"There's a cocktail party on tomorrow night and I thought you might like to accompany me."
Abbey rolled her eyes. Giving up wasn't Tarken's style, even when he was thoroughly beaten. It was embarrassing before, now it was just annoying. "Why would I want to do that?"
"Because it's for this software seminar that's been going on at the Crown Complex."
Her heart stopped. Software seminar...
"Did you go to it?" she asked.
"Yes. Mr. Goldstein decided on Monday that we needed a new system. He suggested Donaldson go. Normally I'd send you along with him, but..."
"What, Melinda's not good enough?" She couldn't help getting one sarcastic comment in.
"Let's just say that Melinda's not you."
At least he'd recognized that. She closed her eyes. She tried not to think about Tarken meeting Damien again at the seminar. She didn't want to know the consequences of such a meeting. "So why would I want to go to this party?"
"You might meet some industry contacts. Since you're looking for a job, I thought it could prove useful for you."
Abbey's spine tingled. Tarken was up to something and she didn't like it. If Melinda was a hopeless P.A. then he probably wanted to woo Abbey back into the role. So why take her somewhere with the intention of making new contacts and getting a new job?
It didn't add up.
What did make sense was that Tarken had met Damien at the seminar. And after the reception he received at the restaurant earlier in the week, Tarken was probably cooking up something in revenge.
This might be worth seeing. And what did she have to lose anyway? Neither man was her boyfriend so there was no danger of a confrontation leading to the end of a relationship. There was nothing to end.
"Fine, I'll go."
"Pick you up at six."
She hung up. It could be a disaster. In fact, it probably would be a disaster, but she felt compelled to go. If for no other reason than to flirt with Tarken in Damien's face. Childish, she knew, but it might help exorcise her demons.
And those demons definitely needed exorcising. Abbey needed closure.
Nick sat on the couch in the dark in his hotel suite. The curtain was open and the street lights offered a faint glow through the window. It was probably still hot out there but it was cool inside the room. Cool enough to sooth his skin but not cool enough to sooth his temper.
He was angry. At Abbey for lying, but mostly at himself for letting her get to him the way she had. This wasn't supposed to happen. Casual sex with strangers in strange cities wasn't supposed to mean anything.
It never used to, when he'd done this sort of thing in his early twenties.
So why start now and make things so complicated? It wasn't fair. Abbey was totally wrong for him. She lived in a different city for starters, and she wasn't the sort of woman he could take wining and dining to Sydney's most salubrious establishments with business associates.
Hell, the girl had a penchant for skirts that crept above the height of decency.
Nick emitted a low growl and punched the cushion on the couch. He was kidding himself and he knew it. It had nothing to do with the skirts and everything to do with her attitude. She had way too much of it. She argued with him about everything, except sex of course. Then there was the lies. Nice girls don't lie.
Even worse than that, she didn't want him.
Even worse than that-and this was the clincher-she'd only slept with him in the first place for money.
And if she'd slept with him for a few hundred dollars from Lucy's client, imagine what she'd do when she discovered he was worth a fortune. A gold digger was the last thing he needed on his hands.
Okay, so thinking about what she might do gave him a hard on. But thinking about Abbey wanting him just for his money made his blood run cold.
Now, while she thought he was that loser Vane, she didn't want to know him except for the occasional sexual interlude. But if she ever learned the truth, he somehow knew her disagreeable nature would fly out the window and she'd be all sweetness.
The image had a certain appeal … No, actually, it didn't. Abbey minus her smart mouth and her confronting style just wouldn't be as much fun. It just wouldn't be Abbey.
He didn't want her wanting him, and changing who she was, because of his money. He wanted her to want him.
It was best not to tell her who he was then. Once she learned his real name, it wouldn't take long to link him to his fortune. No doubt she'd find out when Lorraine Vane saw the photos and identified him, but hopefully by then he'd be long gone. His flight was early Saturday morning. That left only tomorrow, Friday, for the photos to reach Sydney. Hopefully Lucy wouldn't be that efficient.
Once he was back home in Sydney, he could forget everything that had ever happened here in Melbourne, and he could forget Abbey. Putting distance between them would cool his desire for her and life would return to normal. That's what he wanted. Right?