LITMIR.BIZ

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you’re part of it. That you’ll be there on the day.’

      Bella felt as if she were being torn apart.

      ‘I don’t know,’ she said wretchedly. ‘It’s so damn complicated…’

      ‘Can we at least talk about it?’ said Annis.

      ‘We are talking.’

      ‘I mean properly. Without you looking at your watch every minute. This evening. What are you doing after work?’

      Bella pulled a face. ‘Taking some honoured visitors on the town. I’m supposed to be the best in the department on the guided tour of the Big Apple.’

      ‘Oh.’ Annis was disappointed but not defeated. She fished in her shoulder bag and brought out a typed sheet. ‘Let’s see.’

      She scanned it.

      ‘What is that?’ said Bella, recoiling.

      ‘My timetable. My client’s idea. When I told him I was coming to see you, he gave me the day’s itinerary, so I could catch up with him if I got delayed anywhere.’

      Bella was revolted. ‘The dweeb,’ she said. ‘Could he also be a control freak by any chance?’

      Her sister smiled. ‘He thinks ahead.’ She went back to the list. ‘Dinner, venture capitalists, blah blah blah. No, that won’t do. Hey, what about this? Hombre y Mujer Club, ten-thirty.’

      ‘If you try and talk at Hombre y Mujer you’ll get burst eardrums,’ said Bella.

      ‘We don’t have to talk there. Just meet. Then I could come back to your place and we could thrash this thing through.’

      That gives me ten hours to find an excuse she’ll believe, thought Bella. Just great.

      She said, ‘Fine. I’ll see you there. Now tell me all the gossip.’

      And, recognising that she had won a battle, if not the war, Annis allowed herself to be diverted.

      Bella kept the conversation light and away from weddings for the rest of lunch but she knew that the evening was going to be heavy. Everyone noticed how silent she was all afternoon. She still teased the post boy, and was merciless with Sally coming back from a fashion shoot with orange sequins on her cheekbones. But her heart wasn’t in it.

      ‘You in love, English?’ asked Sally, handing her a revised production schedule.

      Bella pulled a face. ‘All the time.’

      But Sally had a suspicion she wasn’t joking.

      ‘Doesn’t he like you taking the Japanese on the town tonight? They can get possessive these love-of-your-life types.’

      Bella just shook her head and laughed. But Sally noticed in the mirror that as soon as she turned away Bella’s laughter died. The only thing that cheered her up, perversely, was a message from her sister that she was feeling too ill to join her at the club, after all. Bella was concerned, of course she was, but Sally saw she was relieved too.

      ‘What’s wrong?’ she said, calling Annis back at her hotel.

      ‘Something I ate, I expect. Plus jet lag. I’ll be better tomorrow. Can we meet tomorrow night?’

      ‘Yeah,’ said Bella, resigned. ‘Sure.’

      But she went to the club anyway. The Japanese had been enthusiastic when offered a Latin beat and Hombre y Mujer was one of the classier venues. It was new, with some great music and a terrific sprung floor. The décor wasn’t bad either and the food—if you wanted food—was as hot and spicy as the Cuban beat. A lot of professional dancers went there as well as a lot of Latin Americans. The well-heeled Manhattan crowd had not really found it yet. As a result, said Paco the proprietor, the dancing was as good as you got outside Rio or Havana.

      And tonight, thought Bella, she could really dance out her demons. She needed to. She had not felt as desperate as this since the night she never, ever, thought about. The night that had left her with a secret that burned into her soul. A secret she was never going to be able to share. Because Annis was the person she shared her secrets with. Annis was her best friend. And this secret would ensure that friendship ended for ever.

      That was why she locked it away. Never looked at it. Went on with her life, just a little damaged, just a little wary. And very, very alone. But alone was all right, Bella told herself. She could handle alone.

      So she fluffed out her hair, shook out her shoulders, and sashayed out onto the dance floor.

      The hell with tomorrow. Tonight the demons were going back in the box.

      CHAPTER TWO

      WHEN Gil walked into the club, it was already buzzing. He shouldered his way past the queue and nodded to the bouncer on the door.

      ‘Good evening.’ His clipped English accent was very pronounced. ‘Paco is expecting me.’

      ‘Oh, yeah. Professor,’ said the bouncer, trying the word out as if it was the first time he had said it in his life. ‘He said to go on up. First landing, door marked Private.’

      He held the heavy door open for him. Gil ran up the stairs.

      Paco was in his office, sitting at an impressive desk, for all the world like a captain of industry. But when Gil rapped on the door and pushed it open, Paco leaped to his feet and rushed forward like the enthusiastic freshman he had once been.

      ‘Gil! Great to see you!’ Paco embraced him, then held him at arm’s length. ‘What’s with the suit? You look serious.’

      ‘And you look like a pirate,’ said Gil, taking in the tight black head scarf and a single earring. He was taken aback.

      Paco grinned. ‘Image. Just like they used to tell us in college. Marketing is everything.’

      They went way back, he and Gil. They had met in the days when they’d waited tables and had driven delivery trucks to pay their way through college. Paco had graduated from waiter via barman to nightclub owner and, these days, music entrepreneur.

      Gil prowled round the room, inspecting huge signed photographs and a couple of framed disks.

      ‘You’ve certainly made your MBA pay for itself.’

      ‘You, too, from what I hear.’

      Gil swung round neatly. ‘What do you hear?’ He rapped the words out.

      Paco looked surprised at the tone. ‘Only what was in the old alumni newsletter. Your company develops cutting-edge research software. That’s what it said.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Oh, I see. We’re talking industrial espionage. That’s what you’re doing in New York, isn’t it?’

      Gil flung himself down in a chair. ‘Am I that transparent? I must have made it so damned easy—’ He broke off. His jaw was as tight as a vice.

      Paco looked alarmed. ‘Hey, I’m just making social conversation here. What’s wrong?’

      Gil looked at him for a frowning moment. Then, quite suddenly, he shrugged.

      ‘My famed judgement of people,’ he said in a hard voice. ‘It’s struck again.’

      ‘Ah,’ said Paco after the slightest pause.

      ‘Yes,’ said Gil, answering his unspoken comment. ‘I suppose you thought Rosemary Valieri had taught me all there was to know about duplicitous women? You were wrong.’ He sounded savage.

      ‘Oh, it’s a woman, is it? The English chick you were supposed to bring tonight?’

      ‘No.’ Gil dismissed Annis with a shake of the head. ‘My marketing director. The first non-specialist I brought in. She’s been with us since the start. I thought she was a friend.’

      Paco looked at him with a good deal of sympathy.

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