Damn!
‘Right,’ announced Rogerson at the other end of the table. ‘I see no point wasting everyone’s time any longer. In fact, I think we can safely bring this meeting to a conclusion. Maverick, what say you?’
Maverick’s gut roiled as he threw a damning look in his PA’s direction. What the hell had she said to him? Whatever it was, she’d pay for it.
He pushed his coffee away untouched. Right now he was unable to drink anything. ‘I say,’ he managed at last, battling to keep the churning going on inside him out of his voice. ‘That all depends on what you have in mind.’
‘Well, I’ve given your proposal some thought, and I’ve made my decision. I’m not going to accept your personal guarantee.’
CHAPTER FIVE
SOMETHING inside Maverick snapped, cutting his heartbeat short and leaving only one thought in his mind.
Morgan was dead meat.
This project had been years in the making, years in the putting together, and now when they’d been so close it was all falling apart. And she’d said something to Rogerson during that break, something that had made up his mind.
‘I see.’ The words felt like they’d been ripped from him.
‘I’d be surprised if you do,’ Phil continued. ‘Because the reason I don’t want your personal guarantee is because I don’t think I need it.’
Maverick’s heart tripped back to life with the shock. But that would mean…
‘So, you’re going to commit to Royalty Cove without the guarantee?’
‘Absolutely. Anyone who not only talks like a visionary but who is prepared to put their money where their mouth is has to be someone I can put my faith in. Besides, there are some things in life more important than a guaranteed return.’ He paused and winked in Tegan’s direction. ‘Sometimes it’s worth stepping out of one’s comfort zone and taking a risk.’
‘So what happened back there?’ Maverick had been brooding a good ten minutes as he drove from Rogerson’s offices.
‘What do you mean? You got your deal stitched up, didn’t you? At least the Rogerson end of it.’
‘That’s not what I meant,’ he growled, as he swooped around a line of slower vehicles. ‘What happened between you and Rogerson? Something was obviously going on—the hand on the shoulder, the wink across the room. What was that all about?’
He took his eyes off the road long enough to see the start of a wry smile. ‘Why, Maverick,’ she teased. ‘Anyone would think you were jealous.’
He flashed her a look that would peel paint, and hoped she’d feel the blowtorch he’d put behind it. Because he could sure feel the glare she was directing his way in return. ‘Rogerson’s old enough to be your grandfather.’
‘So? I liked him. I thought he was genuine and warm, not just another self-aggrandising multi-millionaire out for what he can get.’
Maverick burned. Is that what she thought of him? Is that why she didn’t smile at him? But she was wrong. He wasn’t jealous—he was livid. ‘What did you say to him?’
Out of his peripheral vision he caught her shrug. ‘Phil Rogerson has a son called Sam, a doctor working with Médecin Sans Frontières.’
‘And?’
‘And I…And my sister worked with him from time to time. We were just talking about that.’
‘You have a sister?’
‘Just the one.’
‘Who works in refugee camps?’
‘She works for GlobalAid. Or she did. She just finished up a short time ago.’
‘You never told me you had a sister.’
‘Maybe you never asked.’
And he never had. He’d never been interested. Not until now. Somehow the topic of Morgan and everything about her—what she did when she went home at night, who she saw—seemed suddenly fascinating.
‘So it was your sister who worked with this—what did you call him—Sam Rogerson?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Then how did you know about him?’
Beside him she shifted, and a brief glance revealed she’d turned her attentions out the window.
‘She told me.’
‘And how did you know Phil was his father?’
She snapped her head around. ‘Look, is all this going somewhere?’
He glanced at her, surprised but not entirely disappointed by her outburst. It was much too fascinating. ‘You tell me.’
‘No, I didn’t know, okay? I guessed, and I got lucky. He and his wife hadn’t heard from him for a long time, so he was pleased when I told them my sister had seen him just a month ago.’