Take a Chance on Me (30 page)

‘He could do with more friends like you, my dear.'

‘Thank you, Simon. He has my number, he knows where to find me.'

‘He certainly does, and so do I,' he said, and leaned down to kiss Sadie formally on the cheek. ‘But I have had one last request from him – that I talk to Mr Philip Tremain. I responded that it's the least we can do to effect an introduction for you. It's probably best to deal with the horse, rather than the rear end. I will be in touch.'

Then with one more squeeze of her shoulder he left, purposefully marching off towards the lift, punching in a number on his mobile phone. Sadie went back in to Bill's room.

Bill was sitting up in bed, looking just a little bit brighter. Makini had clearly been apologising again.

‘It's okay, Makini, truly … you weren't to know,' he reassured her, in short measured gasps. ‘You see, my boy … he was experimenting for months … with the formula. He told me that Red Frish was only a tweak … It shouldn't have had that effect … It must have been an accident.' Bill looked over at Sadie. ‘You know I have to believe that, Sadie, don't you?'

‘I don't blame you, Bill. You have to do what you have to do,' she said, covering his hand with hers.

‘He is … family. So I can only assume he had no idea what he was doing.' But speaking just made the old man start to cough a lot. A little blood was in the tissue as Bill continued to cough, and the nurse came rushing in, ushering both of them out of the room. There were so many questions Sadie had bubbling over in her mind, but none of them could be answered here, so she left Makini arguing with the nurse about remaining with Bill, and bid them goodnight.

In the limo Simon had booked for her, Sadie was churning things over and over all the way back to the hotel. Bill was okay, that much was true. But what would tomorrow bring?

Sadie returned to her room and phoned home. The girls had just got in from school and the latest instalment of ‘jeggings-gate' filled her head and made her feel grounded again – back to normality. It wouldn't be long and she'd be home. She examined the contents of the envelope. Proof of the transfer. More than she'd expected.

Turner's Health Store had a reprieve, even if it was only for a while.

Sadie remembered Simon's words in his note – ‘
ascertain whether Galloway's promises are more than idle
'
and from the hospital ‘
I can effect an introduction for you
'.
But the way Sadie's luck was going it would amount to nothing. At least the bribe was off the cards now Peter was taking the deal to Tremain anyway.

Nonetheless, Simon would be true to his word and no doubt let her know once she was back in the UK whether Galloway and Tremain wanted her to help with the studies. She hoped so. But she'd lost the commission for bringing in the investment to FrishCo. And with it the chance of any more school trips in the near future. The girls would not be impressed.
Perhaps it's time their father started pulling his weight anyway.

Sadie kicked off her shoes, pulled on her comfiest shorts, and suddenly felt starving hungry. She realised she hadn't eaten since the ‘Red Frish plus senna tablet' saga. Downing another whole bottle earlier that evening to flush everything out again, just before her dash to the hospital, had left her starving. Sadie discovered that steak dinner was almost as good when you ate it cold.

As she lay in bed trying to rejig her thoughts to incorporate the latest turn of events, she knew there was nothing more she could do here. A whirlwind adventure, gallivanting halfway round the world, and still she'd be back to arguing with Stuart about seeing the girls at the weekend, selling alfalfa sprouts and searching the Internet for any more tempting marketing competitions with superb prizes.

Sadie climbed into bed and read one final text that had just arrived, before turning her phone on silent.

We don't mind if you can't bring home the bacon, Mum.

Really.

Just come home soon. Please.

G and A.

Ps as you always (keep) telling us (LOL) -

‘You make your own luck', &

‘You will never know, if you never give it a go' ; -)

She shook her head, smiling at the girls and decided she'd take them shopping when she got home. The money from Simon could at least stretch to some new jeggings each. But whatever was in her future, the one thing she wouldn't have was the one thing she wanted most – the man she loved.

What was that?
Yes, the man she loved.

Then she set the alarm and turned off the light. Sadie was so exhausted she was asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

Just as the first light of dawn began to dapple through Sadie's curtains, the shadows of two figures appeared on the pathway leading to the front entrance of the FrishCo production facility. In the early morning sunlight, they crossed the paving stones and reached the door. Then a hand produced a swipe card, and they entered the building. One went to turn on the lights, but the other stopped him. Then they set off towards a door marked ‘Private'.

