other hand, he’d booked it from the outer wilderness of Greater London to make it down here, on the strength of two texts from her. Presumably his Monday night wasn’t looking that busy.
“Are you in a rush?” she said. “I haven’t eaten yet. I was going to pick up something from Tesco or something. But there’s a Malaysian restaurant not too far from here. I’ve always wanted to try it. My dad refused to go, wouldn’t pay Chelsea prices for nasi lemak.”
“What is a Chelsea price for nasi lemak?” said Ket Siong.
Renee shrugged. “We can find out. Dinner on me? I can explain what happened.” She waved vaguely in the direction of her family’s house.
“Sounds good,” said Ket Siong, after a moment. “We can split the bill.”
“We’re not doing the bill fight before we’ve even gotten to the restaurant,” said Renee firmly. “Anyway, I’m paying. I owe you one.”
“You don’t—”
“I texted you out of nowhere, making it sound like I was going to die,” said Renee. “Let me have this one. This evening has been so painful for me, you can’t imagine. The least you can do is let me save face.”
Ket Siong cocked his head. “You said it went fine.”
“I mean, for a definition of ‘fine.’ I had to see my brother sucking face. It was traumatising.” Renee shuddered. “Why are the men in my family such horndogs?”
At Ket Siong’s expression, she said, “I’ll tell you all about it, but I’m going to need alcohol. Come on, let’s go.”