Give A Man A Bad Name

‘Which they’d never do if you printed ”Amalia Bradshaw”,’ she chuckled, and was glad she had let Nan persuade her to participate in the show. It would at least keep her occupied while she was waiting for Alex Hamilton to clear his desk and spare her his time.

By the evening of the performance she was proficient in every word and mannerism of her part, and took equal pains with her appearance, emphasising the exotic slant of her eyes by skilful use of black eyeliner, and parting her hair in the centre so that it fell in a black satin curtain down either side of her face. Wow! She looked just like her great-grandmother.

The sketch she was in was the most successful one of the show, and as it came to an end many people in the audience called out to her in Thai as she accepted a vociferous ovation.

However, some of her pleasure ebbed when she saw Alex Hamilton sitting in the front row, vigorously applauding her. Their eyes met and he half inclined his head and raked her from head to toe as he continued clapping, the gesture truly revealing the sort of man he was! Poor Andrea! If this two-timing Lothario thought he had found another heart to break, he could go jump in a lake—and drown there while he was about it!

With a sigh of relief she watched the audience disperse for the Christmas party that was being held in an adjacent conference-room, and suddenly decided not to attend.

‘Where are you going?’ Nan stopped her halfway down the corridor, as Marly made for the powder-room to change out of her stage clothes.

‘Home,’ she replied. ‘I’m tired.’

‘And I’m Mickey Mouse! For heaven’s sake, this is your friend you’re trying to kid. What’s up? You were the star of the show and everyone will want to meet you.’

‘That’s what worries me. Did you see the way Alex Hamilton eyed me? As if I were a nut cutlet and he was a starving vegetarian!’

‘So what? You’ll have to meet him soon anyway. That’s why you’re here, remember?’

‘You have a nasty habit of being right,’ Marly sighed. ‘I suppose I’d better go change and join you.’

‘You look marvellous as you are!’

‘But—’

‘Come on, Marly, if we hang around any longer, the party will be over.’

Somewhat apprehensively, Marly followed her friend into the green and gold reception-room where the theatre party was being held. Not only were all the clerical and senior staff there, but their families too, and she was soon surrounded by an admiring throng, compliments falling thick around her.

‘You’re a natural actress...’

‘I’ve never laughed so much...’

‘You should be on the stage.’

‘You were marvellous...’

‘You’re also very beautiful,’ added a deep, resonant voice, and she looked up, startled, the smile on her lips freezing as she saw Alex Hamilton staring intently down at her.

Close to, he was even more devastating than when she had espied him in the lobby; his tawny, lion’s mane hair was flecked with gold where the sun had touched it, and his skin was the colour of pale honey, making his smoke-grey eyes even more remarkable.

‘I’m Alex Hamilton,’ he introduced himself. ‘I see from the programme that you are Marly.’

‘Yes,’ she managed to say, her mouth so dry she could barely twist her tongue around the word.

‘It’s a lovely name for a lovely young woman. And you played your part very amusingly; but I suppose it came naturally.’

‘Naturally?’

‘I assume you’ve met many Westerners who are as ignorant of your customs as the two actors were in your sketch.’

Heavens, she thought, he also thinks I’m Thai! Unable to stop herself, she smiled, and he smiled back. It riveted her eyes to his lips, which were beautifully shaped, the top one well curved, the lower one fuller and sensuous. How many other lips had they kissed? she wondered. How many lies had they told? How many women had he deceived, as he had Andrea?

Drawing herself up to her full height of five feet two inches, she was on the point of telling him exactly who she was, when he spoke again.

‘I think it’s important to understand the customs of the country one is living in, but sometimes it’s not easy to follow them.’

‘Are you thinking of anything in particular, Mr Hamilton?’

‘Very much so. Normally I’d have no hesitation in asking you to have dinner with me tonight, but since I don’t know whether your parents are strict on protocol, I can only suggest that you allow me to take you home and ask them if I may see you again.’

Open-mouthed, she stared at him, and he instantly misinterpreted it.

‘I’m sorry if I’m coming on too strong, but you’re the loveliest girl I’ve seen and I’m not letting you walk out of my life.’

Beyond his shoulder she glimpsed Nan mouthing words she could not understand, and she seized this as a means of escape.

‘Excuse me a moment, please. I have to give my friend a telephone number.’

