Page 10 of Masquerade

“The job’s changed you.” Niall’s eyes were cold. “It was my decision to keep you in the dark. You seem to like the dark, brother.” His brother voiced a truth Liam tussled with daily; keeping faith with his upbringing and keeping the debt collectors from their mother’s door.

“I want it stopped.” Had that ridiculous ultimatum come out of his mouth? Sweet Mary and Joseph, he was losing his mind. Liam rubbed his hand over his heart. Stupid to think there was a physical ache to equal the chasm he’d encouraged to open between his twin and himself. His bizarre demand had just widened the rift.

“Not my call.” Niall handed the barman a note.

“Get me a meeting with whoever I need to talk to.” And if it was Anna, he’d deal with his inconvenient fascination with her and her dressed-to-hide-her-body sister.

“You’ve become a control freak, boyo.” Niall’s worst insult. “Do you charge by the minute. Should I warn Anna to have a credit line handy?”

“You could. Be there.”

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Liam’s mind was spinningwhen he left his office the following day. Maybe he should insist on withdrawing? There’d be other chances at a partnership.

Feck lying to myself. He’d studied Kate’s full list in detail. He’d known almost all of them. Liam couldn’t not engage. The chance at an environmental case was like offering a recovering heroin junkie pure, white powder. Near impossible to resist.

He spotted George in the hall. “Have you got a minute?”

“On your way out?” George asked, and Liam nodded. “You’ve got the elevator ride to make your pitch.”

“I spoke to Niall.” Liam pressed ground. “Our face is going to be on that billboard. I’ve got a meeting shortly to try and contain it.” Canute holding back the waves probably had a better chance.

“Good luck.” George’s doubt hummed in the contained space, echoing Liam’s own. “I’m not an expert, but companies don’t usually pull successful campaigns.”

“If I fail, then you agree I withdraw from this project?” Liam had been walking a tightrope from the moment he’d opened George’s email in Canberra and found Kate’s report.

“Clock’s ticking, Liam. I want your project outline.” George’s unexpected stubbornness threw him.

“You’re crazy.”But you’ve offered me a lifeline.

“Bite me.” The elevator doors sprang open “Time’s up.”

Liam walked the few kilometres to Anna’s advertising agency, Changing Minds. Another starkly modern high-rise on Darling Harbour. This one claimed five-star sustainability status. The vertical gardens climbing to infinity gave it brownie points. Glancing up at the attractive mixture of trailing and flowering plants, he was cynical enough to suspect the agency’s tenancy was due to its green cachet rather than a deep commitment to saving the planet. At least his checks of Genosearch had come up clean; a small but reputable medical research company specialising in genetic research using the campaign to win Commonwealth and investor backing.

“Sweet Mary and Joseph!” Liam cursed at thin air recalling George’s comment. Pissed off at George, himself, Niall and all the negative karma that had dragged him to this moment. Liam pushed through the door of the advertising agency. His jacket flapped in the breeze generated by his whirlwind entry. He halted at the concierge desk. “Changing Minds.”

“Tenth floor. Check in with reception there.”

The vibe on the tenth floor was creative, controlled disorder. More informal than Liam’s office. Corduroy jackets replaced cashmere and silk suits, with more jewel colours worn by all. Large posters of what he guessed were past and present campaigns lined the walls, including an early version of the Genosearch poster. Even as jigsaw pieces, the woman’s face pulled at him.

“You can go through. Anna’s on her way. Third door on the left.” The receptionist stared at him. “Your twin’s already there.”

Liam didn’t think his brother had come to support him.

Niall leaned against the door jamb. The distance between them was the size of a continent despite Niall ushering Liam in with a wave of his hand. Anna’s office was more cupboard than office. Mismatched postcards, drawings and photos were pinned or stuck to every spare surface in the windowless room.

“Making a name for herself?” Liam snorted, commandeering the single chair in Anna’s cramped space.

Niall’s slight shrug implied ability and office size weren’t necessarily proportional in the creative industries. Anna could be senior content manager and still only score ten square metres of prime real estate.

“I’d started wondering if you really existed.” Anna strolled through the door, glancing from one brother to the other.

Liam rose to his feet. Scanning her face, the tight bands of tension around his chest loosened. Anna Turner had none of the special magic making him question his sanity. Superficially, her features matched those on the billboard, but Liam’s gut tallied the differences. Interesting rather than stunning, her shrewd eyes weighed him as an opponent. She had boldness rather than a shy smile, and a take-no-prisoners toughness that was missing from the image captured on the billboard. Her appeal had been an illusion—a clever camera angle and a trick of the light hitting the billboard. That’s all it had been.

“Would I lie to you?” Niall’s eyes gleamed.

“Not if you know what’s good for you.” She swung her gaze back to Liam. She stretched out a hand. “I’m Anna Turner.”

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