Page 57 of The Rebel

My disappointment is acute and I clamp it down as I answer. ‘Hey, Kevin, how are things?’

‘All good here. How’s Melbourne?’

‘The same from what I can tell. Now, I’m off to Sydney.’

‘Are you serious?’

I don’t understand Kevin’s audible panic.

‘Yeah, the meeting went well here so I’m heading off to another meeting in Sydney.’

‘But…you can’t…damn.’ Kevin blows out a breath. ‘I’ve screwed up.’

He’s barely been in the job twenty-four hours and my heart sinks. I have high expectations of Kevin. I need him to do a stellar job so I’m free to return to doing what I do best: travel the world, help foster kids, and maintain ties to nobody.

‘What have you done?’

‘I think I may have sent Daisy on a wild goose chase.’

His answer does nothing to clear up the situation but I latch onto her name. Just hearing it makes my heart pound faster.

‘Where is she?’

‘Coming to see you in Melbourne.’

‘What?’ I hold the phone away from my ear and stare at it. Yeah, like that’s going to change what I just heard. ‘Why the fuck would you do something as stupid as that?’

‘Because she cares about you and you care about her.’ He sounds defensive and huffy. ‘Besides, she needs your final approval for the campaign.’

‘But you could’ve signed off on that…wait a minute, didn’t the site go live this morning?’

I grit my teeth in frustration, knowing the answer before he speaks. I haven’t had time to check the new website for Gem Island, what with being caught up in that meeting for hours. If it hasn’t gone live, I won’t be happy.

‘No, it’s not live yet. I figured a day’s delay wouldn’t be that big a deal so I told Daisy she needed your approval—’

‘Why would you do that?’

But I already know. Kevin’s trying to play matchmaker.

‘Because you need a shove in the right direction and hopefully when she catches up with you, you’ll do the right thing.’

‘Did anybody ever tell you you’re an interfering old busybody?’

‘Your grandfather, all the time. For the record, it didn’t stop me.’ He snickers. ‘You need to call her. Tell her where you are.’

I sigh, not in the mood for games. ‘I will. And you need to butt the hell out of my private life.’

‘But I was trying to get your snazzy new campaign approved. This has nothing to do with your personal—’

‘You’re a very bad liar as well as an interfering prick. I’ll be in touch.’

I end the call and stare at the screen again. I don’t use a screensaver, preferring to see functional apps against a black background.

I know what needs to be done. I should punch in the numbers I’ve memorised and speak to Daisy.

Instead, I slip the phone into my pocket and head through security.

I’ll email her.

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