Page 11

DELILAH

It could give a girl a complex, that kind of behaviour.

But I’m sure Jem was just making another of his points. That he’s not prepared to do anything more than he’s comfortable with.

I have to admit, I was just larking around at first, but perhaps I pushed the suggestion of the kiss further than I should have.

I guess I was still smarting a little from him rejecting me when I tried to kiss him last night and I think I was trying to even us up, or perhaps get some sort of revenge on him for it.

Juvenile, I know.

So it’s fine that he shut it down. Again.

As soon as he comes out of the bathroom, showered and looking like his usual put-together self, I go in there to freshen up from the journey and redo my make-up and by the time I’ve neatened myself up and my pulse has calmed down, my dad is knocking on our door, demanding we go with him to meet Jeff for that coffee and a chat.

The man himself is waiting for us in the sitting room, reading something on his phone, and he gestures for us to join him on the sofas.

We all go to sit in a row opposite him, which feels a bit weird, so I get up and sit in an armchair to his left instead, making my dad and Jem the main focus of his attention.

I’m intending to just sit back and stare out of the window while they talk business, as my dad made it plain he wants me to keep my mouth shut and just simper and smile at his side like an adoring daughter while he takes care of the chat.

But hey, if it means I get my student loan paid off, that’s absolutely fine by me.

I glance at Jem and my lips give a tingle as I remember how close I was to kissing him only a few minutes ago. I really should rein in the teasing, but it’s like a compulsion with me and him now. And it’s actually kinda fun to see him squirm.

Attempting to clear my head, I sit back in my chair and place my hands in my lap, trying to look engaged, but demure. Exactly how my father wishes I’d always act.

My dad, in his inimitable way, launches straight into why he’s here, trying to persuade Jeff his business is the next big thing and that they’d both benefit greatly if Jeff were to agree to take a seat on the executive board.

Jeff nods along for a while, before turning to fix Jem with a discerning stare.

‘Jeremy, was it?’

‘Just Jem. I’ve never used my full name. My dad was Jeremy.’

‘Was?’

Jem shifts in his seat. ‘Yeah. He died of a heart attack three years ago.’

My heart does a slow flip. I didn’t know this. But then Jem and I have never really talked about anything important. And Bea’s never told me any personal stuff about him. She’s circumspect about her friends’ private lives and totally not into gossip.

‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Jeff says.

‘Thank you.’

I steal a glance at my dad. He’s looking a little thunderstruck too at the attention being diverted so blatantly away from him and his mission.

Ha. Well, maybe he’ll learn that not everything has to be about business all the time.

‘So that must have happened while you were at university?’ Jeff asks, not seeming at all bothered by this swerve in conversation.

In fact, he seems much more interested in finding out all about Jem rather than the business proposition my dad has for him.

But then Dad did warn us that Jeff is into family dynamics and that’s what we’re here for after all – to help charm the pants off him – or rather his pants into a seat at my dad’s table.

‘That’s right,’ Jem says. ‘During my first year.’

‘Tough time to lose a parent. Not that there’s ever a good time, of course. You have my sympathy,’ Jeff says with a respectful nod in Jem’s direction.

Jem nods back, then shrugs, his expression rueful. ‘He’d had a good life and he’d been really ill for a while. My parents had me when they were quite old, after trying to get pregnant for years.’

‘And how has your mother coped with losing him?’ Jeff asks gently.

Jem pauses for a few beats and I see colour rise to his face. He opens his mouth, glances towards me, then looks back at Jeff again.

‘Err. She’s had early onset Alzheimer’s for a while now, so she often forgets that he died.’

‘Oh, I’m so sorry. Horrific disease.’ It’s Jeff’s turn to pause now, before saying, ‘Do you have any siblings to share the load?’ His question is gentle, but direct. He’s clearly not a man to mince his words.

‘No. It’s just me.’

‘Forgive me for all the prying,’ Jeff says, ‘but does that mean you were the sole carer for them before going to university?’

‘Yeah, I was,’ Jem says. ‘We didn’t have the money to hire any help outside of the nursing that the NHS provided so I did a lot of the chores and care at home and looked after the finances.

I guess it taught me how to look after myself from an early age though, so that’s been a benefit.

Especially as I’m running my own business now, with Bea. ’

I’m aware I’m staring at Jem with my mouth open and when he glances at me again, I snap it shut and sit up straighter. There’s a burning pressure in my throat and I give a low cough to try and get rid of it.

