Gold Diggers (41 page)

Summer felt emotion choke her throat as she ran to the mirror to admire the chain. ‘I love it,’ she said. But she would have swapped it gladly for one more night together.

The sound of Adam’s bag thumping onto the limestone floor woke Karin up from an early evening siesta. She had been wearing just a tiny pair of bikini bottoms while she snoozed on the cool white linens, and she wrapped a towel around her body as she climbed off the bed; she didn’t want the housekeeper blundering in. Karin peeked around the bedroom door and grinned.

‘Adam!’ she cried, ‘you made it.’

Adam walked towards her and pulled the towel away, dropping it to the floor. ‘Of course I made it, birthday girl,’ he murmured, planting a warm kiss on the side of her neck. ‘Just look what I’m missing.’

She squealed as he picked her up and carried her back into the bedroom; they fell together back onto the bed, Karin wrapping her long legs around his body like snakes.

‘Has the party started?’ she giggled, as his lips trailed down her neck to her erect nipple.

‘It has now,’ he said, and pulled his polo shirt over his head.

After they had made love, Karin and Adam took a shower together. The bathroom window was slightly open to let out the clouds of steam, and already Karin could hear the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses coming from outside. They didn’t hurry.

By the time Adam and Karin finally stepped outside, there were at least fifty people on the terrace. Word had got around
about Diana’s soiree at La Toreador, and everybody who was anybody wanted to come: the beautiful people, the club hags, the Euro-trash. Some planned to stay all night, eating, drinking and dancing; others would use it as a warm-up for the nightclubs, which didn’t really get going until 2 a.m.

Karin and Adam picked up cocktails from the bar by the swimming pool. On the other side of the water, Karin could see Christina dressed in white palazzo pants and a matching bandeau bikini top. She looked fabulous. She was openly flirting with a small, rotund man with a moustache. Wearing a crumpled linen jacket, shorts and flip-flops, the object of Christina’s breathless attention looked rather shabby and dull.

‘Is that who I think it is?’ asked Adam with a half-smile.

‘Let’s go and find out,’ she said, taking his hand to walk around the pool to where her friend was standing. Christina spotted Karin and squealed with delight, greeting her with an embrace as if she hadn’t seen Karin for years.

‘Darling, I must introduce you to my new friend, Reggie Bryce. Reggie, these are my
bestest
friends in the whole world, Karin and Adam.’

Adam extended a cautious hand towards the man.

‘We’ve met, right?’ asked Reggie in his Texan drawl as they shook.

Adam nodded. The billionaire community was a small one. Reggie Bryce was a Midwestern supermarket magnate who was fast catching up to the hugely wealthy Walton family, the owners of Wal-Mart. The name wasn’t lost on Karin either. Recently divorced, Reggie’s wife had won one of the biggest-ever settlements the world had seen. But Reggie could afford to lose a billion dollars here and there. He had plenty. And Christina clearly had designs on a few of them.

‘We met on Es Calo Beach this afternoon,’ gushed
Christina, ‘and I insisted he come and join us tonight. Reggie was five berths down from the
Big Blue
at St Barts at New Year. Isn’t it crazy how small a world it is?’

‘Es Calo? Isn’t that the nudist beach?’ said Karin, looking at Reggie’s bowling-ball physique and suppressing a smile.

‘It’s very liberating, Karin,’ scolded Christina. ‘Reggie agrees, don’t you, honey?’

Reggie wasn’t listening. Instead he was looking at Christina as if she was a mouthwatering delicacy.

‘My yacht the
Crusader
is in Ibiza Town,’ he said to Karin and Adam, not taking his eyes off Christina. ‘I’d love you to come for lunch if you’re not busy.’

Karin nodded. ‘Well, it’s my birthday tomorrow, so I hope you have cake.’

As the night wore on, the music was edged up louder and louder. As the moon sprayed glitter onto the swimming pool, a lithe tanned man with Vilebrequin trunks around his ankles was standing by the deep end spurting Cristal into the water like a Formula One driver while, in the shallow end, two Swedish models were kissing. All around them the scent of sex and drugs drifted like clouds.

