wife. Still, his living arrangements were extremely unusual so her reaction wasn’t surprising.
Nick’s adultery was a thick smog which had hung over Rachel for four years. She never understood how it had happened. And now it was seeping through, pervading the rest of her life.
In her heart she believed they could have overcome Nick’s infidelity but after his death, she didn’t get the chance to face him. Find out why he did it. Find out what had happened. Work out if she would stay with him.
That was the crux of her problem. She’d been cheated out of reaching a resolution with Nick.
Instead Rachel believed that somehow she got what she deserved.
Suddenly Samantha grabbed her arm to introduce her to someone.
“Rachel, this is Gary Preacher, my old boss when I worked at the TV station,” Samantha said. It was the same man Jake had been speaking to earlier. “He’s got some amazing news for us.”
“Samantha’s been telling me all about you.” Gary shook Rachel’s hand. “But I told her I already knew about Skin Plus.”
“How’s that?” she asked. “It hasn’t been launched yet.”
“I’m surprised Jake hasn’t told you about how he’s conned me into giving you an exorbitant amount of air time.”
Rachel’s mouth fell open.
“The station doesn’t allow much free air time for community announcements,” he said. “And the ads are usually shown after midnight when everyone’s asleep. However Jake called in a few favours and we’ll be showing your Skin Plus ads in prime time so it’ll get good exposure.”
Her eyes lit up. “That’s fantastic. I can’t believe it.”
“I can guarantee it wouldn’t have happened if Jake hadn’t been so persistent. He really wants this to be a success.”
“It’s been a team effort.” She glanced at Samantha.
“I’m sure it has,” Gary replied. “But if you don’t have the money to pay for TV and radio time no one will ever know about it.”
“That’s true.”
Samantha looked at Rachel. “And that’s not all. Gary, what were the other programs you were telling me about?”
He said, “Jake insisted I speak to some of the other people at the station and it looks like both the morning show and the evening current affairs program are interested in running pieces on Skin Plus.”
Rachel shook Gary’s hand again. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Jake’s the one you should thank,” he said. “I thought you’d already know about this but then again I’ve noticed he can be a bit modest about some things.”
“We’ll be sure to thank him.” Samantha turned to Rachel. “Won’t we?”
“Absolutely.”
She should have been pleased as she learnt more and more about Jake but instead it scared her. It was much easier to cope when she believed him to be a man of questionable integrity. If he was married, she’d have to brush him off, regardless of her feelings.
But now the barriers standing between them were disintegrating, leaving only her own fears.
She had to clear her head. Jake was at the opposite end of the room. That suited her fine for the time being.
She had to keep some distance between them. Just for a while.
Chapter eleven
Jake saw Bianca strutting towards him.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” She arched her neck upward to kiss him on the cheek. He’d have pushed her away except he didn’t want to cause a scene.
“You’re not welcome here.”
“Jake, don’t be so silly. We’ve had this argument already.”
“Too right we have. I told you before. This is a business function, not a ladies’ lunch. And I don’t want you here.”
“But Jake.” Bianca pressed her breasts forward, unconcerned they were already spilling out of her highly revealing outfit. “I have this new Dolce and Gabbana dress and nowhere to wear it. I had to come.”
Did she expect a compliment about her appearance? He wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible and dreaded to think what Rachel would do if she saw her. He had to protect her from being hurt like that again.
“What do you hope to gain from this?” he asked.
“Do you really want to know?” Bianca’s eyes narrowed as she spoke.
Silence.
Her eyes collided with Jake’s. “I came to see her.”
“What are you talking about?” He had to keep a clear head. There was no way Bianca could know about Rachel and if she did, he had to keep them apart.
Bianca glanced around. “I figured she’d be either hanging off your arm or at the opposite end of the room, pretending there’s nothing going on. That’s usually how it