Behind Every Cloud (35 page)

“
You
’
re very kind. I appreciate it.
”
Zita wanted to punch the air.
“
See you next Monday.
”
God, Rachel was nice but so naïve, she thought as she went back to her office to view the day
’
s work
.

Rachel was well into her customary nightly bottle of wine when Carl arrived home that night.

“
Well, how did it go at the TV studios?
”
he asked, pouring himself a generous whiskey.

“
Fabulous! Zita wants to follow me around for a day and to film me with you, meeting constituents and such like. Is that okay with you?
”

“
Of course. Any publicity is good publicity.
”
He took a long slug of his drink.
“
When does she want to do this?
”

“
I
’
ll choose a date when I have a lunch and some charity meetings – one that suits you too of course.
”
Her eyes were shining and Carl could see that she was thrilled with the whole thing.
“
I even thought that a Monday would be good and they could film a little of the wine course. That would be fun.
”

“
Well, you
’
d have to square it with Sam and the other students, of course. Sam probably wouldn
’
t mind – it would be good publicity for him
–
but some of the other students might not like it.
”

“
Oh, I
’
m sure they won
’
t mind,
”
Rachel said confidently.

“
Just check with them in advance,
”
he warned her.
“
And make sure you don
’
t choose a Wednesday and have the whole country think you do nothing but pamper yourself all day.
”

“
Of course not.
”
She looked at him frowning,
hurt by his words.

“
How did you find Zita?
”
he asked casually.

“
Fantastic! She
’
s so professional and good at her job
.”

She then proceeded to tell him how Zita had been p
assed over for promotion as a producer because of polit
ical pull
.

“
That kind of corruption has been rife for so long in this country. And now you say poor Zita was one of the casualties.
”
He poured another whiskey for himself as Rachel poured the last of her wine.

“
Well, she
’
s up for promotion to producer again. I thought maybe you could do something to help her.
”
She looked at him appealingly.

“
I
’
ll see what I can do. I
’
ll need to talk to her first though.
”

“
Oh, that
’
s great
,
darling. She
’
ll be delighted. I
’
ll give you her number.
”
She fished in her bag and took out Zita
’
s card.
“
Here,
”
she said handing it over.
“
She
’
ll
be ever so grateful.
”

I certainly hope so, Carl thought wryly as he pocketed the card.

Sandrine was still feeling miffed when she rang David on Wednesday evening.

“
We really should get a life,
”
she joked when she realised that he was working late too.

“
So how are you?
”
he asked his future sister-in-law.

“
A bit pissed off to tell you the truth, David. Ellie is
really most ungrateful. I went to loads of trouble, Googling
sites for dresses and other stuff to save her the trouble but she didn
’
t want to know any of it.
”

David could hear the annoyance in her voice.
“
Well, you know Ellie,
”
he said
,
trying to pour oil on troubled waters.
“
She
’
s been dreaming of this wedding since she was ten years old.
”

Yes, and any man would slot in as the groom, Sandrine wanted to say
,
but she held her tongue.
“
Well, it
’
s your wedding too,
”
she told him.
“
Don
’
t you have any say in it?
”

“
Oh, you know me. Anything for a quiet life. Anyway, it
’
s Ellie
’
s wedding, I
’
m just getting married,
”
he joked
.

“
I honestly think you spoil her too much, David. You really should put your foot down sometimes.
”

“
Ah, don
’
t worry. She just wants everything to be perfect.
She agreed to us buying this house I found in Sandymou
nt. Did she tell you?
”

“
Yes. I don
’
t know how you managed it. At least you
’
ve prevailed there, thank God for that!
”

“
Don
’
t be too hard on her, Sandrine. You know what a romantic she is. You and I are different. We
’
re realists. We have our feet on the ground.
”

Sandrine
’
s only reply was a snort.

33

Carl had been waiting twenty minutes in the Merrion Inn when Zita sailed in
,
looking cool and collected and ten minutes late.

“
Hi,
”
she said, proffering her hand.

