Double Dare

Chapter Seven

Nathan put Zac's double espresso down in front of him and peered at his face with a frown. "Blimey, who died?"

Zac responded with a wry smile. "I'm about to do something I may or may not regret for the rest of my life." The screensaver on his laptop chose that moment to spring into action, which threw him. He teased the mouse, re-read the e-mail he'd typed and hovered over the send button.

"Is it something I should know about?"

Zac shrugged. "I'm bringing the Robertson Corporation end-of-contract meeting forward. I've requested it be next Monday rather than the following one, and I'm going to attend myself."

Nathan's eyebrows lifted. "I take it this is because of Abby?"

It may well be because I'm going insane. Life had been bizarre, to say the least, since he'd met Abigail Douglas. What had started as a situation where Abby's possible private agenda bothered him had somehow flipped over and he now felt as if he was the one leading a double life—that he was the one with something to hide. And he didn't like that feeling one little bit. "Yes. It is about Abby. I've invited her to spend the weekend with me, but after that I want this thing resolved. No matter which way it goes."

"Are we done digging for information on her?"

"I think so."

Nathan nodded slowly, as if weighing up his response. "Do you want to keep seeing her?"

Zac didn't hesitate for a moment. "In an ideal world, yes."

"In that case, are you sure you want to do this?"

"You were the one who pointed out it would come out at some point."

Nathan pursed his lips. "True."

"I don't want to throw her while she's busy working on the portfolio. But for the sake of my sanity it has to be soon, hence the compromise."

Nathan opened his own giant latte and took a mouthful, watching over Zac with a speculative expression.

Zac hit send. As soon as it was gone, he had the crazy urge to call her. He picked up his phone as soon as Nathan left the room and turned it in his hand, thinking it over, trying to quell the impetuous need he felt to control this situation.

He wanted to see her. He wanted to spend every minute with her that he could, in case it all fell apart. Would that help though? Wouldn't it be better to keep some distance, just in case it did crash and burn? Logic didn't seem to help. He had to face it. He was falling for her.

* * * *

Abby stared at the email in astonishment. Adrianna wanted to bring the meeting forward by a whole week. Damn. In her mind, she had three weeks to prove herself. She'd hardly begun to do what she'd planned for that space of time. She hadn't even secured a property deal yet. Keep your head, she told herself. You've taken significant steps. That is all you can do, given the lack of time.

She looked at it again. It had been copied to Tom, so there wasn't any point in trying to negotiate, he'd just insist they put the client's request first.

There was a knock at the door and Caroline came in to the office. She walked over and plunged a stack of papers down on Abby's desk. She frowned when she noticed Abby's expression. "What's up?"

"Ashburn renewal meeting has been brought forward, just when I'm getting a grip on it."

"That's a shame, but you've stamped your name all over it already from what I hear." She grinned. "Everybody's been talking about it. Besides, this client is pretty much bound to renew. She's retiring and she's probably ready to hand it all over now she's seen how good you are. You'll be fine."

Caroline had a point. "I hope so. I'm away this weekend so I'll have to do all my prep by Friday. "

"I've got something that will cheer you up."

"Is it about Blayne?" Her spirits lifted immediately.

"Yup. I've been in contact with a senior Dublin heritage advisor. They would be happy to support your proposals for the property."

"That's fabulous news."

"The previous owners let the estate run down over the last twenty years, but it's not beyond repair, far from it. Apparently they've been concerned about it being bought for land use alone, for cattle. The inland part of the estate is good pasture, but the heritage in the property could be lost if that was the main focus, so your interest was good news to them."