‘Shall we go and circulate?’ asked Christina, linking her arm through Karin’s. Reggie patted Christina’s bottom as they left and he returned to discussing economic sanctions in the Sudan with Adam.

‘What do you think?’ she giggled to Karin as they walked away.

‘I think he likes you,’ smiled Karin.

‘I made a vow to myself after the Ariel tragedy that, next time, I would date up. I owe it to myself after everything that happened,’ she said with a slight waver to her voice. ‘Between you and me, Reggie’s asked me to stay on with him after the weekend. He’s spending the next two weeks touring the Med. Do you think it’s too soon?’

‘But you hardly know him,’ said Karin, slightly shocked.

‘We’ve got so many friends in common it’s not funny.’

‘I think you’ve made up your mind,’ smiled Karin playfully.

‘Mmm … maybe,’ said Christina with a smirk. ‘Anyway, I’m simply exhausted after all that small talk. Do you fancy a naughty pick-me-up?’

Karin tried to not look disapproving. When it came to drugs, her circle of friends split between the dos and the do nots. If you did them, it was with a vengeance; it was not unknown for entire City bonuses to be blown in one summer on coke and opiates. If you abstained, it was usually because you were a member of Narcotics Anonymous. For Karin, taking drugs had no moral overtones, it was simply an issue of control. She’d smoked the odd joint at boarding school but had hated the way it made her feel – woozy and nauseous and not quite tuned-in – so she had mostly avoided the various drugs that had come in and out of fashion on the social scene over the years.

Christina tapped her on the waist. ‘Stop being such a puritan, Kay. We need to celebrate the start of my beautiful new relationship.’ They made their way to Christina’s bedroom and Karin sat back on the bed while her friend rifled through a cream vanity case. She looked up. ‘Shit. I’m all out. Will Adam have any?’

Karin shrugged. He was a very light user and sometimes kept a wrap in his wallet. She wasn’t sure he’d take kindly to her going through his belongings but, ever since she’d found the mysterious matchbook in Capri, she was always looking for a reason to have a snoop.

Their bedroom was just next door and she went through. She could see Adam’s Brioni linen jacket slung across the back of a high-backed leather chair and, picking it up, she slid her hand into the inside pocket, her fingers brushing
against a bunch of keys, and a money clip holding together a sheaf of notes. She pulled out a butter-soft leather wallet and opened it. Ignoring the platinum and black credit cards, she slipped a finger into the silk lining and pulled out a piece of neatly folded paper.

‘Tina. I’ve got …’ her words trailed off as she realized it wasn’t a wrap of cocaine but a folded receipt. Her heart leapt as she saw it was from a jeweller on Bond Street: a ‘gold and diamond teardrop pendant’ costing £1500.
Fifteen hundred.
Her elation was immediately replaced by a twinge of disappointment.

‘So. Has he got any?’ asked Christina, appearing in the doorframe.

‘No,’ replied Karin quickly. ‘I’m going to find Adam.’

Karin was standing by the swimming pool, a glistening electric blue against the black of the night, staring into the darkness.

She was sipping a mojito slowly, alone with her thoughts, when Adam crept up behind her and pulled her close.

‘Unless I’m very much mistaken,’ he said, showing her his watch, ‘it’s gone midnight and that means one thing …’

‘It means I’m twenty-nine again,’ smiled Karin, resting her head on his shoulder.

Adam nodded and took her hand, leading her inside, the laughter of the crowd growing faint behind them. ‘I might have been late today,’ smiled Adam, ‘but at least I come bearing gifts. I take it you can’t wait another minute for your present?’

Karin tried to look enthusiastic. ‘Patience has never been one of my virtues.’

‘Well then, step this way for the show and tell …’

He pulled her into their bedroom and Karin slipped off her sandals and arranged herself elegantly on the bed, letting
the ceiling fan woosh a stream of cool air across her body.

Adam rummaged in his black suitcase, then walked back to Karin with his hands behind his back. ‘Close your eyes and hold out your hands,’ he teased.

Karin sat up and did as she was told. ‘Happy birthday, honey,’ whispered Adam, placing a warm kiss on her lips and a package in her upturned palms.

