Page 35 of One Summer in Monte Carlo
She’d thought she was over Zac and yet here he was, proving he still had the power to upset her. She was about to step on the gangway when he called her name. Swallowing hard, she turned her head to look at him, her hand gripping the gangway rope tightly for support as Zac spoke. She was unbelievably angry with him over his actions – both past and present. Holding her breath, Nanette waited for him to speak and was determined not to let him see how shaken she was.
‘I want you to come back and work for me, Nanette. We were a good team in the past.’
His unexpected request fell into a lengthening silence as Nanette stared at him. All this wining and dining and faux romancing was because he wanted her to work for him?
‘What?’ She looked at him in disbelief. ‘That’s what you wanted to talk about urgently?’
‘I’m starting a new holiday business and I need someone I can trust totally,’ Zac said.
‘I’ve got a job – looking after the twins. When Vanessa and Ralph return from their Amazon adventure, I shall go back to the UK with them.’
‘Come on, Nanette – you’re capable of much more than playing nursemaid to a couple of kids. You were the best PA I ever had.’
‘If I was that good, why no word, no job offer from you before – when I needed all the help I could get?’ Nanette asked angrily.
‘I cut back on my business activities when I realised you weren’t going to be around for a long time,’ Zac said, shrugging. ‘I was too busy racing and simply didn’t have the time to find a new PA.’
Nanette nodded her head slowly as she looked at him. She wasn’t going to let him see how much those words hurt her. She’d been his fiancée as well as his PA but that didn’t appear to count. She swallowed hard before asking.
‘Now you’ve got time for a new venture?’
‘This time I’m trying to invest in a business that I can work at when I give up racing.’
‘You’re giving up racing?’ Nanette asked, shocked. That wasn’t something she’d anticipated hearing.
‘Not immediately, but I don’t fancy being the oldest driver on the circuit fighting for a drive. Realistically, I suppose I’ve got another two or three years, but if I don’t win the championship this year’ – Zac grimaced – ‘who knows? I might just walk away from it all at the end of the season.’ He paused and smiled at her. ‘I also thought it would be an ideal opportunity to try to make up for the hurt that I’ve caused you in the past. We could both go places with this new business.’
Zac looked at her expectantly, waiting for her response.
Nanette sighed. Zac could sound so plausible when he turned on the charm. She’d seen it work in the past, when he’d wanted his own way over something. Not this time, not with her.
‘Except that I’m not looking for another job – I’m happy caring for the twins – working for you again is not something I’ve ever thought about.’
‘Will you think about it now?’ Zac persisted. ‘The twins are growing up, they won’t need you forever.’
‘You don’t need me either, Zac.’ The words, ‘And I definitely don’t need you in my life again’, remained unspoken in her head.
‘Oh, but, Nanette, I do,’ Zac said, again reaching out to take hold of her hands and squeeze them tightly. ‘I leave for Canada tomorrow and then I’m back here afterwards, for maybe a day, before the French Grand Prix. Please think about it while I’m away. We’ll have supper when I return and you can give me your decision then.’
‘I don’t need time to think, Zac. I don’t—’
‘Shh.’ Zac effectively stopped her by placing his fingers firmly against her lips. ‘Next week.’
‘Goodnight, Zac.’ Once again, she turned away from him, stepping back on to the gangway to leave.
‘Just give me two minutes while I fetch something from the saloon.’
Feeling the need to put some firm ground underneath her feet, Nanette jumped off the yacht’s gangway and stood waiting on the quay. Standing there, watching the evening activity of the harbour, Nanette felt curiously light-headed. The events of the past couple of hours had been totally unexpected, but she was pleased she’d kept her cool and been able to be so resolute in facing up to Zac, despite her hammering heart. A heart that was hammering, she realised, from sheer nerves and anger, not because she still felt anything for him.
‘Here you are – some bedtime reading,’ Zac said, reappearing with a large envelope marked ‘Vacances au Soleil’ and bulging with papers.
‘What part of no do you not understand?’ Nanette demanded. ‘Watch my lips. I. Am. Not. Interested.’
‘At least have a look at it while I’m away,’ Zac said when Nanette tried to refuse to take it. ‘I’d like your opinion on it anyway. You were always pretty savvy over my previous investments. You never know, reading about it might change your mind.’
Realising the only way she was going to get him off the subject was to take the envelope, Nanette reluctantly accepted it, inwardly vowing to hand it back to him next week, unopened and unread. As she took it, Zac leaned in and kissed her cheek before turning and walking away, leaving Nanette furious at his presumption.
It was too late to phone her sister when she got back to the apartment, but early the next morning, after a restless night, Nanette picked up her mobile to talk to Patsy from the comfort of her bed. Patsy, being a farmer’s wife, was always up early to have breakfast with Bryan before he started his day of chores on the farm.
