The Deception (21 page)

* * *

Savannah glanced at her watch. It was lunchtime and she was starving. Although she still hadn’t heard from Dylan, now that she’d spoken to Pete, she felt much better about most of what had been tearing her up inside and was well on the way to feeling normal again.

Bending low, she collected her handbag from beneath her desk and headed toward the elevator. Minutes later, she strode out of the lobby and into the bright sunshine. Being outdoors always lifted her spirits. The sky was a brilliant blue with only wispy strips of cloud scattered across its vastness. The hot summer air was offset by a faint breeze that blew up from Circular Quay, bringing with it the salty scent of the ocean.

She crossed the street and entered Hyde Park and the outdoor café on the corner. Pigeons wandered with brazen confidence amongst the tables, pausing occasionally to snatch pieces of fallen bread and other crumbs from beneath the feet of the lunchtime diners.

Her stomach growled. She moved over to the counter and ordered a chicken and mayo roll and a latte´. A short time later, her lunch was handed to her in a paper bag. With the story she still hadn’t written looming in her mind, she headed back to the office.

Rounding the corner of Castlereagh Street, she clattered up the flight of steps in front of her building and entered the foyer that housed the bank of elevators. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the security guard who stood watch near the entrance. It was Carlo, the man she’d seen speaking with the bouncer at the brothel.

No crime in that
. They were living in a free country. The man was entitled to work wherever he pleased. She probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it if she hadn’t been aware of the illegal activities going on at the Black Opal.

The elevator chimed its arrival and she stepped in and hit her number. Moments later, it reached her floor. Stowing her handbag beneath her desk, she seated herself and stared at the computer screen in front of her, mentally deciding what angle she’d take for the story that was due the next day.

Vince Maranoa deserved to be exposed. Despite Max’s opposition, she was sure he’d support her once he read her story. Even without the celebrity slant, it was dynamite and hopefully would yield another sellout.

She drew her keyboard toward her and hammered out the first line and then the next. A paragraph quickly followed. She thought about how she’d seen Maranoa and Will deep in friendly conversation and marveled again how much she’d misread the scene. It just went to show how deceiving appearances could be. She was beyond relieved she hadn’t included him in her earlier story. She couldn’t imagine how terrible she’d feel knowing she’d gotten it so wrong.

Relieved she no longer had to contemplate that possibility, she once again turned her thoughts to the story unfolding on her screen…

Will, as he’d been the last time she’d seen him, staring at her with concern and uncertainty right before she’d left the brothel, filled her mind. Her fingers slowed and then halted.

She realized she’d never been in love before. She’d thought she was with Jonathan, but it wasn’t until she met Will that she realized what she’d felt for her ex fiancé hadn’t come anywhere close. Every time she thought of Will, her belly tied in knots. She could barely string two words together when he was near. She didn’t know if it was love, but she was old enough to know what she felt seemed very much like the real thing.

Did she dare tell him how she felt?

She sighed. It was times like this she missed her parents most—as a sounding board for her problems with Dylan; the distressing things she’d discovered at the brothel; her feelings for Will. The familiar tightening in her chest made breathing difficult and a wave of longing washed over her. What she wouldn’t give to be able to call them.

As busy as her parents’ lives had been, she’d always known they would offer a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen to her problems. But, suddenly they were gone and she’d been left to pick up the pieces. And what a mess she’d made of it. She thought of Dylan and the guilt of her failure weighed her down.

With an impatient sound in the back of her throat, she continued typing. She’d never been the kind of person to sit around feeling sorry for herself and she wasn’t about to start now. There were plenty of other people in the world worse off than she was—she only had to look at Angel and the rest of the girls. They had everything to feel sorry about.

Determination surged through her. As soon as Pete provided her with the contact details for the homicide guys, she’d call them. It was way past time she did something constructive to help. Then, when she was finished writing her story, she’d think about finding the courage to call Will.