‘I’ll only excuse you if you promise to come straight back,’ he said, and turned to watch her as she hurried across to Nan.

‘What were you trying to tell me?’ Marly asked as she reached her side.

‘I wanted to know if you needed rescuing.’

‘Every woman under the age of fifty needs rescuing from that man! Talk about charm.’ Marly lowered her voice, laughter trembling in it. ‘Believe it or not, he thinks I’m Thai. He wants me to have dinner with him but isn’t sure whether he has to ask my parents’ permission!’

Nan stifled a giggle. ‘That must be a first time for him, then.’

Marly nodded, then narrowed her eyes as a thought struck her. A man who had treated Andrea the way Alex Hamilton had clearly had little respect for women. Yet how deferentially he was behaving towards the unliberated girl he thought her to be. And not just deferential, but anxious to know her better. Was that because he believed her to be different from the girls he usually favoured? If so, he had just given her a golden opportunity to teach him a well deserved lesson.

Instead of enlightening him, she would continue with her act until he had fallen for her hook, line and sinker. Only then would she disclose her identity, and he would discover that a woman had finally given him his come-uppance, instead of the other way around!

‘What scheme are you cooking up?’ Nan enquired, recognising from old the mischievousness on Marly’s face.

Slanting a glance in Alex Hamilton’s direction, and seeing him still watching her, she hurriedly answered her friend’s question.

‘You’ll never be able to keep it up,’ Nan gasped.

‘Yes, I will. I can’t go into it now, there’s no time, but we’ll talk it over later.’

Leaving Nan still protesting, she glided back to the man waiting for her and gave him a respectful wai. ‘Thank you for being so patient.’

‘You’re worth waiting for,’ he responded, smoky eyes serious.

For answer, she lowered her head.

‘You work here obviously,’ he went on, ‘or you wouldn’t have been in the show, but I don’t remember seeing you around.’

‘Why should you? You employ so many people.’

‘I wouldn’t miss you.’

‘I only started a few days ago.’

‘That explains it, then. What do you do?’

‘I—I’m a—’

‘Never mind,’ he cut in, eyes ranging over her butterfly-wing cheong-sam and back to her face. ‘You look pale. If you’re tired, I’ll drive you home.’

‘I’m not tired,’ she replied softly. ‘If your dinner invitation is still open, I will be honoured to accept. You are an important man, and I know my parents would not object.’

‘That’s marvellous.’ Alex Hamilton could not quite hide his elation. ‘There are a few people I should say hello to first, then we’ll go.’

‘As you wish,’ she murmured.

‘Give me fifteen minutes.’

As he moved off, Nan rushed to her side. ‘You were fantastic! Carry on as you are, and you’ll have him eating out of your hand.’

‘If he doesn’t bite it off first!’

‘Are you kidding? From the way he was ogling you, it won’t take you long to bring him to his knees. It’s my bet he’ll proposition you before the year’s out.’

‘That’s still ten days away,’ Marly hissed, watching the tall, athletic figure circulate among the hotel guests and staff, every movement relaxed and unhurried, his smile sincere and unforced. ‘What do I do when I meet him as his computer expert after Christmas? Keep acting gentle and acquiescent?’

‘Obviously. That’s if you want to finish what you’ve started.’

‘Oh, I do. When I remember how dreadful Andrea looked... Yes, I will do it.’

‘He’s coming back. Good luck.’

Nan melted away, and Marly softened her features as she turned to face Alex.

Gently he took her elbow and steered her from the room and across the grey and blue carpeted lobby to the entrance, where a chauffeur stood holding open the back door of a silver-grey Mercedes.

Settling in the soft leather seat, she was all too aware of the man close beside her, the spicy scent of his aftershave prickling her nose, the warmth of his body seeming to permeate hers, even though he had made no move to touch her. Watch it, she warned herself. You’re supposed to be paying him back for the way he treated Andrea, not falling for him yourself!

‘We’re dining at the Shangri-la,’ he said. ‘Is that all right with you?’

‘Of course, Mr Hamilton. I’m happy to go wherever you wish to take me.’

He gave her a quick glance, as if not sure whether she was teasing, but her calm stare assured him otherwise, and he gave a little sigh of satisfaction.

‘Not Mr Hamilton, Marly, my name is Alex.’

‘I couldn’t call you that. You are my employer and it wouldn’t be seemly.’

