“She has other plans,” said Ket Siong.
Probably she was no more than a friend, then. That meant less gossip to convey to Nathalie. She would be disappointed—or no, she would be pleased, given the circumstances in which Renee and Ket Siong had parted ten years ago. Renee could imagine Nathalie sniffing,Of course he does not have a girlfriend. I cursed him to be alone forever.
Renee found that she was a little pleased Ket Siong’s friend wasn’t coming for drinks. It wasn’t that she cared whether he had a girlfriend or not. It had all been so long ago, and so much had happened since. But it would be nice to be able to catch up, just the two of them.
Renee kept up a steady patter of small talk as they moved through the remaining rooms of the exhibition, making their way to the exit. But she was a little distracted, glancing around every other moment for Low Teck Wee. The event was approaching its close; there were fewer people to hide among.
She relaxed once they were out on the broad, tree-lined pavement, the entrance to the museum well behind them. She hadn’t spotted Low on the way out, and the likelihood they’d run into him now they’d left the building was low. He wouldn’t be walking. He’d either have a private car complete with chauffeur, or he’d get a taxi.
“Can you give me a sec?” she said to Ket Siong. She whipped a pair of ballet flats out of her bag, set them on the ground andreached down to take off her black patent heels, wobbling on one leg. “My place isn’t that far from here. Couldn’t bring myself to pay for a cab just so I could wear my Louboutins.”
She should have found a wall to steady herself against, or a bike stand. With her trench coat and Prada tote slung over one arm, it was hard to keep her balance. But before she could tip over, Ket Siong took her hand, relieving her of her bag and coat at the same time.
The touch of his hand, warm and dry, sent an electric shock up her spine. She jerked back, but he was already letting go, now she had both feet on the ground.
She completed the changeover from heels to flats with her head bowed, her face burning. At least it was dark, both of them bathed in the orange glow from the streetlights.
When she stole a glance at him, she was startled for a moment at the new distance between them—he loomed over her.
Ket Siong was gazing down at his hand, as if it had surprised him. He stepped back, clearing his throat.
“You’re still staying at your great-aunt’s flat?” he said.
Of course, Ket Siong had been to the flat before. “Same one, yeah.” Renee glanced along the road. It was an unexpectedly balmy night, the kind you got sometimes in the autumn. The evening breeze on her face was soft, a last breath of summer. “We’ll end up at Gloucester Road if we keep walking in this direction. Is that OK for you? Where do you live?”
“Edmonton.”
“Oh.” Renee was pretty sure she’d seen the name “Edmonton” on the front of a bus before, but that was as far as her knowledge went.
Ket Siong smiled slightly. “Either way is fine.”
His fingers brushed hers when he gave her back her coat and bag, but Renee was braced for contact this time. It only made her feel a little shivery.
Ket Siong flexed his hand and slipped it into his pocket, throwing a look over his shoulder at the museum. “Is everything all right?”
What Ket Siong said was always a lot less than what he meant.
Renee grimaced. “I was being weird, right? Sorry about that. I bumped into a friend of my dad’s in there.” She hesitated.
Andrew Yeoh’s uncle,she could say. Ket Siong would remember Andrew. But she didn’t feel inclined to bring him up. That came with too many associations with the day they’d last seen each other—even now, probably the worst day of her life.
“He’s from Sarawak, too,” she said instead. “Or maybe Sabah? His name’s Low Teck Wee, he’s this timber tycoon.”
Ket Siong was quiet for a moment. Renee had forgotten how he did this—paused to think before he spoke, sometimes for long enough that you thought perhaps he hadn’t heard you. He was the only person she’d ever known to do that.
“I’ve heard of him,” he said.
“I didn’t want him to see me leaving with a strange man,” said Renee. They started walking again. She was absurdly conscious of him, despite the decorous distance between them. “Next thing you know, Uncle Low will be mentioning it to my dad over golf, and Dad’ll be on the phone wanting to know why I haven’t brought you to dinner.” She rolled her eyes. “Asian parents.Youknow.”
“But I’m not a strange man,” objected Ket Siong.
That made Renee smile.
It should have been awkward running into Ket Siong again, after everything that had passed between them. But it was surprisingly easy to fall back into their old rhythm, as though they’d never fallen out of touch and Ket Siong was still one of her best friends.
The call with Dad had helped, taking the sting out of her breakup with Jason. Finding out she was in the running to takeover the family business was big enough news to overshadow almost anything else that could happen. Renee was already thinking of her life as divided intobeforeandafterDad’s revelation, the humiliation of the morning comfortingly sealed away behind the excitement of his call.
Her father had made no promises, and he hadn’t tried to flatter her.
