Chapter 8

Nicholas’s ultimatum switched Mai into business mode. She wouldn’t get emotional, but she would get what she wanted. After she’d left his house, she’d calmed down and realised Jamie had been right. Nicholas couldn’t control what his father did, which meant she needed to be quick. She’d been to view the cafe out on Mortimer Road and while it wasn’t perfect, it would do for the interim. She’d started the paperwork for leasing it straight away. Step one was complete.

Now it was time for step two.

Scanning her living area to make sure it was tidy, she cleared the table of everything aside from her paperwork. Calypso was flaked out on the couch as if he owned it and the espresso machine was on.

When Nicholas knocked on the door, she ran her hands over the lapels of the one business suit she owned, rolled her shoulders back and down and opened the door. She’d show him she was a business woman who knew what she wanted.

He was all business as well, dressed in a black suit with clean lines that accentuated his lean frame and a green tie that made his eyes look even greener. His leather laptop bag was draped over one shoulder like a stylish accessory. Why couldn’t he look awkward or have a badly fitted suit? Why did he need to look so delicious that she wished he was here for other matters? She stepped back and gestured him inside. “Come in. Would you like a coffee?”

“If you’re having one.” He stood stiff as if waiting for an attack.

That was her fault. She’d lashed out at him. “Take a seat.” She gave him a small smile, made him an espresso and poured herself some ice water with mint leaves in it, before sitting down with her notes.

“Do you still want the two units you indicated?” Nicholas asked, pulling out the plans.

The stiff, impersonal vibe wasn’t going to work. She could do business and still be friendly, relaxed even. She needed to crack the tension, needed to get him back on side. The negotiations had to go well. If they didn’t, she’d lose everything. “Yes.” She got up again and took the biscuit jar from the bench. Food always helped. “Help yourself.”

He took a melting moment. “Are you trying to butter me up?” His smile thawed the freeze in the room.

“Will it work?”

“Maybe.”

Some of the tension in her shoulders melted away. “This is what I had in mind.” She handed him the floor plan sketch she’d worked on. The designated kitchen and cafe areas were clearly marked, as were the modifications she wanted.

He examined it carefully. “What are these?”

“Power points and an extraction fan.”

He frowned. “All right. I’ll need to talk to my builder.”

She was happy with that. “Some of the interior modelling will be able to be carried over from the existing cafe. Will the flooring and painting be included in the lease?”

“To a certain value – you should be fine as long as you don’t want diamond-encrusted paint.”

She smiled. “No. It’s all fairly standard.” She passed him the sheet with the costs, pleased her hand didn’t shake. She couldn’t show him how much this meant to her.

He perused the list and nodded. “What else have you got for me?”

This would be trickier. He didn’t have to agree to any of it, above what he’d already offered. “I’m happy to sign a ten-year lease.” Perhaps it would make him more amenable. She sipped her water and braced herself. “The cafe on Mortimer Road will require the least amount of modification to be ready as a temporary location,” she said. “The issue with it is kitchen space. I’m going to have to purchase a large enough freezer to allow me to do some of the prep during the day and freeze it.” If she had the ovens working during the day, she could keep up her production schedule. Penny could work daylight hours and they’d partially cook some of the goods, which would mean they would only need a short time to bake in the morning.

“How much?”

Mai handed him another document. “The freezer would of course then move to your development.”

He nodded. “What about the numbers for outfitting the cafe?”

“Here.” She couldn’t read his expression. He’d make a brilliant poker player. She clenched the glass in front of her. She wasn’t sure the bank would give her the money for the freezer if he refused, not when it was a temporary solution.

Nicholas read through the figures and jotted down some notes. The silence hurt her ears and she barely dared to breathe. Finally he looked up. “Is there anything else you need?”

She shook her head.

“When would you vacate this building?”

“After the school holidays – the beginning of February. It will take at least that much time to outfit the cafe.” But it meant he could start on the demolition sooner.

“All right.”

Her heart leapt as she stared at him. “Were you agreeing with my last statement, or to the whole proposal?”

He smiled. “The whole proposal.” He held out his hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal. I’ll do up the paperwork tomorrow.”

Relief coursed through her and she leapt out of her chair. “Thank you.” Mai shook his hand. She was shaking. She hadn’t thought he would actually agree to everything. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to prevent the flow of overjoyed tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Nicholas stood up. “I said yes and you’re trembling.” He pulled her into his arms and she wrapped hers around him. He felt so good; warm, strong and comforting, and she was too emotional to care whether this was a good idea.