He took it but what he wanted more than anything was to kiss those tempting lips. However, he followed her cue and kept it formal. He
’
d already met quite a few people he knew. That was the damn problem with being in the public eye. One couldn
’
t be too careful. He
’
d have no problem explaining why he was with Zita. He would say that he was discussing the TV show she was doing on his wife. But kissing her in public was another matter.

“
You look great,
”
he said, admiring the nonchalant way she shrugged off her brown
-
leather aviator jacket. Dressed in a man
’
s pinstripe shirt with pale denim jeans ripped at the knees, her face void of make-up
,
she somehow was more alluring than any of the glamorous, model-type birds seated all around. Zita was an original and he liked that.

She asked for a pint of Guinness which amused him and he ordered one for himself too. She continued coolly to behave as if this was a business meeting, ignoring the fact that he had been pestering her for two weeks. She was
something else, he thought, impressed by her composure.

“
Rachel did a very good interview yesterday. She
’
s quite a natural in front of the camera,
”
she began.

He watched her lips as she spoke
,
not really hearing what she was saying. She occasionally licked the froth of the Guinness from her upper lip which he thought was the most erotic gesture he
’
d ever seen. He tried to concentrate on her words.

“
Of course, I will only be the assistant producer,
”
she sighed,
“
and the producer, Jason, is a total incompetent. God knows what ideas he
’
ll come up with.
”

“
How did he get to be producer then?
”
Carl asked although he knew already. He wanted to hear it from her
.

“
Well, we were both up for the job but he
,
unfortunately
,
used political influence and landed the position.
”

“
How come?
”

She explained then about
the chauvinist hierarchy that
existed in the TV world and how Jason had been promoted
unfairly
.

Carl was sympathetic.
“
I know that kind of thing happened a lot under the last government. Happily the voters recognised this and voted them out
.”
He grinned.
“
Luckily for me and my party
.”

He really is very sexy when he smiles, Zita thought.

“
Could I do anything to help you with this
?”
he asked her, apparently oblivious to the irony of making such an offer.
“
I may have some influence at the station.
”

Zita drew in her breath. She could hardly believe it. This was her reason for targeting him but she hadn
’
t thought it would be quite so easy.

“
That would be wonderful
.”
She smiled up at him from under her long black lashes and squeezed his hand. Her touch was electric on his skin.

“
Leave it with me. I
’
ll see what I can do,
”
he assured her, wanting to take her to bed right there and then.

“
I would really appreciate that. I
’
d be ever so grateful.
”

He smiled
,
thinking of how she had parroted his wife. She looked at him boldly then lowered her lashes so that her seductive cat-like eyes were half closed. He was in no doubt what she meant. If this was what it took to have her then he was willing to move heaven and earth to get it for her.
She was the most exciting woman he
’
d ever met. He had to have her.

They ordered two more pints and made small talk but both were aware of the chemistry between them.

He
’
s surprisingly naïve, Zita thought
–
for a politician
,
that is. His boyish charm was seductive and she found herself relaxing and laughing at his anecdotes. He really
was the best company. She
was surprised to be enjoying herself so much and underneath the surface was the
promise of a sexual encounter in the future.

With a shock she saw that it was after eight o
’
clock.
“
Oh my goodness
!”
She jumped up.
“
I
’
m supposed to be meeting Marcus at eight for dinner. Sorry, I have to run.
”
She extended her hand again but Carl ignored it and
,
reaching forward, kissed her on the cheek. He wanted to inhale her scent and keep it with him. It was reckless but he didn
’
t care. He hadn
’
t felt this alive in a long, long time.

“
I
’
ll be in touch,
”
he whispered in her ear.
“
I hope to see you again very soon and next time we
’
ll have dinner together.
”

Pulling away from him
,
she gave him a mysterious smile.
“
We
’
ll see.
”

With that she was gone. Carl felt empty after she
’
d left. It was as if a light had gone out inside him. He
’
d never felt like
that about a woman before. She was quite remarkable
.