Love is the New Black Read online

  ‘You look good, Dad,’ Mason said, with a relieved smile.

  ‘Well, I guess I’ve been shocked back into the land of the living,’ Patrick replied. He strode to the lounge room and motioned for Mason to sit down.

  ‘There’s been a bit of drama at the Aspire headquarters,’ he said. ‘It turns out, we’ve caught a thief.’

  ‘Lucy?’ Mason asked.

  ‘No. Lucy was the detective on this one,’ Patrick replied. Even though the news wasn’t good, Mason had the distinct sense that his dad was enjoying being back on deck.

  ‘So, it happened like this,’ Patrick continued. ‘Rose got a call from the alarm company last night for an out-of-hours open. When she got there to check things out, she saw Vivian’s car pull out from the car park. She supposed Vivian had forgotten something, or had some urgent work to do. But since things had gone missing from the fashion cupboard lately, she wasn’t comfortable about the whole thing.’

  Mason nodded and his father continued animatedly. ‘So she called Vivian’s assistant, Lucy someone. Turns out that Lucy had her own suspicions, and she’d set up a video camera in there.’

  ‘That’s pretty enterprising,’ Mason said.

  Patrick got up and turned on the TV. Onto the screen flickered an image of the fashion cupboard, with Vivian striding in.

  She obviously knew exactly what she was after. Mason watched as she rifled through the racks. When she exited, it was with a ten thousand-dollar Givenchy gown.

  ‘Jesus,’ Mason said. ‘She’s been pointing the finger at Lucy. And I was pretty close to accepting that was the case, despite Rose having one of her feelings that it wasn’t right.’

  Patrick switched off the TV. ‘Since you were in Perth, Rose and Lucy came over here to tell me in person. And, son, you gotta know by now that Rose’s feelings are ninety-nine per cent on the mark.’

  Mason tilted his head. ‘What would we do without Rose?’ he said gratefully.

  ‘Lucy’s a good egg, too,’ replied Patrick. ‘It turns out that Vivian Jacobson is a thief in more ways than one. Lucy ended up telling me that Vivian also took the credit for an article by some junior in their office, and passed it off as her own. Piper something?’

  Mason braced himself at the mention of her name. Vivian may have been a thief, but she was not an idiot. The black leather-and-lace Givenchy gown she had stolen was hugely valuable, as were most of the other items that had gone ‘missing’. Piper obviously had talent if Vivian wanted to steal her work. Talent stacked on instinct stacked on wit stacked on charm stacked on …

  ‘So, Mason, I guess I’ve got a busy Monday morning coming up,’ Patrick said, thankfully interrupting the thoughts in Mason’s head. ‘A sacking and a reshuffle are in order.’

  ‘I guess we have,’ Mason agreed, but already he knew what his father was getting at.

  ‘Not we, Mason,’ Patrick corrected. ‘You’ve done enough. You’ve done an excellent job getting this company back on its feet, and I’m so proud you.’ He clapped his hand on his son’s shoulder. ‘You’ve always looked out for me. But now you need to get on with your own life. I’ll be fine.’

  Mason tilted his head to the side. ‘So, how are you feeling about all the Abigail stuff?’

  ‘Abigail who?’ said Patrick wryly. And though there was still sadness, the light in his eyes was stable.

  Mason was glad he’d given Emmanuel Prentice his CV. Manny was very well connected, and his information would be good. Now, he would just wait and see what happened with Oracle. At least it felt like some things were on the move. ‘Welcome back, Dad.’

  When Mason got to The Texan, security guards whisked him through the VIP entrance, past the paparazzi and people queuing up to get inside the club. He was delivered to Kara who met him with a beaming smile and hands behind her back, like she was hiding something.

  ‘I’m so glad you could come, Mase,’ she said, planting a kiss on his cheek and pulling him into a corner. From behind her back, Kara produced the latest Who magazine, open to a double-page spread.

  Mason looked at the pictures of Kara and Laurie. The lovebirds in the lounge room. The lovebirds by the pool. Not a terribly original shoot, but it definitely did the job. Mason read aloud from the article.

  Sapphic Style

  Kara Kingston has never been one to do things by halves.

  Coming out publicly in an exclusive with Who, Kara tells of her love for DJ Laurie Anderson and of the home they share.