“I’m happy,” she mumbled against his chest.

“What?” He drew her away and looked down at her.

“I’m happy,” she repeated. “Really, Nicholas. Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure. You’re not asking for much in the scheme of things, not when I’m disrupting your business so much. A world without On the Way would be a much sadder place.”

His expression was intense, those green eyes the colour of her Christmas biscuits and all of a sudden she was aware of being in his arms, his firm hands holding her hips. It wouldn’t take more than her rising up onto her toes to have her lips meet his. She stepped back, breaking the hold and cleared her throat. “For a sweet comment like that you can have one of my secret stash.” She took a container out of the fridge and placed one of the pastries on a plate, handing it to him.

He glanced down at it and then back at her. “What is it?”

“It doesn’t have a name as yet.” She kept her distance from him, hoping her hormones would stop dancing around.

“You developed it?”

“Yeah.” It took an age to make so it wouldn’t be a regular item on her menu, but she was considering making it as part of her special orders list.

He took a bite and his eyes rolled back in his head. “Oh my God.” His groan sent her hormones into a frenzy.

Damn.

“This is amazing. It’s tart and creamy, and the outside is crisp and …” He took another bite and groaned again.

Her whole body tingled. She liked the sound of him being pleasured. Maybe after she’d signed the contract she could explore where this attraction could go. She cleared her throat. “I take it you like it?”

“It might be addictive. You should call it Mai’s Delight, or Mai’s Challenge, because you won’t be able to stop at one. I want another one.”

“Help yourself.” She gestured to the container on the table, liking the warm glow at his praise.

Calypso jumped onto one of the dining chairs and Nicholas grabbed the container, holding it out of the cat’s reach. “You’re not getting any.”

“He gets his own cat treats,” Mai said.

“You bake for pets as well?”

“Just for my friends. I’m not licenced for pet food so I do it at home.”

“Is there anything you can’t do?” He laughed, but his eyes captured hers and there was earnestness in them. His respect and admiration were clear. It was a heady combination that boosted his appeal.

She blinked and moved away. “I can’t paint.”

“Sorry?”

“I can’t paint – like walls and stuff. Well it’s more like it doesn’t interest me. I should be able to twist Jamie or the musketeers’ arms to help me with the Mortimer Road cafe.” She collected their cups and put them in the sink.

“I’ll help.”

Surprise and then pleasure coursed through her. “Thank you. That would be great.” She could do with all the help she could get and it would give her a chance to get to know Nicholas better.

He glanced at his watch. “I need to go. The council meeting starts shortly and they’re discussing the planning permission today.”

“Good luck.” Her mother had been right. There was no point fighting the development, not now she had everything she wanted. She walked him to the door. “Does Lincoln know who broke in downstairs?”

The good humour vanished from Nicholas’s face and his body tensed. Mai wished she hadn’t asked.

“Not yet.”

She’d ask Lincoln for more details because it was obviously a sore point for Nicholas. She wasn’t happy about the situation either. Changing the subject, she asked, “Are you going to the training session at the fire station tomorrow night?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Nicholas shook his head as if shaking something off and then smiled. “I’ll look forward to it.”

Heat rushed through her at his smile.

“Me too.”

Nicholas shoved the thought of the break-in out of his head. There wasn’t anything he could do about it. He needed to focus on the positives and that was the meeting with Mai. It had gone far better than he’d expected, and after she’d signed the contract he’d have only three more units to sell.

But he never should have offered to help her.

It had been an automatic reaction to comfort her when she’d teared up inside, and she’d felt so good in his arms, soft and warm, and she fit him perfectly. He’d wanted to cheer her up, to hold her, to make her feel better.

He scowled.

He wasn’t going to be here for long, and was too messed up right now to deal with the stress of a new relationship.

He needed to think about something else.

With only half an hour before the council meeting, he drove over to the shire building where he met with the planning manager.

“Glad you could make it.” Floyd shook his hand. “It’s always easier when the petitioner is at the meeting so questions can be answered immediately.”

“Of course.” He followed Floyd into the large meeting hall where a number of people were already seated on the rows of plastic chairs. His item was further down the agenda, so he took his seat and slid his laptop out of its case. He would work on the details of Mai’s contract while he waited for his turn.

