‘Yes, but you did contact me, so finish it.’ She pushed her empty coffee cup away, leaving her hand resting on the table. His pale-blue eyes darted around the café. She wasn’t sure if he was checking to see if there was anyone listening or searching for the fastest route out. ‘Oh, get on with it, Stuart,’ she said, losing what little patience she had left.

He licked his lips nervously and leaned a little closer. ‘Fine. You mentioned Jack’s frequent business trips to Las Vegas.’

Was he going to tell her Jack had a mistress there? ‘Yes, so?’

‘The company doesn’t do any business in Vegas, Molly. There were tentative enquiries, a few meetings, but it didn’t work out.’

This wasn’t what she expected. She laughed uncertainly. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve spent so long in Hong Kong you’re out of the loop, Stuart, you said it yourself.’

He reached out and gripped her hand. ‘We do business in New York, Boston and Seattle. Not in Vegas. After the initial talks fell through, the idea was shelved.’

She looked down at his hand. ‘But he’s been away several times–’

‘He’s been sick several times in the last year,’ Stuart interrupted her. ‘I’d take a guess that if I looked at the dates, they would coincide with the dates you said he was in Vegas.’

Pulling her hand away, she sat back and crossed her arms. ‘This is all ridiculous.’

‘I’ve heard rumours in the office. Does Jack have a gambling problem?’

A gambling problem? ‘Of course not!’ Her voice was firm. Jack didn’t have a gambling problem. She’d know if he had. Wouldn’t she? A little voice whispered nastily, the way you knew he’d been suspended. ‘I don’t know,’ she admitted with a gulp. She wanted to add that she didn’t know anything anymore, but she was afraid she would fall apart and never be able to put herself together again. ‘I’ll speak to him,’ she said, standing abruptly. Too abruptly. She gasped at the sudden pain, putting a hand on the table to steady herself, hearing, as if at a vast distance, Stuart asking if she was okay. She rode the pain out, waiting until it eased before straightening slowly.

‘I’ll be fine,’ she said. She should thank him, she supposed, but looking down at him, she saw a glimmer of pleasure in his eyes and knew that his motivation for telling her wasn’t completely selfless. Jack had never liked him very much, she remembered. What was it he’d said, Stuart had an ulterior motive for everything he did.

‘Maybe we could meet for a drink after work soon,’ he said. ‘Or dinner?’

When hell freezes over! ‘That would be lovely. I’ll give you a ring.’ She almost ran from the café, only realising when she got outside that she hadn’t paid her bill.