CHAPTER 18

“Savannah, how are you going with the article for Friday’s paper?” Max’s unkempt gray hair bobbed wildly above the partition as he neared her desk. A second later, he peered down at her.

“I-I’m not quite finished. Give me another hour or so and it should be good to go.”

“Good. In the meantime, I’ve come to tell you I need you to cover a movie premiere tonight. It’s the new Hugh Jackman movie.
Prisoners
, I think it’s called. It’s playing tonight at the Greater Union in George Street.”

“You want
me
to go? What about Roz?” she replied, referring to the flamboyant journalist who usually covered the social pages.

“Roz’s son broke his arm on some playground equipment at school. She’s gone to the hospital. Who knows what time she’ll get out of the emergency department? It’s nearly four o’clock. Even if she manages to leave before five or six, I can’t imagine she’ll be in the mood to frock up and attend a movie premiere.”

“But, Max, I don’t know the first thing about premieres. I’ve never been to one. I assume it’s a red carpet thing?”

“Yeah, black tie, so wear something smart. Rex will take the photos. He’ll meet you there. Starts at seven, but you’d better get there well before that if you want to get a good spot. Hugh Jackman will draw the crowds. If you can’t get an interview with him, you’d better make sure you at least get an interview with some of the co-stars.”

Her belly fluttered with a mixture of excitement and nerves. She’d never covered stories on celebrities before or attended big opening nights. That was Roz’s department. Not that she wasn’t confident she could do it, she just didn’t know what the deal was.

“What happens when they all go inside? I mean, do I go in with them?”

Laughter burst out of him. “Of course, you ninny! What do you think? That you wait outside with all the screaming fans? You’ll have a Press Pass for the event and will go in there and talk to them, try and get some quotes from people our readers will actually recognize. Then, you go and watch the movie.”

“Oh, so I actually get to watch the movie?” She hoped she didn’t sound as naïve as she felt.

Max chuckled and shook his head. “You really haven’t been to one of these things before, have you?”

Heat suffused her cheeks. She looked away. His condescending tone irritated her. Refusing to let him get the better of her, she raised her chin and looked him straight in the eye. “No, Max, I really haven’t been to one of these things. I’ve been here six months. I’ve never been asked to cover one. When I worked in Canberra, I covered breaking political stories, not movie premieres.”

She drew in a breath and made an effort to calm down. “I’m happy to help you out, even on such short notice, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t have any more fun at my expense.”

The smile slowly slid off his face. “Savannah, lighten up. I’m not making fun of you. I’m just having a little amusement at your expense. There is a difference.”

Anger smoldered in the pit of her belly. Her gaze narrowed. Max raised his arms in mock surrender.

“Okay, okay… I’m sorry.” His lips tugged upwards into a placating smile. “Listen, just stick with Rex. He knows what to do. He’s attended hundreds of these things. He’ll even be able to tell you which celebrities are worth approaching. Don’t worry; it’ll be fun. Think of it as a reward for the great story you did earlier this week and the even better one I’m sure you’re putting together for Friday.”

Nerves jangled in her stomach. “I hope so. I haven’t had a chance to tell you about the developments there.”

His gaze was suddenly sharp. “What do you mean?”

She swallowed. “I mean, I went back to the Black Opal last night and—”

Fury turned his cheeks scarlet. “You went
back?
After I specifically told you to leave the place alone? What the hell’s the matter with you?”

Savannah’s face was on fire, but she refused to back down. “There wasn’t time to do a story on one of the other brothels. Besides, we still haven’t told the whole story about the Black Opal. There’s more going on there than what you could even imagine.”

As he opened his mouth to interrupt again, she continued quickly. “I spoke to another one of the girls. She verified everything I was told the first time. It’s
true
, Max. Those girls are being held there illegally, forced to prostitute themselves—Max, one of the girls was only
fourteen
! We can’t turn our backs on this!”

He stared at her. His eyes glittered with anger. “If you really think it’s happening, why haven’t you called the police?”

She held his gaze defiantly. “I have. They’re looking into it.”