When the meeting began he tuned in so he didn’t miss his turn. The first item was public question time and started an hour of debate about whether a certain tree in the community park should be cut down. Thank goodness he had his laptop.

As the group voted, he looked up. It was the planning department’s turn so he saved his work and shut his laptop as Floyd stood. “We’ve received a petition to demolish the building on Jackson Street and replace it with an eight unit building with a central car park,” he said. “We’ve had no detractors from this proposal and recommend it goes ahead.”

A man behind him said, “I lodged a complaint today.”

Nicholas’s stomach clenched as he turned. The man was younger than him and everything about him said bogan, from his blue plaid shirt to his shaved head and the packet of cigarettes tucked into his top pocket. “Shadbolt is a dodgy company. Their last development burned down and the police thought it was deliberately lit. We don’t want them bringing their troubles here.”

His pulse raced. What the hell? How did he know about Baldivis? Only Lincoln knew as far as he was aware.

“Gordon’s right. The development will be an eyesore – it’s modern and ugly, and doesn’t fit the architecture of the area.” Another voice, female this time. Nicholas shifted to see Kit standing. She stared at him as if daring him to contradict her. Her words echoed those of Jamie’s the day before.

It hurt – a sharp, twisting pain in his gut. Had he been set up?

He’d trusted the meeting with Mai had been genuine, but maybe she’d been playing him.

Lincoln had said if you take on one musketeer you take them all on, and Kit wouldn’t be here if Mai hadn’t asked her to be.

Mai was a hell of an actress. He’d really believed her.

“It probably should be heritage listed,” Kit continued.

“The development encourages economic growth in the area,” Floyd said.

Gordon spoke. “If we let these Perth blokes in, they’ll take all the money and run back to the city. They don’t give a shit about the town.”

“It should be someone local doing the development,” another man piped up.

Nicholas closed his eyes for a second as his heartburn flared. This was going south fast. He shouldn’t have got involved in the community, should have kept to himself. His father would see this as another example of how he’d completely fucked up.

Floyd held up a hand to stop the murmuring that had broken out in the crowd. “We have Nicholas Shadbolt from Shadbolt Property Developers here today. Nicholas, do you want to say something?”

Nicholas buttoned his jacket as he stood. He would convince them this was the best deal. He had to. “If anything is an eyesore, it’s the empty block behind the building. The existing building is dangerous. The wiring and plumbing are not up to standard and it would cost a significant amount to repair. The new units will fix these problems, and additionally provide more parking in the centre of town. I’ve just come from negotiating with one of my tenants and she is happy with the proposal I have offered her.” He stared directly at Kit.

Kit grimaced.

Perhaps she hadn’t known about his discussions with Mai. “Five of the units have already been leased or sold and I don’t anticipate it will take long to fill the rest. The development will give local business owners more choice as I believe there are limited options available in Blackbridge at this time.”

An older Asian woman stood. Unlike the others who wore jeans and T-shirts, she wore a white blouse and knee-length pencil skirt. “I’d be interested in one of those units,” she said. “I’m tired of my landlord refusing to fix the air-conditioning.” She raised an eyebrow at the man who’d piped up.

The man grimaced. “It’s not that bad, Bian.”

A grey-haired man got to his feet. “Kit is right. The development will ruin the aesthetics of the town. People love the quaintness of Blackbridge. That modern monstrosity will destroy the look. Maybe we should look at applying for heritage listing.”

Fuck. That was the last thing he needed. His chest squeezed tighter as the crowd discussed the history of the building and what the town planning guidelines technically allowed. He had a wild card he could use, though he didn’t want to. Not when it would affect Mai.

When it was clear they were getting nowhere, he pulled it out. “If you want to get technical, the whole area is zoned as a retail area. I have a tenant who lives above her bakery, which is technically not allowed by the zoning laws.” He let it sit for a moment as people exchanged glances. They all knew who he was talking about. “Should I tell her to vacate immediately?”

He allowed them to backpedal for a few minutes before he continued. “It seems your biggest concern is the appearance of the building.” There were a few nods. “If we changed the façade to suit the surrounding architecture, would that be suitable?”

No one said anything, so he looked directly at Kit.

She squirmed, then nodded.

Floyd took over. “So the vote is to approve the planning proposal on the condition that an updated design is submitted and approved by the council?”

The vote took place and the proposal was approved.