A few hours later a note was slowly pushed under Sadie's door. And another text arrived on her phone. It just sat there flashing away until she awoke the next morning. When all of a sudden everything changed all over again.

‘I got your text last night,' said Sadie, looking a bit bleary-eyed having rushed down ‘urgently' to meet Simon for breakfast. When she'd spotted the note under her door she realised that this man never sleeps. And never leaves anything to chance. He raised his finger to her.

‘Oops sorry!' she said, as she got near enough to see that he was yet again on the phone. But he put the caller on hold while he stood up to pull back her chair.

‘Ahh, Sadie, good morning. I took the liberty of ordering you some coffee. Do catch your breath.'

Sadie plonked herself down on the chair and inhaled the morning breeze. Another day, another twist in this Hawaiian paradise.

‘Thank you, Simon. And there was I expecting to be on a plane home by now,' she said, making herself comfortable at a smart table covered in breakfast paraphernalia. She squinted in the sunshine and pulled her sunglasses down onto her eyes.

‘I do hope you're not disappointed I asked you to postpone your flight?' he asked.

‘I knew you wouldn't do something like that unless it was “of extraordinary import”,' she teased, breaking the corner off a warm, crusty bread roll and sipping some freshly squeezed orange juice. He raised an eyebrow and indicated the phone.

‘Yes, well I just have to …'

She nodded. He stood and walked a couple of steps away to finish the call.

Sadie was usually a morning person but today she felt very heavy-headed. She produced a bottle of Frish with the red label on it and opened it. Simon raised his eyebrows at her, mid-sentence.

But instead of drinking it, Sadie merely sniffed it.

‘Felt a bit crap this morning. Thought I'd give myself a super-strong caffeine hit,' she explained, but seeing the look on Simon's face, she put the cap back on. ‘Perhaps not.' Then she drank two glasses of table water with a squirt of lemon juice in them, to get her system going. That worked.

Sadie's cappuccino arrived and she sat back, looking around the fabulous terraced café of the hotel. It was covered in planters filled with multi-coloured blooms like the beautiful fragrant native yellow hibiscus. Lawned gardens stretched into the distance to a golf course, where tiny golfers and caddies drove miniature buggies over manicured greens hundreds of yards away. The weather was glorious as usual and the wonderful aromas of freshly baked breads, grilled meats and fresh coffee filled the gentle breeze. But Sadie's mind was elsewhere.

It must be nice to have a father as forgiving as Bill
, she thought, downing the rest of her orange juice in one. Four drinks. Made her think of Mac.

Stop it, Sadie.

Simon strode back over to her and handed her the phone.

‘It seems we have some news. There's someone who wants to talk to you.'

Once again her heart skipped a beat …
could it be?
But it wasn't.

‘Bill!' she exclaimed as the old man greeted her warmly.

Sadie listened as he explained what had taken place since she left him last night. Her eyes got wider and wider. Eventually she spoke.

‘You're rescinding the affidavit? It's really not legal?' asked Sadie, putting the phone on speaker so Simon could hear and mouthed her thoughts at the incredible news. ‘
Oh my God
!'

‘Correct,' added Bill, coughing a little. ‘It certainly isn't legal, not in the way it was signed. And I'm sending out a search party for my poor stupid son.'

‘So Red Frish wasn't an accident, eh? How did you find out?' asked Sadie.

‘Remember the man who showed you around the plant? Kaha'i? Been with me for years. Three days ago Peter asked him to step out of the lab on an errand. When he came back, Peter had created another new batch of Red Frish.'

‘The batch he gave me,' she said.

‘And me. Last night Kaha'i was informed about my being rushed to hospital, and went immediately to investigate the records at the lab. He didn't want to speak up in the past, for fear of trouble.'

‘From Peter?'

‘Sadly, yes. My son has not been the best boss. But the lab records prove it – together with that useful information from your uni contacts, Sadie. Peter altered the formula deliberately. So it appears he's not the best
son
either.'

‘I'm so sorry, Bill. So was it his plan all along? To take over the company?'