Karin opened her eyes to see a long claret box tied up with a gold ribbon. She tore off the ribbon and flipped up the lid, which opened with a satisfying click.

Lying on a bed of black velvet was a string of clear and primrose-coloured tear-shaped stones, sparkling in the lamplight. She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. It was exquisite. Adam took the bracelet and fumbled to fasten it around Karin’s wrist.

‘Diamonds and canary diamonds,’ he said, grinning. ‘Do you like?’

Karin was staring at the delicate string around her wrist with a bemused expression. ‘I like a lot …’

‘But …?’ asked Adam noticing the quaver in her voice.

‘But this didn’t cost fifteen hundred pounds …’ There was a trace of laughter in her voice.

‘I don’t follow.’ Adam sank on the bed and looked up at her.

Karin cursed herself for the slip, realizing she’d have to confess for looking in his wallet.

‘It’s nothing.’

‘No, tell me,’ pressed Adam.

‘Well, I found a receipt in your wallet and I thought …’

Karin saw it immediately – just a flicker of something in Adam’s expression that sent a cold shiver down her spine. When she had first found the receipt, her reaction had been one of disappointment, anger even. Their relationship seemed to be going well – very well in fact – and Adam had
a lot of money. Had she misjudged the situation so terribly. Did he really think so little of her? But now the penny dropped. The necklace wasn’t for her. It was for somebody else.

‘Who is it for?’ she said softly, unconsciously fingering the bracelet.

‘Who is what for?’

‘The necklace, the receipt in your wallet.’

Adam stood up, suddenly angry. ‘What were you doing in my fucking wallet?’ he snapped.

Karin was not to be deflected. ‘Answer the question, Adam,’ she said calmly. ‘Who is it for?’

‘It’s for Erin,’ he said coolly. ‘It’s her birthday, so I thought I’d get her a little trinket.’

‘Erin’s birthday? Really,’ said Karin sarcastically. ‘You forget she used to be my assistant. Her birthday isn’t in August at all.’

Karin didn’t have a clue when Erin’s birthday was, but she knew she had to bluff him.

They locked stares and she saw him take a small, sharp intake of breath. She knew Adam Gold, the businessman, the ruthless negotiator, had been caught out.

‘Adam, tell me the truth.’

Her voice was high pitched and shrill and she could feel her heart beating faster. She caught herself feeling fearful and insecure and hated herself for it. The last six months with Adam had gnawed away at her confidence so much that she was beginning not to recognize herself. She glared at him, baiting him to lie further.

‘It’s Claudia Falcon, isn’t it?’ she said calmly.

Adam had walked away from her and stood at the window, staring out into the blackness. In the distance they could hear the low hum of laughter from the party.

‘It’s not Claudia,’ he said softly.

‘Then why have you been spending so much time with her?’

‘Business!’ shouted Adam.

‘Yeah, right,’ said Karin sarcastically.

‘Look. We are putting together a financial deal – a takeover bid for the Astley Retail chain. We have to do it by stealth.’

‘Oh yes, stealth being the right word, when you’re fucking the banker.’

‘I’m not fucking Claudia,’ he said, twisting round to face her.

‘Adam, I’m not stupid. I’ve seen the way you are together, I can see—’

‘Claudia is gay,’ he said with finality.

Karin stopped in her tracks, stunned. Gay? That was a turn-up for the books. She felt her anger reboil as she realized he’d distracted her from the big issue. The necklace and who it was for. She knew she had let herself slip, her anger betraying her vulnerability and insecurity. But she’d come too far now to pretend it didn’t matter.

‘Adam,’ she said softly, walking up behind him, ‘the best birthday present you can give me is the truth.’

She could see their faces reflected in the glass, both sad and uncertain.

‘Karin …’ he began, then he stopped and took a deep breath.

‘There is someone,’ he said finally. ‘The necklace was for someone else.’

‘Can I ask who?’ Karin’s voice was little more than a cracked whisper.

He turned to face her and for a moment Karin expected the worst, but he gently picked up her hand and placed it in his. She wanted to snap it away but she felt drained of strength.