be.
He wouldn’t be taking a partner, of course. He no longer had a partner. Not that he would have taken Claudia anywhere near Jordan.
Gino wondered if Adrian had received an invitation.
No, probably not. Adrian had told him he’d used Stedley and Parkinson’s for legal work before. Which meant he wouldn’t be a new client.
Still, it was likely that he’d been to such a dinner before, giving him first-hand knowledge of what kind of a do this was, and especially who attended from Stedley & Parkinson.
Reaching for his cellphone, Gino looked up the menu of numbers he kept in there, located Adrian’s number and punched it in.
‘Adrian Palmer,’ Adrian answered straight away.
Although one of Australia’s most up-and-coming young architects, Adrian didn’t use a secretary, or a proper office. He worked out of his high-rise apartment, situated in the middle of Sydney’s CBD.
‘Hi, Adrian. Gino Bortelli here.’
‘Gino! I was just working on the plans for your building. I think you’re going to be seriously pleased.’
‘That’s great, Adrian. Look, I’ve received an invitation in the mail from Stedley & Parkinson.’
‘For one of their new client dinners, I presume?’
‘Yes. Have you ever been to one?’
‘Yep—last month, actually. They have these dinners once a month. You should go, Gino. The food’s always great, and so is the wine. Of course that means you’ll have to fly up. But it’s tax-deductible.’
‘It says black tie. That’s a bit formal for a dinner in a boardroom, isn’t it?’
‘That would have come down from Mr Stedley, the American owner. He’s Ivy League and one of the country-club brigade over there in the States. He’s a strong believer in social networking. Encourages his employees to socialise together, too.’
‘You sound like you’ve met this guy. Don’t tell me he flies over from the States to attend?’
‘Nope. Met his son, though. Chad Stedley. He’s doing a stint out here in the Sydney office. They sat me next to him at this dinner. Quite a talker. Got the story of his life between courses. Had a gorgeous-looking girlfriend. Another of their lawyers—Jordan something-or-other.’
Gino’s heart screeched to a halt even whilst his head whirled. Jordan had said there was no special man in her life. Yet a month ago she’d been this Chad Stedley’s girlfriend?
There seemed only two solutions to this conundrum. She’d either broken up with Stedley since then. A possibility, given the difficult nature of relationships these days. Or she’d lied last Friday night. Which didn’t seem possible. Jordan had a real thing about lying.
‘Jordan Gray?’ Gino said.
‘Yep. That was her name. You know her, do you?’
‘I used to.’
‘No kidding? An old girlfriend?’
‘Something like that.’
‘It’s a small world, isn’t it?’
‘It seems so.’
‘In that case you should think twice before bringing your current girlfriend along. You know what women are like. And that Jordan’s a real looker.’
‘Haven’t got a current girlfriend,’ Gino admitted. ‘I was thinking of going alone.’
‘I see. Well, I wouldn’t count on your getting together again with this Jordan, if I were you,’ Adrian advised drily. ‘I gathered from the Stedley son and heir that an engagement was just around the corner.’
‘An engagement!’ Gino exclaimed, before he could think better of it.
‘Yep. If that thought upsets you, then perhaps you shouldn’t go at all.’
Upset him?
Already a tidal wave of fury was building up on his horizon. If Jordan had lied to him…
A boyfriend was bad enough. But if she’d willingly had sex with him, then gone home to her fiancé, he wasn’t sure how he’d handle it.
‘No, no,’ Gino said with pretend nonchalance. ‘No sweat. It’s been years since Jordan and I were an item. But I wouldn’t mind seeing her again, having a chat about old times.’
Plus a chat about very recent times, Gino vowed darkly. Namely last Friday night.
‘In that case be discreet. Chad Stedley came across as the controlling type. He might not like his girl’s ex showing up in her life again.’
‘He sounds delightful.’
‘He’s super-rich.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Women will put up with a lot to marry a super-rich guy.’
‘Is that the voice of experience talking?’
‘Hell, no. I’m rich, but not super-rich. Yet. Still, you must have come across a few gold-digging types. The Bortellis were listed as one the richest one hundred Australian families last year.’
‘Ahh,’ Gino said. ‘You looked us up?’
‘I always like to know who I’m doing business with, Gino. I steer well clear of the entrepreneurial type who has to borrow squillions, or relies on selling off the plan for his cashflow.’
‘Very sensible.’
‘If you do come to Sydney you could drop by and have a look at my preliminary plans.’
‘I haven’t decided whether I’ll come yet. I might go to the snow instead.’
‘That might be a wiser course of action.’
‘Yes,’ Gino said slowly ‘It might.’
But Gino wasn’t feeling wise.
If Jordan had lied to him…
There was only one way to find out in advance of Saturday night. He would put Confidential Investigations back on the job. That gave them three and a half days to find out if Jordan had broken up with this Chad Stedley or not.
More than enough time, he would imagine. He would also see if they could find out if Jordan would be attending this dinner.
At the same time he would send an e-mail to the RSVP address, accepting Mr Frank Jones’s invitation to the dinner.