  ‘I’ve been doing battle with myself,’ Kara confides. ‘With the unconditional support and forward-thinking of my agent, Anita Barnes, I finally feel like I can expose my true identity.’

  Exposing her true identity looks good on Kara Kingston. Today, she’s wearing a white halter-neck Prada dress that screams casual chic. Her dark hair is cropped short to highlight her famous cheekbones. Sitting in the lounge room, which boasts an eclectic mix of sharply angled modular furniture, white tiles and Laurie’s DJ equipment, her smile is dazzling. As Laurie enters the room, the wattage rises even higher.

  ‘I hope my fans will be able to accept me and to help celebrate,’ Kara adds.

  Changing into a silver string Hermes bikini and a flowing toga to walk pensively around her pool, Kara Kingston is pure goddess. Only now does this reporter realise that she’s more beautiful today, in the flesh, than even as an airbrushed cover girl of Sports Illustrated.

  It must be love.

  Whatever it is, Kara’s fans will love it.

  Mason gave Kara a hug.

  ‘Well, that’s great, oh goddess, with a supportive, forward-thinking agent,’ he teased.

  Kara rolled up the magazine and flicked him on the arm with it.

  ‘You’re officially off the hook, Mase,’ she said. ‘So, whatcha gonna do with that?’

  Everything was bigger and better in The Texan. Kara led Mason through throngs of people on the vast dance floor as Larry took his post by the bar, surveying the room. Many of the partiers were sipping the club’s famous cocktail, Texas Tea, through elongated straws that wound through giant plastic bubble glasses. A light show played around the space, blinking and spilling colour everywhere as the crowd moved to the music. Laurie was set up with her decks on stage, a giant, floor-to-ceiling lava lamp bubbled green and gold behind her.

  ‘Isn’t Laurie just the best?’ Kara yelled into Mason’s ear.

  Mason nodded. It had been a long time since he’d seen her so happy. He’d witnessed quite a few arguments between Kara and Laurie, but every one of them was to do with the same thing. Now that Kara was out, there was absolutely no reason to argue anymore. He watched as Kara took a sip of her clear drink.

  ‘Water,’ Kara said, putting the glass under Mason’s nose for a smell test. ‘It’s this new fad Laurie introduced me to.’

  Mason smiled. Sobriety looked good on Kara.

  ‘It’s so great to see you like this,’ Mason yelled, but his attempt to communicate with Kara was lost in the swell of music. Then, suddenly, he was grabbed by both arms.

  ‘Mason Wakefield. Now I’m really glad I came here tonight.’ The dark-haired beauty on his right dug her fingers into Mason’s arms. ‘Obviously, I do get asked to loads of events. People are always hassling me. It’s all, Xena, please come here, Xena, please go there. But tonight, I chose to come to The Texan.’

  Xena was a walking self-marketing machine. The way she mentioned her name so often was clearly designed to make it stick in his mind. And it was sticking, but probably not in the way she’d wanted it to. Mason tried to back away, but he was sandwiched by another very similar-looking girl.

  ‘What other offers did you have?’ the other girl asked.

  ‘So, obviously you guys aren’t together anymore,’ Xena ignored her, patting Mason’s arm suggestively. ‘I saw the Who article today.’

  Kara’s smirk was evil. ‘No, ladies, he’s all yours.’

  Mason glared at her.

  ‘Actually,’ Kara relented, taking pity as the girls
pawed Mason like he was a piece of meat, ‘I’m going to borrow him for a little while. But he’ll definitely be free later.’

  One of the girls took out her mobile phone. Within seconds, she had taken several photos of herself and Mason.

  ‘Come back soon, Mason,’ the girls said in unison as Kara pulled him up some stairs beside the stage.

  Mason breathed a sigh of relief as he escaped their clutches. ‘Jesus, do I need a bodyguard?’ he joked as they reached a booth up above the stage. It was much quieter there. Just Kara and a few friends standing around or lounging on padded velvet couches. A waiter poured Moet into tall crystal glasses and Mason took a long, cool sip.

  ‘Mason, this is Georgie,’ Kara said.

  ‘Hi Georgie, how do you know Kara?’ he began politely.

