The Betrayal Read Online Free Page B

company. We’ve other equally strong brands and we’ll acquire more. Right now, all I want to do is wind down for a few hours and get my head together. We’ll talk about everything tomorrow when I’m home. Try not to worry. With or without STRUM, we’ll get through this crisis.’
    He’s closing down the conversation and there’s nothing I can do except agree that we’ll cope, as we always do, and survive. ‘Enjoy your meal, Jake. I’ll pick you up at the airport tomorrow.’
    Distance helps us to pretend. We’re unable to look into the whites of each other’s eyes and see our panic reflected there. But there’s something else on his mind. I sense his hesitation before he says goodbye. I can always tell. We’re capable of simultaneous thoughts, which we often speak aloud in the same instant or exclaim, ‘That’s exactly what I was going to say.’ The twins also have the same capacity for synchronised expression, but that’s to do with a split zygote whereas Jake and I have simply developed a hybrid mentality.

Chapter 4
    Jake
    H e arrived before her and took a seat at the bar adjoining the restaurant. A pianist in an embossed, velvet jacket played softly on a grand piano. A candelabra blazed on top of the piano and orchids in a moon-shaped vase emitted a faint scent of vanilla. Karin Moylan entered shortly afterwards, aware but indifferent to the eyes that followed her as she walked towards him. Shrine was her favourite restaurant in New York, she told him as they sipped an aperitif. Her dress was black and figure-hugging, accessorised by an elaborately coiled blue necklace.
    The waiter led them to a table for two in a secluded alcove at the back of the restaurant. Lights shimmered on the ceiling and picture windows overlooked a leafy view of Central Park. Over lemon sole and wood-fired tiger prawns, she told him about the cities where she had lived and worked: London, Paris, Milan, New York. She kept him amused between courses with gossipy, witty anecdotes about the celebrities she had met on various film sets. Jake suspected she had told the same stories many times but he was content to listen and be entertained by her. The relief of not talking about business was overwhelming. Reality was outside, clawing to get back in but for these few hours he would keep it at bay.
    Earlier today, shell-shocked and furious, he had gone straight from STRUM’s headquarters to his hotel and tried to ring Nadine. Only she would understand the enormity of what had occurred. Her mobile phone had been switched off. Tõnality was closed for the night and the house phone remained unanswered. He had ordered a whiskey at the hotel bar when his mobile bleeped and a text arrived. He checked the ID screen, expecting to see Nadine’s name but only a number was displayed, an unfamiliar one with a New York prefix.
    You were a blast from the past, Jake Saunders, he read. Good to see you again. Hope all went well at your business meeting today. Best for now, Karin.
    He had forgotten her in the turmoil of the day but her text nudged him briefly from his misery.
    Difficult meeting , he replied . But it was worth the trip to see you again.
    He could have stopped it there and then. Instead, he added a question that sought an answer. How are you?
    I’m good, she texted back . But you sound like you’re having a rough time. New York can be a bruising bitch. Anything I can do to help? K.
    The decision to ask her out for a meal was the easiest one he had made all day. The alternative was to find a bar with photos of faded movie stars on the walls and spend the night drinking himself into oblivion. It was the thing to do in New York… to do anywhere… when a momentous decision was delivered with a one-punch knock-out body blow.
    He was getting ready to meet her when Nadine finally contacted him. Her worried intake of breath, the pitch of her voice crashed him back to earth. He resisted the urge to hang up. To shut down the worry and the