silence. A sobered silence, Jayne hoped, fiercely clamping down on the stupid churning stirred by Baby’s intrusive presence. Dan was entitled to do whatever he wanted. She had claimed the same right. It was just that it was…demeaning to be replaced by some brainless bimbo.
‘How bad?’ came the serious question, his voice deeper, sharper, driving her wandering mind back to the horror of Monty’s grey face and stricken body. She desperately hoped the effects of the stroke would not last long. Monty was only in his fifties and one of the most vital people she had ever met.
‘I don’t know,’ she answered, her concern for him uppermost as she explained further. ‘He was still conscious and talking when he was taken to the hospital, but he’d lost control of his left side. He asked me to contact you. He said you’d take over the consultancy for him and fulfil the contract.’
There! It was all said now. How Dan reacted and responded was entirely up to him. She had done her part. Although a niggle of conscience told her she could do more. And should do more if more was needed to get Dan here. It was not only for Monty’s sake. Lin Zhiyong had to be satisfied, as well.
‘Give me your location and the name of the hospital.’
She complied with the demands, bridling at the thought that Dan intended to check the facts she had given him before making a decision. His next statement stunned her.
‘I’ll get there as soon as possible.’
For a moment, Jayne couldn’t take it in. Dan was coming. Just like that. Just as Monty said he would. The assurance should have lifted a huge burden off her shoulders but it didn’t. She felt the pressure of her mettle being tested, and Dan wasn’t even here yet. It took an enormous effort of willpower to rise above the uneasy prospect of coming face-to-face with him again and concentrate on the more immediate problems to be resolved.
‘How soon will that be?’ She was amazed at how matter-of-fact she sounded.
‘Mmmh…a little tricky. I was about to close a deal with Sheikh Omar El Talik, whom I don’t care to offend.’
He could offer Baby as a candidate for the sheikh’s harem, Jayne thought, then silently castigated herself for the shockingly sexist idea. She excused herself on the grounds that she needed Dan Drayton without any other ties. Monty needed him, she swiftly corrected, frowning over her muddled thinking. The faster Dan could come and go, the better.
‘We should be there within a week,’ came the considered estimate.
That made things easier. Lin Zhiyong’s seven-day limit could be met. ‘That’s great! Thank you.’
She quickly explained the concerns of the Chinese official and passed on the invitation to the festival party, privately congratulating herself on coming to grips with the situation with growing aplomb.
‘We’ll be there,’ Dan Drayton assured her decisively.
The repetition of we finally sank in. ‘Are you bringing someone with you?’
‘Baby goes everywhere with me. Wouldn’t dream of leaving you with anyone else, would I, cuddlepie?’
Another bubbly splutter.
It was sickening. A ghastly vision leapt into Jayne’s mind; a simpering nymphet clinging onto Dan’s arm as he surveyed the mudflow problem with a bevy of intense Chinese engineers.
‘There isn’t going to be much time for entertainment once you’re here on the job,’ she warned, her mouth tightening, her stomach tightening at the thought of him turning up at Lin Zhiyong’s party with another woman. How on earth would she save face in those circumstances?
‘Don’t worry about Baby. I’ll look after her. Just book us a room in the best hotel there is in Xi’an.’
‘It isn’t five star international,’ she said tartly. Surely Dan couldn’t be serious about a woman he called Baby.
‘I don’t expect Baby will notice. A roof over her head, food to eat, me to love her…’
A bed was probably the only requirement, Jayne thought waspishly. ‘Could you please send a confirming fax of your agreement to take over from Mr. Castle? It will prevent any problems from developing here.’
‘Give me your fax number.’
She did so, trying to quell her irritation that he would not be as single-minded as she in completing the project for Monty. If Baby caused complications or delays…Jayne shook her head. She had no choice but to accept the situation and do what she could to circumvent any distractions from getting the project completed on schedule.
‘Which way will you be coming in?’ she asked. ‘From Tokyo or Hong Kong?’
‘On Dragon Air from Hong Kong.’
‘I’ll have someone waiting for you at Hong Kong airport with the necessary visas, letters, et cetera for entry.’
‘Thank you, Jayne.’
Her skin prickled at the sensual caress in his voice. She had forgotten how he could evoke responses like that simply with an expressive change of tone. It was something she would have to guard against.
She should probably ask for Baby’s name, but it could be filled in on the paperwork before the flight into China. If it was something like Peach Bubbles, she would probably throw up.
‘Please keep me posted on your journey,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’ll be at Xi’an airport to meet you.’
‘No need for that. We’ll see you at Lin Zhiyong’s party. Baby and I will look forward to it.’
A heated breath hissed between Jayne’s teeth. How could any woman stand being spoken of in such a patronising manner? Did having a free meal and travel ticket compensate for such de-meaning paternalism? Was Baby’s brain dulled by a sexual drive that consumed any rational thought?
‘Is there anything else you want done before you arrive here?’ she asked, keeping her tone crisp and level. ‘Mr. Castle instructed me to give you every assistance with the job.’
‘Yes, I thought he would. Is that hard for you, Jayne?’
‘Not at all,’ she tossed off as blithely as she could.
‘I wouldn’t want to make your life miserable again.’
‘Different circumstances, aren’t they?’ she grated, furious that he would imply such a thing in front of the woman he was bringing with him.
‘Of course,’ he agreed. ‘Then we shall meet once more under a full moon. As I recall, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.’
The line was disconnected before she could make a comeback. Not that she had one. Better not to acknowledge the memory he had evoked anyway. It was in absolutely rotten taste for him to allude to the heady romance of their very first meeting when he was not only carrying on an intimate affair with another woman, but escorting that woman to Lin Zhiyong’s full-moon party!
She crashed the receiver down on its cradle and glared at it with gathering turbulence.
