Mendez's Mistress

She turned away, but now Rachel felt a twinge of impatience. ‘Oh, yes,’ she said tightly. ‘On the flight to Florida. In his private plane.’

If she’d had any doubts that Daisy knew what she was talking about they’d have been extinguished at that moment. Her daughter’s face suffused with colour, and she couldn’t have looked any more guilty if she’d tried.

‘He told you,’ she said lamely, and Rachel felt a disappointed hollowing in her stomach.

‘Unlike you,’ she said, regarding Daisy with cool eyes. ‘I assume your father informed you of the arrangement?’

‘Well, yes.’ Daisy hunched her shoulders, looking suddenly much younger than her years. ‘I’m sorry, Mum.’

Rachel shook her head. ‘And…what? You decided to keep it to yourself?’

‘Dad said you probably wouldn’t understand.’ She hesitated. ‘He said there was no need for you to know.’

‘Oh, Daisy!’

‘I know.’ Daisy bit into her lower lip. ‘But, well, I didn’t think it was that important.’

‘So why didn’t you tell me anyway?’

Daisy shrugged.

‘Because you knew how I’d react,’ Rachel answered for her. ‘Really, Daisy, I thought we were always honest with one another.’

‘We are.’

‘Except when your father asks you not to be, apparently,’ declared Rachel tersely, aware she was breaking her own rules about not slagging off Steve to his daughter. ‘Oh, well, it’s done now. But I have to tell you, it’s something I need to think about and I’ve told Mr Mendez the same.’

Daisy gasped now. ‘You mean you’ve implied you might not agree to my going with him?’

Rachel refused to feel cowed. ‘I’ve said I’ll ring him after I’ve spoken with you.’ She paused, and then added defensively, ‘What did you expect me to say, Daisy? That I’ve got no objections to you flying for—what?—twelve hours in a plane with a man I hardly know?’

‘Daddy says it’s about nine hours, actually.’

‘Well nine hours, then.’ Rachel felt angry again. ‘Oh, yes, your father knew what he was doing when he asked you not to tell me what was going on.’

Daisy’s lips pursed. ‘It’s not like Mr Mendez is a—a pervert or something.’

‘All right. I’ll admit he seems respectable enough…’

‘Respectable!’ Daisy scoffed.

‘But I should have been given the full story, not just your father’s edited version.’

‘I know.’ Daisy sighed. ‘I tried to tell him that. Like, in my emails. But you know what he’s like.’

Not any more, mused Rachel, aware of a surprising wave of relief at the thought. Suddenly the memory of her ex-husband seemed distant and indistinct, usurped by the image of a man whose raw sexuality had assaulted her senses in a way Steve never had.

Not wanting Daisy to detect what she was thinking and attribute any of it to her father, Rachel drew a deep breath and opened the door of the fridge. ‘Anyway,’ she said, ‘I’ve said I’ll think about it, and I will. Now, what would you like for lunch? I have to warn you, I expected you to have lunch at Grandma’s, so I don’t have anything special to offer you.’

Daisy seemed anxious now. But not about her lunch. ‘You’re not thinking of changing your mind, are you, Mum?’ she asked, and Rachel wondered how sincere her daughter’s offer not to go to Florida had really been. ‘I mean, you liked him, didn’t you?’

‘Who?’

‘Mr Mendez.’

Rachel shrugged. ‘He seemed very nice.’ And how insincere was that? ‘But that has nothing to do with it.’

Daisy was looking really worried, and despite her resentment towards Steve for putting her in this situation, Rachel felt a reluctant surge of sympathy for her. She was only thirteen, after all, and she didn’t deserve to suffer because of their marital politics.

‘Just leave it for now,’ she said, taking a carton of eggs out of the fridge to avoid looking at her daughter. ‘How about pancakes? Or would you prefer take-out?’

The subject was dropped but not forgotten. It was only four days until Daisy was due to leave for Florida, and Rachel knew she couldn’t delay indefinitely.

After lunch, Daisy disappeared up to her room and Rachel wondered if she was emailing her father with the latest developments. She spent the afternoon expecting an irate email from her ex-husband, but when she checked her mail before closing the computer there were only two messages: one from a friend in London and the other from her agent.

Supper was not a comfortable meal. Rachel opened a bottle of red wine that she’d been saving for a special occasion—but with Daisy only pushing her pasta round her plate, giving her mother soulful looks every time their eyes met, the effort was wasted.

Eventually, after blocking every opening her mother tried to make, Daisy said, ‘How’s your book going?’ and Rachel was so taken aback she could hardly think of a response. Daisy had never shown any interest in her writing before, regarding it in much the same light as any child regarded a parent’s occupation.

‘Um—it’s going okay,’ she said at last, getting up to pour herself another glass of Merlot. ‘I expect I’ll get it finished while you’re away.’

‘So I am going, then?’ Daisy pounced on the admission.

‘I expect so.’ Rachel wished she hadn’t brought the subject up again.

‘Oh, good.’ Daisy leant forward and attacked her plate with renewed enthusiasm. ‘I knew you wouldn’t really stop me from going.’

Rachel shook her head, but she didn’t deny it. How could she? But she did intend to speak to her ex-husband about the arrangements as soon as Daisy was asleep.

She managed to catch Steve before he went out for the evening. He was predictably miffed at receiving a call from his ex-wife at home. Any communication between them—infrequent though it was—was usually conducted during office hours, and he was even more annoyed when he heard why Rachel wanted to speak to him.

‘Oh, for pity’s sake, Rache!’ he exclaimed, using the abbreviation of her name that she’d never liked. ‘What’s your problem? I’d have thought you’d be pleased she wasn’t having to travel in an economy seat. Besides, Mendez is a great guy. I don’t know what kind of creeps you’ve been dating since you and I split, but take my word for it, you’ve got nothing to worry about from him.’

Rachel took a deep breath, pressing her lips together for a moment to prevent the angry retort she wanted to make. Then she said stiffly, ‘Very well. But I wish you’d contacted me before making different arrangements.’

‘Yeah, right.’ Steve was sardonic. ‘Why do you think I—?’ He broke off and another feminine voice could be heard in the background. ‘I know, I know. I’m coming, baby,’ he said in an aside, and then, his tone sharpening, ‘So, when Mendez gets in touch with you, you won’t put up any objections, right?’

‘When he…?’ Rachel licked her lips. ‘Well, as a matter of fact, he’s already been in touch.’

‘He has?’ Steve was wary.

‘Yes.’ Rachel hesitated. ‘He came to the house today.’

Steve swore to himself, and once again Rachel heard that other voice, which must have been Lauren’s, making some kind of protest. ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,’ he said again, his tone much less indulgent now. There was another brief exchange and then he addressed himself to Rachel again. ‘Don’t tell me you let Mendez know how you felt? Damn it, Rache, the man owns the company!’

Rachel stifled a groan. Until that moment, she’d been assuring herself that it had to be Joe Mendez’s father who was the real power behind Mendez Macrosystems, but now she was forced to revise her opinion.

‘I—I may have done,’ she allowed in a low voice, and Steve swore again.