But it won’t budge.

‘I had a pretty tough childhood myself,’ Jeff says.

‘It set me in good stead for making something of myself as well. I’m glad to hear you’re on a similar path.

You’re an impressive young man and I suspect you’ll be very successful in whatever you do with an attitude like that,’ he says, fixing Jem with his warm, twinkly gaze.

Jem, for once, seems lost for words and there’s an awkward silence where he shifts in his seat, seemingly unable to respond to such forthright praise.

I feel a sudden urge to save him from his discomfort, but I’m not sure what to say. Perhaps a joke? But none come to mind.

I actually want to go over there and put my arms around him.

Luckily – and rather predictably – it’s my father that rescues the conversation by first obsequiously agreeing with Jeff’s praise, then bringing it back round to how they can best work together.

I tune out the business talk and let my mind swim with thoughts about what I just heard about Jem. Well, no wonder he’s as uptight and controlled as he is. That’s a hell of a way to grow up, and it must be awful to see his mum suffering with such a devastating disease.

I sneak a glance at him, but he’s focused entirely on the conversation that Jeff and my dad are having and doesn’t glance my way again once.

I watch him as he talks, finding a strange kind of pleasure in the fact I’m allowed to stare at him for as long as I like right now without it seeming weird.

He looks like he fits there, in between those two other powerful men.

I’m actually finding his confidence a real turn-on.

I wonder whether he’s pissed off that I’ve found out so much about him in the way I did. Jeff didn’t exactly give him a chance to conceal it from us. I can’t imagine he’ll be pleased that I now know something so personal about him. He probably thinks I’ll use it against him or something.

My stomach sinks at the thought.

It would be typical, for him to think the worst of me.

‘Do you think I should take a position on your father’s board?’ Jeff suddenly asks me, dragging me out of my twisted thoughts.

I start, then swallow, blink a bit, then finally pull myself together enough to say, ‘Yes, err, of course.’

But my pause and stumble must have been too long and too telling because Jeff frowns, as if I’ve given him a reason to doubt the wisdom of working with my dad.

‘Don’t bother asking Dee questions like that,’ my dad says in an excruciatingly jocular tone, clearly trying to divert Jeff’s attention away from me and my faux pas. ‘She doesn’t have a business head on her. It’s Bea you want for those sorts of conversations.’

I’m stunned by his bluntness, but not his attitude. He’s always made it very clear I come a distant second to Bea in his estimation.

A familiar rage begins to build inside me.

I see Jem glance round at him, then go to open his mouth to say something. Perhaps to agree with him.

Great, that’s all I need.

My ire intensifies.

But I have to keep it under wraps. At least for the time being.

‘I thought you said Delilah’s a marketing and events manager,’ Jeff points out, beating Jem to whatever he was going to say and flashing me an earnest smile. ‘I suspect you need some business nous for that kind of role, no?’

I force myself to smile back at him, but keep my mouth shut, just as my dad instructed me to do. I’m here for my student loan , I remind myself again. I can take his public disparagement for one day without reacting.

My dad seems to realise he’s coming across as a dick and says hastily, ‘Yes, yes, of course. I just meant from a C-job level point of view, Bea’s your woman. And Jem’s your man, of course.’

My fingers fidget in my lap as I push past my nagging anger and force myself to concentrate on the conversation they’re all having now, in case they ask for my input again. But, of course, they don’t and twenty minutes later, we all finally get to our feet at Jeff’s insistence.

‘Okay, well, let’s take a break and meet for dinner at eight o’clock. I have a few calls to make in the meantime, if you’ll excuse me,’ he says to my dad.

‘Great, see you then,’ my dad replies, ushering Jem and me out of the room in front of him.

We walk back down the long tiled corridor to our bedrooms, with Jem and my dad exchanging a few words about the way in which the executive-director role would work with Jeff on board on the way there.

They both ignore me hobbling along behind them.

Which is probably for the best as I’m liable to snap at them right now, judging by how jangled I’m feeling.

When we get to the room, I limp inside and Jem shuts the door behind me without a word.

There’s a strange tension in the air, as if he’s angry with me.

‘Everything okay?’ I ask him.

‘Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?’ he says. His tone is abrupt, so I feel sure there’s something he’s not saying.