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“Yeah. We’ve always been close, and she was frightened, so I told her I’d be there when the baby was born. It was pretty amazing.”
“That was good of you, James. Not every man would have done that.”
I think of how jealous Cassie was of Maddie, and how much she hated that I went over to see her so often. It’s refreshing to have someone understand how important our relationship is. “I’ve helped her as much as I can, but she’s struggling. I’m trying to get her to move in with me, as it would be so much easier than having to drive over to Lyttelton all the time.” I sigh. “Anyway, that’s my sorry story.”
“I’m glad you told me.”
“And I’m glad we can still be friends. And now work colleagues!”
“I really appreciate that,” she says. “I can’t tell you how much.”
“It’s the least I can do. Now, come on, shall we get back to the party? Hopefully you’ll be able to enjoy it a bit more now you know you have a job for a few weeks, anyway.”
Chapter Eight
Aroha
The party is in full swing when we return to the terrace. James smiles and touches my upper arm in an affectionate gesture before leaving me with the girls and walking over to where Damon is talking to Saxon at the bar. I watch him go, my stomach a washing machine of conflicting emotions.
“You okay?” It’s Missie, with Alex in tow, both of whom are looking at me with concern.
“Yes, fine.” I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I was just talking to James. He… um… apologized for the other night.”
“Good man,” Alex says.
I blow out a breath. “Um… Alex, he told me he’d talk to you about this, but I wanted to mention something.”
Missie smiles. “I’m just going to get a drink. I’ll be back in a minute.” She walks away to the makeshift bar they’ve erected to one side.
Alex gives me a querying look.
“Can I tell you something in confidence?” I ask.
“Of course.”
“I found out last week that my father’s being made redundant.”
Alex’s eyebrows rise. “Where does your dad work?”
“South Island Meats.”
“Ah, I heard about the layoffs. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“That’s not the worst bit—tonight I discovered the beauty salon where I work has also closed.”
His brow furrows. “Jesus. I’m so sorry.”
“I… um… was a bit upset when I bumped into James, and I told him about it. And he’s offered me a temporary job helping him prepare for his keynote speech in Sydney until I can find something else.”
He nods. “That’s a good idea.”
“It was very kind of him, but the thing is that I’m not an office worker—I don’t know the first thing about computers.”
“I’m sure he took that into account.”
It’s a very Alex thing to say. “But he’s offered me a ridiculous amount of money, and I just wanted to say to you that I don’t expect you to pay it. I’m only worth minimum wage.”
He fixes me with an Alex stare. “Well, first of all, minimum wage isn’t a representation of a person’s worth—it was created to ensure that workers are paid at least that amount for their time.”