‘It looks that way. Seems he was so desperate to prove that his Red Frish was a far superior product to my Frish that he got rather carried away.' At that, Bill began to cough a little. Sadie could hear Makini's muffled voice in the background.

‘And now it's backfired.'

‘Yes. Until early this morning Philip Tremain thought he had been in negotiations to take over FrishCo, but little did he realise that Peter has no power – no power at all,' said the old man, and he began coughing again. When he stopped he apologised.

‘Take your time, Bill,' Simon interjected on the speakerphone.

‘Well, let's just hope Mr Tremain doesn't part with any cash before he realises the truth,' said Sadie.

‘Let's just hope he does,' said Simon quietly, and indicated for her to end the call.

‘Good luck finding Peter,' said Sadie. And she bid Bill Galloway goodbye and turned to look at a smiling Simon.

‘So what now?'

‘Sadie, I think this little twist in the saga may turn everything on its head once more.'

‘Of course,' Sadie said, twiddling her hair, wide-eyed. ‘So, back to plan A or what?'

‘Or indeed C,' said Simon, raising his eyebrows and seeming in no rush to tell her more as he cut himself a piece of pineapple. Sadie stopped waiting for him to speak and took out the note he'd left her that morning. She perused it, then read from it out loud.

‘You didn't get hold of Mac, right? Cos it says here …
valet confirmed he had left for an important event …
erm … blah blah …
But I may be able to broker an unexpected deal between you and Mr Tremain – a legal one.
So what's the unexpected, then? Who's in charge now? Bill again? Does Mac know?'

‘The players may be changing but the deal is indeed still on the table,' Simon replied, dramatically popping a piece of pineapple in his mouth.

‘Just who are you going to broker a deal
with,
Simon?'

‘Well, it may seem a little unbelievable, but … our deal is going to be tweaked to include someone I never thought we'd be doing business with in a million years.'

‘What do you mean?' Sadie asked.

Simon's phone bleeped and he looked at it and then said, ‘I think there's somebody else who would rather explain all that,' and he pulled back his chair, stood up, and looked over at the doorway.

There, across the patio, stood Mac, holding his phone. Bold as brass, smiling, and looking fantastic in a white shirt and khaki shorts.

Sadie's heart stopped. It just stopped.

‘Mac,' she whispered.

‘Sadie, good morning,' said Mac, striding over with a spring in his step. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, dwelling just a little longer than normal.

‘Ahh, you're just in time, Mac,' said Simon, shaking hands warmly. ‘I was just about to update Sadie with the news about the newest NewCo,' he added, looking pleased with himself at the wordplay. He was ignored by Mac, who only had eyes for Sadie. Simon smiled and went back to his pineapple.

Mac sat down heavily in a chair and signalled to a waiter.

‘Kona coffee, please.' Close up, he seemed a bit tired, but strangely at peace. There were shadows under his eyes but he looked a lot less stressed than when Sadie saw him last.
Then again, her eyes had been filled with tears when she saw him last
. She swallowed, trying to calm herself down.

He was back. What did it mean?

Mac sipped the coffee, which the waiter had brought him, taking his time. Simon seemed amused. Sadie was just about bursting, willing him to speak.

‘In the light of recent events it seems an opportunity has opened up.' Mac took another slow sip, savouring the strong aroma as he swallowed his Americano.

Sadie was just about falling off her chair in anticipation.
Stay cool, Sadie, stay cool.

‘I am about to take on a business partner,' Mac said.

Sadie was all ears. From the way he was looking at her expectantly she felt urged to guess. Suddenly a light bulb came on.

‘Not … the dark side?'

‘Yes. One Philip Tremain. All thanks to Simon.'

Simon raised an eyebrow as he dabbed the corner of his mouth with the crisp white linen napkin. He shrugged one shoulder as if to say ‘naturally'.

Sadie was speechless.
Whatever next.

Mac continued. ‘When I left you last night, I just couldn't leave. I had to take steps I probably should have taken years ago.' Mac glanced at Simon, who raised his eyes skywards. ‘So we went to try to speak to Tremain. He'd just finished with Peter and was … surprised, shall we say, to hear from us.'

‘I'll bet he was. Especially after the row you'd had yesterday morning at the plant.'

‘Ah, yes. Yesterday morning at the plant.'

