Fire in the Blood

'What's wrong? You've gone pale; is it jet-lag?' asked Jamie, sliding an arm around her.

'I suppose so,' she muttered, moving away from him because she knew how angry it would make Sean to see Jamie holding her like that. She shot a look towards where Sean had been, and then her eyes widened. He had gone. Had he seen Jamie put an arm round her in that intimate gesture? Her heart sank.

She knew very well what he would have thought, seeing her arrive with Jamie, after leaving the hotel without warning. If Greg had explained about the TV interview, of course, Sean would realise that she and Jamie had been in Miami to do that show, but from the expression on his face he had not expected her to arrive with Jamie. No doubt he had put two and two together and come up with a totally wrong answer for the sum. He had always been suspicious of her relationship with Jamie. Nothing had changed.

On the way to the taxi rank she kept looking around for Sean but he had vanished without trace. She and Jamie shared a cab into London—he dropped her first before going on to his own home. It was a warm May day; there was white lilac in bloom in the garden at the back of her flat. She opened a window and the scent of lilac drifted in, filling the room. For no reason she could pin down, tears filled her eyes. What was she going to do about Sean?

Nadine had slept on the plane and didn't feel like going back to bed, so she began making phone calls. First, she made several business calls, and then she rang Larry Dean, at his office, and was put through at once.

He sounded startled. 'Nadine! Hello, how are you? Are you back? Did you have a good holiday? I thought you were going for several weeks.'

'I had to come back early. Larry, where's Sean?'

'Sean?' He sounded wary. 'I... I'm not sure...'

'I know he's in London, I saw him at the airport.'

'Did you?' Larry's voice became worried. 'What on earth was he doing there? He wasn't getting a flight, was he?'

She frowned. If Larry was anxious about Sean there had to be a good reason. 'I have no idea,' she said slowly. 'I thought you might know. Did he tell you he came out to the West Indies to see me?'

Larry was silent, then said uneasily, 'Yes, I knew he'd been over there. I assumed he went to ask you for money, but he said he didn't. What on earth is going on, Nadine? Can you tell me what his plans are? I don't know, he won't talk about it, and things are getting to crisis point here. I can't pay the wages this month and once that gets out we're finished.'

She bit her lower lip, frowning. 'If I lend you my million, will that save you? Or will it get eaten up in paying your debts without actually fuelling a new project? Because I don't want to throw my money into a big black hole, you know.'

Larry's voice was cautiously eager. 'Of course not, that's very understandable, I promise I wouldn't let your money get swallowed up like that—it would help us launch a new project, Nadine. If we had a sum of that size in cash in the bank we could pay off our most pressing debts first of all, but more importantly we could interest bigger investors to back Sean's new plans. Actually, we're hopeful that the mini-series has got a definite buyer.'

'Greg Erroll?' she guessed and Larry laughed.

'Well, Greg is still reluctant to get off the fence- he won't say yes or no, he keeps asking for time to make up his mind. But another buyer has come forward.'

'Who?'

'I can't talk about it yet, but by tomorrow we'll know for sure whether or not this company is going to sign a contract, and if it does we're back in business.'

'Does that mean you won't need my money?'

'No, no, we do need it, but if this guy signs the contract tomorrow then we'll be able to give you a much stronger guarantee if you do lend us the million. How easy will it be for you to have the money in cash? Will it take you time to sell investments?'

'I've already started the process. The cash should be in my bank within a week. Will that be time enough?'

Larry gave a long, rough sigh. 'Yes, fine, thanks, Nadine. I can't tell you how grateful I am, and I'll let you know as soon as Sean makes contact.'

'And let me know if this buyer for the mini-series signs the contract,' she said—because a sale at that stage would probably make Sean feel better.

Larry rang her early next morning, sounding nervous and agitated. 'Nadine, I'm sorry but.. .how much could you raise at once? We badly need enough cash to pay a nasty piece of work who is threatening legal action immediately if we don't pay now.'

She frowned, thinking quickly. 'Well, I think I could write out a cheque for twenty thousand pounds without it bouncing! Would that be any good?'

'It would be wonderful. I'm sorry to ask... but how soon could we have it? The nasty piece of work is here, in my office, and won't leave empty- handed.'

'I'm on my way,' Nadine said.

'I could send someone...' began Larry.

'No, I'd better come myself.'

'Thank you, Nadine,' Larry said gratefully. 'I can't tell you how much I appreciate this.'