‘But I’m asking you to do it.’

‘No, it is not the custom.’

‘I don’t believe I’m hearing this,’ he muttered.

‘I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.’ Putting her palms together, she lowered her head till her chin touched the tops of her fingers in a traditional wai. ‘I do not wish to make you angry, but—’

‘I’m not in the least angry. In fact, I think you’re very sweet.’

If only you knew, she thought, doing her best to look demure. ‘And I think you’re very nice, Mr Hamilton.’

‘I hope you’ll let me show you just how nice I can be,’ he said gruffly.

Beginning to enjoy herself, she gave a laugh, but made no reply.

‘We’ve arrived,’ he stated as their car eased up a ramp and came to a stop outside the entrance of the Shangri-la. Not waiting for the chauffeur, he opened his door and hurried round to help her out, cradling her hand in his as he did, and not releasing it.

She could not believe he normally acted this way with his girlfriends, and stifled a giggle at his oldfashioned behaviour.

‘May I have my hand back?’ she whispered. ‘It is not seemly for you to touch me in public.’

‘Sorry.’ He dropped it fast, but as they entered the vast reception area, milling with people, and a stout man toting a camera backed into her, he automatically cupped his hand under her elbow in a protective gesture, then gave another strangled ‘sorry’ and let it go.

‘In this instance it is quite seemly for you hold my arm, Mr Hamilton,’ Marly said, struggling hard not to laugh.

‘Then I’ll have to make sure we’re always in a crowd,’ he came back fast, ‘because I like the feel of your skin!’

Awarding him full marks for making the most of the situation, Marly glided along beside him. She had been out with many tall men, but there was something about this one that made her feel extra-tiny and helpless. Perhaps it was the aura of invincibility that emanated from him. The divine right of the arrogant male, she supposed, and as she remembered Andrea’s tear-stained face, her resolve to give him a taste of his own medicine hardened.

CHAPTER THREE

‘WHICH of the Shangri-la restaurants do you fancy going to?’ Alex Hamilton asked Marly. ‘They have several.’

‘I don’t know any of them. Thais rarely come here.’

Disconcerted, he stopped in his tracks. ‘Why is that? I’ve only been in Thailand a couple of months, and working flat out at the hotel most of the time, I’m still a stranger to the social scene. If there’s any reason why your countrymen don’t dine here, we can—’

‘Only because we prefer to go where there are fewer tourists.’

Unexpectedly he gave a rich, deep chuckle. ‘I’m not doing too well with you, am I? Perhaps we should go outside and begin again?’

About to laugh, she remembered the role she was playing, and said piously, ‘Please forgive me, Mr Hamilton, it was rude of me to be so frank.’

‘Not at all. I dislike pretence of any kind.’

Oh, he did, did he? Then how would he excuse his dishonesty where Andrea was concerned?

‘...if that suits you?’ he questioned.

Not having heard a word he had said, she nodded and followed him past a huge, perfume-drenched bank of flowers to a lift that took them down to the ground floor and the long, wide terrace that overlooked the lush gardens of the hotel, and the Chao Phraya river that bisected the city.

Small trees, festooned with hundreds of tiny silver lights, illumined a scene of fairy-tale splendour: candlelit tables, an enormous buffet, some twenty feet long, filled with assorted cold foods, a dozen or more barbecue carts, each with its chef cooking his own speciality, be it Tiger Bay prawns, lobsters, poultry or meats, and white-jacketed waiters staggering under trays laden with every kind of vegetable.

To Marly, it seemed there wasn’t an empty space anywhere, and she happily waited for Alex to be told there was no room for him. But it was not to be.

‘A moment, please, sir.’ The maître d’ himself came hurrying over. ‘We are arranging a table for you.’

As he spoke, two waiters were busy setting one up beneath a palm tree, and with a flourish he led them to it. As they sat down, a third waiter came forward with two glasses and a bottle of champagne in an ice-bucket.

‘With the compliments of the Shangri-la, Mr Hamilton,’ the maître d’ smiled, and bowed away.

‘Why are you known here?’ Marly asked. ‘You told me you’re a stranger in my city.’

‘I am. But my face isn’t. It’s been in your papers and magazines for weeks.’

‘Ah... Because of your hotel?’

‘Yes.’

‘It must make you feel good to be so important.’