‘You never did tell me what happened,' Sadie said, quietly. He wasn't her boss any more, so in for a penny. ‘What did happen, Mac?'

‘Yes, well, everything was kicking off and I didn't like not being in control. I wanted to wait till I'd sorted it so I could just bring you good news.' He touched her arm lightly. ‘Anyway, after I left you at the children's home, I got the Galloways alone, and I told them that they were about to lose me if they didn't act professionally. I threatened to walk away from the deal.'

‘Well, that worked. Not.' She smiled.

‘Usually that works. But there's a first time for everything.' Mac didn't look up at her, just sipped some more coffee. ‘It was a gamble. I hoped they'd see sense – they were due to hear our full presentation at the afternoon meeting. We
were
the best offer. With you on board it should have been a formality, a done deal. Signed and sealed Heads of Terms by teatime.'

‘So what went wrong?' Sadie asked.

‘Peter Galloway had thrown a spanner in the works. Last night, Simon discovered what he'd told Tremain – and later told Bill. Peter claimed that he'd already bought your services with a bribe and that you were ready to jump ship.'

‘Shit,' said Sadie, feeling regretful about talking to Peter at all.

‘Don't worry,' Mac went on. ‘That was even before you had your chat with him in the garden.'

Sadie felt embarrassed and looked at the flower arrangement on the centre of the table, which had suddenly become very interesting.

‘I'm sorry,' she said. ‘And when I went off with him …' she tailed off.

‘You weren't to know,' Mac said, and squeezed her hand a little. The warmth from his fingers was filtering through her, bringing back that old familiar feeling of connection.

She made herself look up into his eyes. They were staring straight at her. Could see right through to the heart of her. And they were as blue as the sky. And then that emotion was back – with a vengeance –
like when you feel you've known someone all your life.

She bit her lip, glad of her sunglasses. He took his hand away again.

‘I had to backtrack and pray that Bill would give me another chance to state my case,' Mac said. ‘I arranged to meet him in private. But when I arrived at his office, he'd been rushed off to hospital. Peter Galloway was waiting. I should have filled you in last night, when I came to see you … but I was … er … distracted somewhat.'

‘Mmmm,' mumbled Sadie, now examining the tiniest insect on the minutest part of the smallest bloom of the flower arrangement and feeling a flush creeping up her neck. Simon was attacking a kiwi fruit.

‘But after you said goodbye to me, I assumed you'd left the island, Mac. Everyone did. We thought you'd gone.'

‘I nearly did. I got all the way to the airport and then turned round. I had unfinished business here. And I don't do unfinished business.'

Hear him out, Sadie, don't get your hopes up.

‘When I checked all my messages, I heard Simon's complete update from the hospital. About the discovery you'd made, about what you'd done for Bill – and I was so glad I hadn't got on that plane. That's when I decided to get to the bottom of what Peter was up to. Tremain, of course, was intrigued. He agreed to meet with me first thing this the morning.'

‘Hoping he could gloat a little,' chipped in Simon, stirring his coffee.

‘Wow,' Sadie said. She forced herself to breathe.

‘Remember Kaha'i, the guy from the plant?' Mac went on.

‘Yes, yes, we were just talking about him,' Sadie replied. ‘He was the one who … wait a minute. It was
you
who told him about Bill?'

‘Yes. When I opened up to him, he told me some things that had been troubling him for some time. His suspicions about Peter and his Red Frish. It was me who went with Kaha'i to the plant last night. After that, it was vital to get to Tremain urgently this morning. While I was there, Bill rescinded the affidavit, and it put me and Philip Tremain on the same side for the first time in our history.'

‘That must have been weird.'

‘Yes, completely. But you know something, for me it couldn't have come at a better time. What I've agreed with Tremain and Bill will tie in with what I have to do for my future – for my sanity.'

‘You mean your “important event”. That's where you were going off to last night, wasn't it?'

‘I was,' he replied. ‘I did … I am.'

He smiled at Sadie and she blushed.

‘I can't believe you met up with Tremain,' she said.

‘I wasn't sure about it at first, considering his immediate reaction when I got there. Thought he'd triumphed, with the ink still wet on his deal for Frish and Peter in the bag. Then his tune changed. He's a businessman, what can I say.'