Chapter 12
Marcus taps a button on the running machine and his feet slow to a brisk walk on the treadmill before finally coming to a halt.
He grabs a towel and wipes the sweat from his face before hanging it around his neck like a scarf.
Picking up his phone, he checks his messages.
He’s had yet another one from Olivia. He scrolls back through their chat history.
Her texts always have a desperate quality to them so that he can imagine her voice when he reads them, beseeching him in breathy tones.
When will the renovation be finished? When can she see him again?
When will they finally be together? Now she’s texting him about some crazy-sounding plan to rent a local shop and turn it into an art gallery.
To be fair, he doesn’t mind as long as it keeps her occupied.
And it’s not like he doesn’t care for her.
He does. She has really grown on him. He’d never have considered being with an older woman before now.
But there is something so vulnerable and trusting about Olivia, almost fragile, that has brought out a side in him he didn’t know existed.
He almost wants to protect her. And she’s in very good condition for her age. She’s really looked after herself.
But now he finds himself on shifting sands, yet more new territory.
The daughter, Bella. She phoned and left a message this morning, asking him to return her call.
Her voice had sounded treacly and flirtatious.
So cocksure of herself in comparison to her mother.
He really doesn’t need this complication though.
It could ruin everything. And yet the girl has him over a barrel for now.
He can’t allow anything to get in the way of the renovation project.
All his best laid plans. And Tobias must not be given any reason to doubt him or his loyalty.
It would be all too easy for him to be replaced with some other hungry new architect.
All he has is his reputation, and even that is questionable now, which is why he has set up on his own, an opportunity to reinvent himself.
So this is his one chance. His last chance.
All or nothing. The gamble needs to come off.
Marcus feels his heart rate returning to normal and his deep breathing subside. He taps out a message to Olivia:
Sounds great. Go for it. You deserve it x
Then he listens to Bella’s voice message again and returns the call. She picks up on the second ring. The background sounds noisy; an orchestra of voices, human and avian, the lap and splash of water.
‘Oh hello. You took your sweet time,’ she says, a suggestive laugh never far from the surface of her words.
He can hear the tinkling of jewellery somewhere around her body and imagines her wrists, her neck, her ears.
Her deeply tanned skin so different from the delicate lily of her mother’s.
It must be out of a bottle, he realises.
A girl with red hair like hers would never be that colour naturally.
He pictures her long titian waves but it only serves to remind him of Tobias.
They are so alike and he feels his lip curl.
Still, all the more reason to screw them both over.
‘I’m coming back down soon,’ he says. ‘Tomorrow in fact. Your father needs me apparently.’
‘Oh good,’ she replies and he hears an intake of air, the draw on a cigarette perhaps. ‘This place hasn’t been the same since you left.’
He laughs.
‘It’s only been a day or so. Surely there must be plenty of boys your own age hanging about down there. What about the local lifeguard?’
She makes a snort of disgust and again he is reminded of Tobias.
‘Too young and inexperienced,’ she says. ‘Not the brightest either. All a bit inbred round here, if you ask me.’
‘Right, well, we’ll have to see what we can do about that. But if you want to be one of the grown-ups, you’ll have to be good at keeping secrets. Can you do that, Bella?’
She gives a throaty laugh. ‘Sure. Don’t worry, Marcus. I’ve had the very best teachers, especially when it comes to my parents. They won’t suspect a thing, I promise.’
‘Great. Smart girl. See you soon, then,’ he says and rings off before she can reply.