Page 63 of Third Time’s a Charm

She’s a peacekeeper. Masking her own fears and insecurities. Constantly trying to prove her value, to earn love and respect. A love she was always doomed to fall short of with her mother, through no fault of her own.

At least, as painful as the loss of my mother was, I never had cause to doubt her love for me.

It’s hard to know what to say. I won’t make excuses for her mother. Or for John Mackelden. They don’t deserve them. But I need to say something.

“I guess we both lost our mothers as a result of cancer. Just not in the same way. But what she did to you, that’s entirely on her, not you, Louise. Believe me when I say, you’re a very special human being. And you are enough. If other people—even your mother—can’t see that, it’s their loss. And while I can’t do anything about your mum, when we get back to Sydney, John Mackelden won’t know what hit him.”

Her body stiffens against me.

“No. Please. You promised. I don’t need you to step in. Honestly. It’s fine. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

Keeping the peace might be Louise’s comfort zone, but it’s not mine. I don’t want to cause her anxiety, but I also can’t let Mackelden get away with his behaviour.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t blow back on you.”

Finally, one silver lining if I’m forced to shut the business down. Mackelden will be without a job. And if I’m allowed to trade out of the mess, it will be my absolute pleasure to fire him.

And he won’t be getting a glowing reference from me.

The revelations of last night are still rattling around in my head the next morning, when Louise insists we visit a particular bakery café on Boorowa Street for breakfast.

“Their cherry pie is to die for. Truly.”

I’m more inclined to eat a savoury breakfast, but Louise has a sweet tooth and it’s impossible to resist this version of her. Eager and full of joy. All signs of the wistfulness of last night have vanished.

I wish I could mask my demons so successfully. They’re always there, just under the surface, waiting to ambush me at a moment’s notice.

I guess that’s the difference between a clear conscience and one that’s been blackened by close proximity to dishonesty and a skewed moral compass.

Not for the first time I regret underestimating Tate’s level of arseholery and not coming up with a backup plan.

I was naïve. I honestly believed I could convince Tate to give this business a go. But as the days drag by without any news, that seems more and more unlikely.

What I need to focus on now is finding a way to protect Louise and her ideas. Which means I have to come up with an offer Tate can’t refuse.

The professional consequences I’m facing are counter-balanced by the realisation that I’m very quickly falling arse over tits in love with not only my subordinate, but a woman who will soon find out I’ve been lying to her—at least by omission—since we met.

I’m pretty sure I signed an NDA is not going to cut it as an excuse with a woman like Louise. And neither should it.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Jasper

The last place you need to be blindsided is the men’s room of a petrol station on the outskirts of Sydney. But I guess that’s the thing with being blindsided. It happens when you least expect it. Or want it.

I’ve just finished washing my hands when a text alert comes in from Edward.

JMs file emailed. Don’t open unless you’re sitting down. And alone. And maybe near a toilet. Or a bucket.

Fuck. A sense of impending doom drops over me. Not only does it seem like my suspicions about John were right, but there’s something here I’ve missed. I can sense it.

Every instinct in me wants to flick to my emails and open it. Fortunately, the cell service here isn’t great, and I can’t get my emails to load. A circumstance I’m sure I’ll be happy about when I finally read the file. Because if it says what I think it does, and I read it with Louise present, I don’t think I’d be able to keep it together.

As it stands, I head back to the car and buckle in.

I know I’m quiet, but strangely, so is Louise, who isn’t even singing along with the music.

“You okay?” I glance over to see her chewing on that plump lip.