“But you want me to look into it?”
“No, of course not,” said Marcus firmly, before hesitantly continuing. “Unless. Could you? I mean, I wouldn’t want to get you into any trouble.”
“You wouldn’t. To be honest, it’d be a doddle. There’s bound to be a case file, probably on computer. Not as though it’s a murder case or anything. But you’ll owe me.”
“And what exactly would I owe you?”
“Dinner?”
“I think I can manage that.”
Just at that moment, Marcus’s phone buzzed. Tina’s face popped up on the display as he raised the device to his ear. He took a deep breath, wondering how he would explain his current predicament.
“And maybe a blow job.”
“Yeah,” replied Marcus, grinning. “Well, let’s see what you come up with before I commit to any after-school activities.”
Daniel had a nice laugh, and Marcus smiled as he answered the phone.
“Who’s that laughing with you?” asked Tina. “Someone clearly in a good mood. Where are you?”
“In hospital. Being treated for concussion and a fractured collarbone.”
“What! Are you being serious?”
Marcus took a few minutes to explain to Tina, who calmed significantly when he explained the less serious nature of the accident. What took a little longer was convincing her that she did not need to rush to see him.
“So what’s up? Why are you calling on a Sunday?” said Marcus, trying to distract her from her mother hen routine.
“Well, I’d hoped it would be good news, but it depends on you now, and how quickly you’re going to recover. Kurt Bruckmeyer’s managed to get the New York deal back on track.” Since their return, a couple of key investors had decided to back out despite Tina’s efforts to convince them of Marcus’s commitment to the project. “He’s managed to drum up a batch of new investors, but he wants us to move fast. Apparently that celebrity chef program you featured on just aired in New York. But it means there’ll be back-to-back meetings in three weeks’ time. So, of course, they want to meet the star in person. Are you going to be okay?”
“Physically, yes. But am I going to have to shag Bruckmeyer just to prove good faith?”
Marcus had to look away from Dan’s shocked expression to stop from laughing, but Tina’s comeback caught him off guard.
“I think that ship has already sailed, sweetie.”
“Ow,” said Marcus. “How long are we going to be away for?”
“Hard to say, but I’d clear space for three weeks to be on the safe side.”
The humor left Marcus then. Not only would he need to brief his staff to cope without him, but he’d need to reschedule things with Tom and Moira. When he ended the call with Tina, he noticed Dan still standing there.
“Anything I can do to help?” he asked.
“Yeah. Put the bloody sports channel on the TV and then bugger off and see your mates. At least one of us should be enjoying a night off, and it looks like I’m stuck here on my back for the night.”
“Hey, keep smiling. Let me see what I can do to trace your man.”
Even though he chose to live alone, once Daniel had gone, Marcus had never felt so abandoned in his whole life.
Chapter Seven
IFMarcus had to sit in one more New York oak-paneled boardroom, waiting for yet another self-important businessman who thought it perfectly acceptable to keep him waiting for more than half an hour, he was likely to throw one of the room’s expensive leather and chrome chairs through the window. Not that doing so would help matters. Most of the floor-to-ceiling windows would likely be reinforced and unbreakable, and he would simply end up with a metal chair in the face, or worse still, a newly rebroken collarbone.
“Sorry ’bout this,” said Kurt, glancing again at his special edition Rolex.
“For heaven’s sake, chill out, Marcus” came Tina’s stern voice. While Kurt had been nothing but charming and apologetic, Tina had been her usual reproving self. “You’ve got a face like a samurai warrior’s mask. The sooner you charm the pants off this man and get him on board, the quicker we can head out of here.”
