Mark’s hand went to his head in a gesture of disbelief. “Fucking might be gay.” He refocused on her, and it wasn’t humour he projected. ”Darce, you always did know how to push the point. Go meet a deadline. Don’t disappoint me.”
It wasn’t till she was back in the corridor that Darcy allowed herself to feel exhilaration. Her heart was fuel-injected; her head, helium high. She was going to interview Will Parker. No—she was going to seduce Will Parker with nothing but her intellect. And when she’d broken the secrets of Parker Corporation, no one would say she skated by because she was Brian Campbell’s daughter, and any media job she wanted to name would be one step closer.
By the time she got back to her desk, her smile muscles were fatigued and her stomach was flip-flopping. If she was going to seduce Will Parker with anything other than a plunging neckline and a too short skirt, she had work to do.
2. Invalid
“Learn as though you would never be able to master it; Hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.” — Confucius
“Miss Campbell, your visa is invalid.”
It wasn’t that the Chinese immigration official spoke poor or heavily accented English. What he said was perfect clear, but perfectly obscure at the same time.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. The Chinese Embassy in Sydney issued this visa. How can it be invalid?”
“Your visa is invalid. You will be detained until we can solve this problem.”
“Detained? No, you can’t hold me.”
The official handed Darcy her passport and immigration card. “You are welcome to return to Australia.”
She tried to hand them back. “No. I have business in Shanghai. I’m sure my visa is valid.”
“Your visa is invalid. If you wish to enter into China you will be detained until we can solve this problem.”
“Where will you detain me? How long will you hold me?”
“Here at the airport until we solve this problem.”
“But how long might that take?”
The official shrugged. “The paperwork must be in order before you can enter the country. If you wish to think about this, you must stand aside.”
Standing aside was less threatening than being detained. Darcy had travelled widely through Asia and Europe, and even in Africa had never once been detained for a visa irregularity. She stood aside, in limbo between the queue of passengers and a barrage of immigration officials. Not that she had another choice. The passenger behind her had already taken her place at the counter.
She was rapidly assessing her options as that passenger was replaced by another and it became obvious she’d stand there all night unless she made another decision. Before another changeover could take place she stepped back into the line.
“I’d like to enter Shanghai. I’m sure my visa is valid. I trust you’ll only detain me until you can make contact with the embassy in Sydney to confirm my details.” She felt vaguely stupid for crossing her fingers while she said that.
The official raised an arm and another uniformed officer stepped forward. He motioned for her to follow, leading Darcy down one corridor after another until she thought they’d surely emerge somewhere in the middle of the Bund. So far, being detained was likely to give her blisters and a sore shoulder from tugging her wheelie suitcase. Getting out of detention without assistance would probably require breadcrumbs. How thoughtless of her not to have dropped them.
At the door to a nondescript room in a nondescript corridor, the official stopped and motioned to her to enter. “You will be advised when your visa has been validated.”
“How long will I need to wait?”
“Not long.”
“How long?”
The official smiled, revealing jumbled teeth, as if that might make his lack of information more palata
ble. “Not long.”
He opened the door, stepped inside the darkened room and turned on the lights. Then he was off down the corridor like he was being chased by a swarm of bees.
The room was windowless. There was a table and a scattering of regulation plastic chairs, a brown couch and a water dispenser, but no cups. There was also a small bathroom with a toilet and basin. It was about ten degrees colder than it was in the rest of the airport.
Welcome to Shanghai.