“When? When did you call them?” The intensity in his eyes alarmed her.

“T-today.” She blinked, uncomfortable under his close scrutiny. Without warning, he spun on his heel and strode away as fast as his bulk would allow.

“Max! There’s more. I haven’t finished telling you about—”

“Save it!” he yelled back at her and continued a rapid path to his office. “I have to make some calls. Don’t go anywhere. You disobeyed a direct order, Savannah. I haven’t finished with you.”

The threat was clear. She slumped low in her seat. She’d probably just lost her job.

Great. Now who was going to pay the bills?

With a heavy sigh, she turned back to her computer. Until Max had actually issued her with termination papers, she’d assume she was still employed. And that meant she needed to do some research on the premiere he’d told her to attend. With her employment status now rather precarious, it was even more important that she was as prepared as she could be for the job ahead. The last thing she needed was to give her editor another excuse to chastise her. Hell, apart from Hugh Jackman, she didn’t even know who was starring in it.

Clicking open the Google search page, she typed in the name
Hugh Jackman + Prisoners
and waited for the results. From the number of hits that came up, it was clearly a popular movie. Then again, anything with Hugh Jackman starring in it was sure to do well. There was something about that smile and those sexy eyes…

Unbidden, another pair of sexy eyes flashed into her mind, along with thick dark hair and a movie-star smile. She groaned. She could almost feel the hard muscles of his chest as they’d pressed against her breasts. It wasn’t fair that he could turn her on with such little effort. The slightest grin tossed in her direction sent her insides to jelly.

With a sigh of impatience, she clicked on the Google image of Hugh Jackman looking gorgeous in an Armani suit and dark Aviator sunglasses. Scrolling down quickly, she read the movie blurb and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was an American thriller. Just the kind of movie she loved.

Scrolling down further, she discovered Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis and Maria Bello were co-starring. She wondered, a little nervously, how many of them would show up.

She glanced at her watch. It was nearly five o’clock. Max was yet to reappear. She’d have to hurry if she wanted to get home, shower and change and get back to the city in time.

Shutting down her computer, she bent down and collected her handbag and headed toward the elevator. Max and his termination speech would have to wait. She had work to do.

* * *

“Hugh, Hugh
,
over here!”

The noise was something Savannah hadn’t anticipated. Crowds of people, young and not so young lined the street, pressing against the barricades that had been erected between the road and the cinema complex.

A red carpet stretched from the footpath to the glass-fronted doors of the Greater Union and uniformed doormen stood guarding the entrance.

A few of the lesser-known stars had already gone inside. The main attraction had just stepped out of his limousine with his smiling wife by his side. Waving to the crowd and acknowledging them with a brief smile, the couple walked along the carpet toward the entry.

Rex stepped out in front of them, dragging Savannah with him. Caught off guard and frantic for something to say, she brought the microphone up to her mouth while he snapped off a few photos with an impressive-looking camera.

“Hugh, welcome to Australia.” She gave him what she hoped was a confident, friendly smile.

He turned to face her. His brown eyes sparkled with amusement. “Thanks, it’s good to be back. This is home, you know.” And with that, the couple walked past them and disappeared through the opened doors.

Rex turned to her, aghast, an incredulous look on his face. “Welcome to Australia?
That’s
what you ask the star of the movie? You had a chance to ask him anything at all, and that’s what you say to him?” Shaking his head in disgust, he stalked off, muttering under his breath about the trials of having to work with inept and inexperienced journalists.

Several more limousines pulled up to the curb and a group of people Savannah vaguely recognized as young actors from
Home and Away
alighted. Judging from the screams coming from the younger section of the crowd, she assumed they were some of the show’s more popular stars.

As Rex’s camera snapped away again, she looked up. Her heart leaped into her throat. Will strode along the red carpet, a beautiful blond woman on his arm. Savannah froze. Shards of jealousy pierced her heart. He came closer. Unable to avoid him, she prayed with quiet desperation that he wouldn’t stop.