Nicholas kept his expression bland as relief washed through him. He excused himself and walked out.

He had more work to do.

But at least he’d salvaged the situation.

The day couldn’t have gone better. Mai’s negotiations with Nicholas had been successful, she’d sourced the extra supplies she needed for the new cafe and the takings at the cafe had been an all-time high.

She pulled down her block-out blinds as her phone rang. Her friends and family knew not to call her after eight unless it was urgent. She frowned at Kit’s name on the display and answered.

“I may have made a big mistake,” Kit said.

She suppressed a smile as she threw back her bed covers. “What did you do?”

“Don’t get mad, OK? I was trying to help.”

She chuckled. Kit had always tried to negotiate before admitting what she’d done. “Did you buy bread from the supermarket?”

“Worse. I went to the council meeting tonight.”

Mai switched on her bedside lamp. “What for?”

“They were discussing Nicholas’s development.”

Dread filled Mai and she sank down on to her bed giving Kit her full attention. “What did you do?”

Kit cleared her throat. “I thought you didn’t want to move. I thought you’d want someone to fight for you.”

She closed her eyes, trying not to imagine the worst. Kit always believed she knew what was best. “Spit it out.”

“I protested the development.”

“Kit!” Mai groaned. “Nicholas and I came to an agreement today.” Which was yet to be signed. Was this going to ruin their negotiations?

“Well you didn’t tell me you’d changed your mind,” Kit defended herself.

It hadn’t occurred to her. “What happened?”

“Gordon spoke up first, which was weird.”

It was. Was he trying to get into her good books so she didn’t turn him in to the police?

“He said Shadbolt were dodgy and burnt down their last building. Do you know anything about that?”

Mai’s skin flushed hot and then cold. The attempted fire next door. Could Nicholas have been behind it? She didn’t want to believe it. “No.”

“You should check it out,” Kit told her. “Then a couple of the usual suspects got behind my call for it to be heritage listed.”

She reached for her tablet and turned it on. “What was the outcome?” How mad would Nicholas be?

“The development has been approved on the condition Nicholas makes the outside look more like the surrounding buildings.”

That didn’t sound too bad, but she didn’t know how much it would cost. “How did Nicholas react?”

“He was pretty calm and collected through the debate,” Kit said. “But he looked pissed when he walked out. Then your mother read me the riot act after the meeting.”

“Mum?”

“Yeah, she was there. Told me I shouldn’t have interfered.”

Mai sighed. “She was right.” But why had she been there in the first place? Her mother didn’t attend council meetings unless it affected something she was working on.

“Yeah, I know. I was worried you were going to lose the bakery and I wanted to do something to help.”

She couldn’t be mad. Kit’s heart was in the right place. “I’m not going to lose it, as long as Nicholas doesn’t back out of the agreement we made today. He still needs to draw up the paperwork.”

Kit swore. “I’m sorry. I’ll apologise to him tomorrow, tell him you had nothing to do with it. Have you got his number?”

Mai gave it to her. “I’m sure it will be fine,” she said with more optimism than she felt. “Listen, I’m going to sleep. I’ll talk to you later.”

“All right. Sorry, Mayday.”

Mai hung up and dumped her phone on the bedside table, squeezing her eyes shut. Damn it. Would Nicholas think she’d asked Kit to attend the meeting? She hoped not, but she needed to make sure, she couldn’t let this mess up their negotiations. She dialled his number.

He didn’t answer.

When the voicemail message came on she hung up. She wasn’t sure what to say, how to explain Kit had acted on her own without sounding defensive. Besides, she’d see him tomorrow at the training session and be able to explain everything in person.

She typed a search criteria into her tablet and yawned, rolling her shoulders. She should be going to sleep, but Kit’s mention of arson had her concerned.

The results highlighted a number of newspaper articles from a couple of months ago and she read them quickly. A Shadbolt development in Baldivis had burned to the ground and Nicholas had been suspected for a while. There was no mention of a final outcome or charges being laid.

The idea he was guilty didn’t sit well with her, but was that because she liked him? She needed to detach herself from her attraction and think critically. He’d seemed upfront in his discussions with her.

But why would anyone else want to light a fire in her building?

She put her tablet aside and switched off the light, but her brain wouldn’t switch off as easily. Tomorrow she’d call Lincoln and make sure he knew about this.

And hope Nicholas really was innocent.