  ‘Oh, I met Kara on the Bojangles shoot and …’ Mason nodded, pretending to listen as Georgie continued talking. But he wasn’t listening at all. Because across the room, there was Piper.

  If he didn’t need to be there for Kara, he would have walked straight out of there. Or maybe he would have stopped to give Piper a serve. He’d been told several times that he could be harsh. Well, he’d like to be a little bit harsh with Piper Bancroft. He wasn’t going to be anyone’s mistake.

  Even if that someone made his heart race and every nerve jump to the surface of his skin.

  Mason took a deep breath to calm himself. Christ, what was wrong with him? Obviously Piper didn’t give a flying fuck about what had happened between them. For her, it was just a misplaced snog at a work function. There was no point being angry with her because she didn’t feel the same as he felt. But there it was. Anger.

  Anger mixed with lust or love or whatever the fuck is going on.

  She was wearing black silk pants and a dusty-pink beaded singlet that hugged her breasts. Her hair was swept up in a ponytail.

  With her was a tall, surfie-looking guy with shaggy blonde hair. He looked like he’d been recently scrubbed and forced into a white shirt and black pants.

  The boyfriend.

  Mason shook his head. It was good for him to actually see the boyfriend. To see clear evidence that Piper Bancroft was a cheat. He tried to tell himself that she wasn’t worth all the shit he was putting himself through, but it was sadness, more than anything else, that he felt.

  Mason gave Piper a quick dismissive nod. He turned back to Georgie, feeling the thumping music beat in time with the thud of his heart.

  Then from below came the DJ’s voice. ‘As DJ at The Texan, sometimes I get to shamelessly promote the songs that resonate for me and who I play them for. Tonight …’ there was a pause as Laurie collected herself, ‘I would like to dedicate a song to my lover and my best friend.’ She waited. A hush came over the audience.

  ‘Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place,’ she said, the same words Kara had used with Anita Barnes. ‘Kara Kingston … here’s to you. Here’s to us.’ As soon as she said that, the bubbling lava lamp changed from green to red. Liquid red love hearts floated around, floor to ceiling. Kara leant over the balcony, her glass raised. The crowd clapped and cheered as a song pumped into the air.

  Despite himself, Mason looked over at Piper.

  She was looking right at him. ‘I’m sorry,’ she mouthed.

  Mason ripped his eyes away. He sat on one of the couches and tried to find his feelings as Georgie chattered.

  ‘Are you okay, Mase? You look kind of shaken,’ Kara said, a little later, coming to sit next to Mason on the couch. Georgie had found someone else to chat with.

  Piper had gone to dance, leaving her jacket on the back of a seat. Her boyfriend was still there. Mason watched him refuse an offer of champagne from the waiter and ask her for a beer.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Mason lied.

  But Kara was having none of it. ‘You seemed fine until …’ she lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Mason, you seemed fine until you caught sight of Piper. Oh my god. You’re gone, aren’t you, Wakefield?’ she said, triumphant. ‘Smitten.’

  ‘I never said that,’ Mason protested.

  ‘You didn’t need to,’ Kara whispered. ‘Poor Mase. And she’s got a boyfriend. That sucks.’

  ‘Okay, I do like her,’ Mason conceded. ‘But it’s just a flesh wound.’

  Kara smiled, which was what Mason had wanted from the Monty Python joke. She was floating high on the first show of public approval, on the freedom of finally being herself. Mason wasn’t going to ruin that for her, no matter how he felt.

  ‘Okay,’ Kara continued, ‘but I want to talk to you about this later.’

  Mason was glad when Kara was pulled away by a well-wisher. A moment alone was just what he needed.

  Then Piper’s boyfriend sat next to him on the couch. He spread his legs wide. ‘I’m Dylan,’ he said.

  His handshake was firm, with hands calloused by manual labour. Hands that had touched Piper Bancroft. Mason felt like a wild animal, pretending to be tame.

  ‘Can you believe that about Kara Kingston?’ the boyfriend continued, shaking his head. ‘I mean, it’s pretty full-on. Her and that DJ, hey? Dunno if it’s cool or a waste. Kind of depends how you think about it.’

  Mason had the feeling that Dylan was thinking about it. Right then. ‘Yes, well, each to their own,’ he replied coldly.

  ‘Yeah, true that,’ Dylan said, ignoring the vibe Mason put out. He took his phone out of his pocket and seemed to commandeer even more space on the couch.