He stiffened, as though wondering if she was being sarcastic, but she fixed him with a wide-eyed stare and he relaxed.

‘It’s the job that’s important, Marly, not me personally.’

‘But you are the job,’ she said with pretended naïveté. ‘You wouldn’t have it if the Riverside didn’t belong to your family.’

He choked on his drink and hurriedly set it down. ‘Hamilton Hotels may be a family concern, but we have a tough board of directors, and no one gets to be in a top position unless they’ve proved themselves capable of handling it.’

‘I think you’re extremely capable, Mr Hamilton.’

‘I can be gentle and caring too, if you’ll give me the chance.’

Wishing she could blush to order, Marly lowered her head and tried to look discomfited.

‘I’ve embarrassed you, haven’t I?’ he went on softly.

‘No, but you worry me.’

‘Why?’

Keeping her head low to hide the mischief in her eyes, she said, ‘Your staff call you a lady-killer.’

‘Do they, by God?’ His voice was sharp, and she recoiled from him as though nervous. ‘What do you think?’ he asked, softening his tone.

‘It isn’t seemly for me to comment on the behaviour of my employer.’

‘If you had anything nice to say, I think you’d find it very seemly,’ came his dry comment. ‘Which reminds me, you never did get to tell me what you do at the hotel.’

Here was the moment of truth—well, partial truth, Marly thought and, drawing a deep breath, took the bull by the horns—a singularly apt phrase in the circumstances! ‘I’m here to set up a software program for you.’

Astonishment held him silent. ‘You are?’ he said finally. ‘What’s happened to Miss Bradshaw?’

‘She was taken ill as she was leaving England, and 3S called and asked me to replace her.’

‘I can’t believe it.’

‘Don’t you think me capable?’ Marly questioned in her haughtiest manner.

‘No, not that. But you seem so young and innocent I can’t imagine you in such a high-powered job.’

‘I fail to see why. Children of twelve and fourteen can create software packages, and at thirty, in this profession, you are considered over the hill. I’m sure I can do the work as well as Miss Brigshade.’

‘Bradshaw,’ Alex Hamilton corrected automatically, ‘and I’m sure you can too. It’s just that you took me by surprise. Do you work for 3S or are you a freelance?’

‘I’m a freelance,’ Marly replied. ‘3S were put in touch with me by my friend Nan, who also works at your hotel. I live with her and her family.’

‘I see.’

Glad that he didn’t, she searched for a means of changing the subject. ‘I hope you won’t consider me rude, Mr Hamilton, but I’m very hungry.’

‘Good heavens! How remiss of me. I’m so interested in knowing more about you that I forgot about food. Do you want to order from the menu or try the buffet?’

‘The buffet, please.’ Rising, she glided towards the long table, Alex following on her heels. Here, the food was cold, each dish and tureen so wonderfully decorated that it could have been framed and hung on a wall. ‘Don’t you think it looks too good to eat, Mr Hamilton?’

‘I can’t tell. My eyes are blinded by you.’

‘Are you usually so complimentary to the women you take out?’

‘Yes. But until tonight, I’ve never meant it!’

Biting back the urge to tell him that this line was so old it had cobwebs hanging from it, she gave him a gentle smile instead, and he instantly smiled back. As if it were an actual radiance enveloping her, her body grew hot and her limbs trembled. Watch it, she warned herself. This man is dangerous and not to be taken seriously.

Quickly skirting the buffet, she headed for a barbecue cart serving an assortment of shellfish. She was careful not to look directly at Alex Hamilton, though a swift glance showed he was studying the food served by each cart, and she wondered if the same things would be featured on the Riverside menu before the week was out. Smiling at the thought, she watched him, noting how thick and dark his lashes were, and how the deep cleft in his firm chin saved it from hardness. As he bent towards the chef who was filling his plate with slivers of barbecued meats and stuffed chicken wings, a tawny lock of hair fell on his forehead, and she experienced a strong urge to touch it and see if it was as silky as it appeared.

Annoyed with herself, she picked up her plate and returned to their table, and as she did, common sense reasserted itself. It wasn’t surprising she was responding to Alex Hamilton’s blatant good looks. After all, dozens—maybe hundreds—of girls had already done the same, and in that respect she was no different. But where the difference lay was the manner in which she responded to the man himself. And since she despised his morals and was disgusted by his lack of principle, there was no fear of her falling for him.

