Page 77 of Third Time’s a Charm

He shrugs. “Maybe you can’t, but I can. Ben and Will are friends. And they’re always happy to help people out. Just let me have a chat with Ben. Sound him out, yeah?”

I twirl my fork in what’s left of my fettuccine, buying thinking time. Ant watches, eyebrows raised in enquiry. Surely it can’t hurt to have the conversation? What’s the worst that can happen? Ben says no, and I end up stacking shelves in a supermarket. Or working in a call centre.

“Okay. Give him a call. But please, if he’s not interested, if he doesn’t believe the idea’s worth pursuing, don’t make him take a meeting. I don’t want to be strung along, or humoured.”

Ant looks slightly affronted. As well he might. He’s never been anything but straight with me.

“Hundred percent. Ben will tell you right off the bat if he doesn’t think it’s a good idea. And believe me, if he takes you on, he’ll make sure you succeed.”

Ant disappears into his home office after dinner while Lil and I retreat to the living room and watch a twisty police procedural series to take our minds off the craptastic week I’m having.

We’re only half an hour into the first episode when Ant appears, with the kind of frown I’ve rarely seen on his face.

“What’s happened? Is Ben not interested?” Lil asks, pausing the show, which leaves us with a close-up of a dead body on the screen. Fitting.

“Oh, he’s interested.” Ant perches on the edge of the coffee table in front of us and rests his elbows on his knees. “But he had a call earlier today from a Jasper Spencer-Jones.”

“No!” Lil gasps, sitting bolt upright, feet hitting the floor as though she’s about to race out the door and do battle.

It takes my brain a minute to catch up.

“What do you mean he had a call from Jasper? How did Jasper know about him?”

“Ben seems to think it’s a coincidence. It was a cold call from Jasper, who was very cagey about what the proposal is. But here’s the interesting thing: he set up a meeting with Ben for next week. With him, and his ‘partner’.”

Now both Lil and I are on our feet.

“That fucking fucker!” she spits.

“Oh, no he doesn’t.” I grab my phone from the coffee table.

Colin insisted I take Jasper’s new number before he left earlier, asking me to please think about calling him. Well, he’s going to get his wish.

He answers on the second ring.

“Louise. Hi. I’m so glad you calle—” Relief drips from Jasper’s voice, but I can’t trust this man, so I ignore it.

“Are you fucking serious? First, you let me talk to all those winemakers about the great plans we have, knowing full well it’s never going anywhere because the business won’t even exist. Then you tell Tate Brown my ideas—ideas you yourself told me were fantastic—were doomed to fail and not worth pursuing. And now … now you steal my idea and present it as your own to a potential investor. You’re a lying, stealing sack of shit and I wish I’d never laid eyes on you.”

Chapter Forty-Two

Jasper

My relief at seeing Louise’s number light up my phone is short-lived.

“It’s not what you think,” I manage to squeeze in when she draws breath.

“Huh. Where have I heard that before? Oh, that’s right. When I caught you telling Tate Brown my ideas weren’t worth pursuing.”

I figure I probably have about ten seconds before she hangs up and blocks my number. So I talk fast.

“You didn’t hear the whole conversation. It wasn’t your ideas I thought would fail. It was Mackelden. You need to hear the context. There are things you don’t know. For a start, Tate’s a liar. He can’t be trusted.” I’m pacing the rug in front of the tiny sofa in my new apartment, my steps keeping pace with my fast delivery.

“Tate can’t be trusted? You should take a look in the mirror!” Louise draws a shuddering breath, alerting me to the fact that she’s crying. “I trusted you. And look where that got me.”

“Just give me fifteen minutes to explain, please. To prove it’s not what it seems.” Silence. “Please,” I repeat. Begging is not something I’m prone to, but if that’s what I need to do, I’ll do it.

“Why should I give you anything?” Louise demands.