  Mason shifted a little further away. As he glanced sideways, he noticed there was a photo on Dylan’s screen. From where he sat, it looked like it was of a girl on a beach at night. Flames from a bonfire lit the foreground.

  Mason watched as Dylan gave it a quick glance and erased it. He seemed keen to do it properly, checking twice that the image was gone. Then he shoved the phone back in his pocket. Mason could have sworn that he looked guilty.

  ‘Dylan. OMG. How good was last night?’

  Mason turned to see Xena and her friend standing on the top stair of the booth.

  ‘Two hot guys on one couch,’ Xena exclaimed. Then she reduced her voice to a hoarse whisper. ‘Wanna come and have a line, boys? Dylan, you’ll love it. It’s the same stuff as last night,’ she added sexily. Obviously they’d all been partying the night before. And maybe that was what Piper Bancroft was, deep down, despite her intelligence. A party girl. A random kisser.

  Mason shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was to party with those girls and Dylan.

  But Dylan looked like he was seriously considering the offer. ‘Hey, mate,’ he said to Mason, ‘I think Piper’s dancing, but if she comes back, can you just tell her I’ll be ten minutes?’

  Mason shrugged, bristling at being called Dylan’s mate. It seemed like he was being asked to leave out the detail of where Dylan was going to be for that ten minutes and who he was going to be with.

  Dylan took the shrug as agreement, and soon the girls flanked him and led him down the stairs.

  As soon as they’d gone, Mason felt something vibrate on the couch next to him. Dylan’s phone. There was no-one else up in the loft at the moment, so Mason picked it up. He guessed he’d have to go and find Dylan before he left the club. It wouldn’t be hard, since he’d most likely be in the toilets.

  ‘Mason?’ Piper stood at the top of the stairs. Her hair was tousled and her face flushed from dancing. She looked gorgeous. His eyes were locked on her as she walked towards him.

  Mason stood up. ‘Your boyfriend wanted me to tell you he’ll be back in ten minutes,’ he said. Despite his intentions of keeping himself controlled, he couldn’t keep the tremor of emotion from his voice.

  He walked past Piper, over to the stairs. He had to get out of there. Now. But there was her hand. On his arm. He turned around.

  ‘I wanted to tell you in person that I’m sorry,’ Piper breathed. ‘I need to explain. Well, as much as I can explain.’ She paused. ‘Dylan and I have been going out for quite a while. We’ve alw
ays been faithful to each other. What happened with you … well … that wasn’t the way I act. It was like I couldn’t help it. That’s what’s so weird.’ She faltered, obviously trying to say something that might make sense. To herself and to him. ‘I just … I’m just … God. It’s really confusing.’ Her words floated in the space between them.

  It was like she couldn’t help it. The lump of anger inside Mason’s chest melted. In a way, it was harder without it. At least the anger had provided a bit of protection; now, he couldn’t help drinking in the sight of her.

  ‘Dylan has forgiven me,’ Piper said softly. ‘Or, he’s in the process of forgiving me. It won’t be easy. He didn’t even come home last night, but I suppose that’s part of the process. Anyway, I just needed the time to think about what’s gone on. How I’ve hurt him.’

  Mason bit his lip. All the resistance he’d been able to summon was gone now. Piper hadn’t been out partying with those models and her boyfriend last night. She’d been reflecting on what had happened between them.

  God, he’d never stopped reflecting on that. He remembered the taste of her. And he wanted her, so badly it hurt.

  He thought of the photo on Dylan’s phone. Thought of Dylan, down there right now snorting coke with Xena and her friend. But this was Piper’s call. It didn’t matter if their kiss had been perfect. It didn’t matter that he’d felt his whole body responding to her. Piper had chosen Dylan.

  Now, Mason had to get away from her. And stay away. There were people coming up the stairs now. Piper looked even more conflicted than before. But Mason didn’t want to talk anymore.

  It was time to walk away. To get on with his own life, without the magazine. Without Piper Bancroft.

  He leant in close to her, so he could whisper in her ear, and breathe her in, one last time. ‘It’s okay, Piper,’ he murmured. ‘Whatever it was between us, it’s over.’ Already, in his mind, he was out the door of this stupid club.