Alex joined her, a waiter following with a tray stacked with food. Her eyes widened at the amount but she said nothing.

‘I noticed you only took a few Tiger Bay prawns,’ he commented, settling opposite her. ‘I wasn’t sure if well brought-up Thai ladies don’t consider it good form to eat too much in public, or whether you were too shy because you work for me, so I thought I’d tempt you with a few more dishes.’

She was touched by his thoughtfulness, until she realised it was part and parcel of his armoury for disarming his prey before going in for the kill.

‘How kind you are,’ she simpered. ‘And you were right.’

‘Which one was the reason?’

‘Both!’

‘A pity,’ he drawled. ‘That will make it doubly difficult for me to get to know you.’ He paused. ‘Difficult, but I hope not impossible.’

Hiding the thrill of triumph that shot through her, she began to eat. ‘My father says hope is one of the most important emotions a person can have.’

‘Your father sounds a man after my own heart. Does he live in the city?’

‘Not at present. He and my mother are in Dallas for a year. My father’s a lawyer with an oil company.’ At least that part of her story was true, which meant one lie less to remember.

‘So that’s why you’re living with Nan,’ Alex Hamilton said. ‘Wouldn’t you have preferred to live on your own?’

Did she detect a note of regret in his voice that his evening with her wasn’t going to end up in her bed? Hiding her amusement, she decided to give him a few other things to mull over.

‘Thai children rarely leave home until they marry—and not always then, if the parental house is large enough.’

‘Wouldn’t you prefer to have your own place?’

‘Why should I? I have no desire to have an affair, and living with my family is far more convenient.’

Startled grey eyes met hers. ‘For a shy young lady, you can be remarkably frank.’

‘We see nothing wrong in talking honestly about our feelings.’

‘Only talking?’

Deliberately she stared him full in the face. ‘I am a virgin, Mr Hamilton, if that is what you are asking.’

‘I—I—’ Flummoxed, he stopped, his heightened colour showing that again she had taken him by surprise.

‘When will you have time to discuss the software programs you want me to do?’ she asked before he could recover. ‘I’m bored doing nothing.’

‘If I’d known you were waiting for me,’ he replied, his wits returning, ‘I’d have seen you the instant I got back! Beats me why my secretary didn’t tell me Miss Bradshaw wasn’t able to come. I—’

‘I’d like to start earning my salary,’ Marly cut in, intent on showing him she was uninterested in further flattery. ‘I assume you’ll want the software in Thai as well as English?’

‘Yes, but concentrate on the English version first, so I can make sure it covers everything I want, before you start on the translation.’

‘I’ll bring in someone else to do that,’ she said quickly. ‘Your requirements will be complicated enough to require several programs, and a translator can start on one while I’m devising another.’ Suddenly aware she sounded too assured, Marly gave a nervous cough. ‘If that meets with your approval, of course?’

‘Everything you say meets with my approval, other than your refusal to use my first name.’ Spoon and fork poised to help himself to a succulent mix of chicken and baby aubergine, each one no bigger than a walnut, he gave her the full battery of his deep grey eyes. ‘Can’t you forget tradition and call me Alex? After all, I call you Marly.’

‘You’re my employer.’

‘Who wants to be your friend. Come on, say it,’ he cajoled.

Fluttering her lashes at him, she whispered his name.

‘There,’ he said, satisfied. ‘That wasn’t too painful, was it?’

‘No, Mr Ha—Alex.’ She tilted her head towards him. ‘I’ve never met an Alex before.’

‘And I’ve never met a Marly.’ He began to eat. ‘That bodes well for us.’

‘Why?’

‘Because we don’t have any preconceived associations with each other’s names. If you’d been called Sandra, I’d have had a problem. She was the first girl I fell in love with—I was fourteen at the time—and she broke my heart.’

‘You mean she turned you down?’

‘Worse. She called me fat and spotty!’

For the first time Marly’s laugh was genuine. ‘How long did it take you to recover?’

‘As long as it took me to become spotless and skinny!’ A well shaped hand, the fingers long and artistic, rubbed the side of his face. ‘I suppose that with your Thai passion for honesty you’d have said the same as she did?’

‘Never.’ Marly quickly slipped back into the role she was playing. ‘We are taught to be frank without being hurtful.’

‘Does that mean that when I ask to see you again you’ll turn me down politely?’