Abbey hesitated. The last person she wanted to speak to was Tarken but she didn't want Lucy to hang up on him when he knew she was there. She didn't want to hurt any more feelings today.
She wiped her eyes. "Ask him what she wants."
Lucy put the phone back to her ear. "She wants to know what you want." Lucy listened, then put the phone back to her breast again. She was trying hard not to laugh. "He's at the office. He says Goldstein wants a report and he hasn't written it yet. He wants to know if you'll go in and help him. He says he'll pay you by the hour. Abbey, please give me the pleasure of telling him no."
Abbey nodded grimly. "Be my guest."
"The answer's no you bucket of slime," Lucy said into the phone. "Abbey doesn't want to talk to you or see your ugly face ever again. Got it?" She hung up and grinned at Abbey. "Good girl. You're making progress where he's concerned at least. Now if we can just get you to forget about Nick."
Abbey let out a low moan and put her head in her hands again.
She wasn't going to be able to forget Nick Delaware that easily.
CHAPTER 11
Nick leaned back in his leather chair, linked his hands behind his head, and stared out the floor-to-ceiling window of his thirty-fourth floor office. The view over the Sydney Harbor usually calmed him, allowing him to think clearly through meetings, negotiations and other sundry issues.
But today the view did nothing to relax him. The sharp pain that had continued to stab at his heart since Friday night was still there, hacking away.
Friday night. It was a night he'd never forget, that was for sure. But for all the wrong reasons.
The way Abbey had looked in that blue dress, the way it hugged her figure and rose and fell in time with her heavy breathing. She'd wanted him, he could tell. Wanted him, yet all the time, hated him.
Nick closed his eyes to block out the cheery blue sky and the memory of Abbey on that night. He didn't want to be cheery today, and he didn't want to remember Abbey.
Ever.
Problem was, it would take a hell of a long time to forget her.
How could he have made so many stupid mistakes in such a short amount of time? It wasn't like him. He'd never failed so perfectly as he'd failed last week.
His mistakes were too numerous to count. He should have told Abbey who he really was. It wasn't like there weren't enough opportunities. He shouldn't have called her a hooker for starters, especially to her face, and he shouldn't have put her through that ridiculous test.
And finally he should have told her he loved her.
That last realization had hit him so hard he couldn't stop shaking. On Friday night the minutes had ticked by so slowly as he waited for dawn and the housekeeper, that it had given him a long time to think. His anger and vulnerability had subsided, surprisingly, replaced with a tumult of other emotions and fears. Most of them centered over his realization that he adored Abbey, and that he was afraid of losing her. As he lay on top of the bed, naked and bound, he understood what it meant to be stripped of his self-control. And it had nothing to do with the thought of being found like that in the morning.
Abbey. The woman with the perfect body, bright inquisitive eyes, mouth that begged to be kissed and the ability to make him laugh. He groaned. How could he have ever thought she was a hooker?
He blew out a breath and turned back to the view. What view Abbey was seeing today?
His phone buzzed and he picked up.
"Tarken Pratt from JJC Pharmaceuticals in Melbourne for you, sir. Shall I put him through?"
Nick thought about saying no, then changed his mind. Maybe Tarken had some news about Abbey. Maybe she was working for him again. Maybe he could repair some of the damage if he could speak to her.
"Delaware here," he said into the receiver.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Delaware, we met in Melbourne last week. I was the, ah, date of Abbey McPherson."
Nick was about to open his mouth and tell him of course he remembered when he realized Tarken still thought he was Vane and Vane was him. Abbey probably hadn't bothered to inform him. Interesting. So what did the little swine want?
"If this is about the software -"
"No, no, nothing like that," Tarken said. "It's about your VP of Marketing, Damien Vane."
"Yes. Go on."
"Well, I think he needs to be seriously reprimanded."
"Oh? Why?"
"Because he behaved terribly to Abbey."
Nick leaned forward in his seat. "Is she working for you again?" he asked quickly.
"Not exactly..."
Nick sat back in his seat and passed a hand in front of his eyes. "So what's the problem?"
"Well, he behaved in an ungentlemanly manner toward her. I don't like it."
What was this all about? Did Tarken want to get him into trouble because he was jealous? If that were the case, then shouldn't he be even more jealous of the real Damien Vane, pretending to be Nick Delaware, because he'd whisked her away at the cocktail party?