“I think she was just a hookup,” said Renee. “It’s OK. Really. I’ve always known what my brothers are like. It’s not a shock, like if your brother did something like this to you. You guys actually trust each other.”
A woman in running gear jogged past them, her face pink and set. Across the road, two men got out of a van and started extracting a ladder and buckets of paint from the back. Ket Siong put his arms around Renee, slightly tentative. He wasn’t sure yet how she felt about public displays of affection.
She was stiff at first, her shoulders locked with tension. Ket Siong was about to release her, step back to give her space. But all of a sudden Renee melted into the embrace, turning her face into his chest.
“I’m so stupid,” she said, in a low voice. He had to strain tocatch the words. “I don’t know why I keep setting myself up for this, every time.”
Ket Siong wished they were somewhere private. He needed to go home. Before falling asleep the night before, he’d remembered to text Ket Hau not to expect him back, but he hadn’t supplied a reason. Ma would be worrying. And he had classes to teach, later that day.
But left to himself, he would have turned around and gone back to Renee’s flat with her. He didn’t want to let her go. The appearance of Su Khoon’s hired man had broken the unthinking optimism to which he had woken that morning. It seemed now all too likely that something would go wrong, that someone would snatch Renee away from him, shatter this extraordinary happiness.
“Why don’t I walk you home?” said Ket Siong. “It would only take a few minutes.”
Renee shook her head. “I said I’d walk you to the station and I’m going to.” She drew back, wiping her eyes. “If I let my family stop me from living my life, I might as well give up now. They’re never going to change. I can’t let them intimidate me.”
This was admirable, in principle. In practice, Ket Siong would have liked to pack Renee up and keep her somewhere safe.
Renee slipped her hand into his. “Come on, let’s keep walking. I’ve got a call at half nine. Trying to resolve this supplier nightmare we’ve got.”
Ket Siong wavered, but the reference to her work got him moving, as Renee had probably known it would.
“Tell me,” she said, “what’s up with all this chasing people down? Seems a strange hobby for a classical pianist. Did you do a stint at a police academy or something?”
“I got into martial arts after I went back home. I used to go with Stephen.”
“What kind of martial arts?” Renee brightened. “Could you teach me? I’ve always fancied being able to kill someone with my bare hands.”
Ket Siong frowned. “It’s not really about that.”
Renee glanced at her phone.
“We’ve got ten minutes before we get there,” she said. “Tell me what it’s about.”
30
Su Khoon hadslides for their meeting with their father up on an iPad, positioned on the dining table so Renee and their father could see them.
It was the first time Renee had seen her brother since they’d found out they’d won the Freshview deal. She’d begged off the meeting he wanted to have when he was back from Italy, claiming illness, and ignored the subsequent messages and emails from him and his team. There hadn’t been that many, before Su Khoon had suddenly gone quiet. Renee assumed his hired man had reported back on being found out.
She hadn’t bothered following up. She’d been busy with other matters. It had been a crowded week—but a productive one.
It was just the three of them in the family’s Chelsea townhouse. Su Khoon’s wife had taken the kids out, at Dad’s command. Su Khoon had tried suggesting that Jessie join them, but Dad was traditional about daughters-in-law: they had all the obligations of a daughter, none of the rights. Jessie wouldn’t dare come back before dinnertime.
Su Khoon obviously hadn’t worked with Renee on the presentation, so he was doing all the talking.
“I just thought of doing slides last night,” he said offhandedly to Dad. “Haven’t had a chance to coordinate with Renee.”
He couldn’t quite stop himself from shooting Renee a quick glance at this point.
Renee was leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed. She kept her smile bright.
She’d have her chance to speak. In the meantime, she was interested to see what Su Khoon had to say.
It was an impressive presentation. Su Khoon went through the deal they’d struck with Freshview, their plans for working together, the projected returns for Chahaya, and future opportunities they could explore. He even remembered to say “we” some of the time.
Dad asked a couple of questions, but mostly he listened, leafing through the briefing pack Su Khoon had supplied. When Su Khoon was done, Dad turned to Renee.
“You’ve been very quiet,” he said.
