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He was their legal eagle. A useful source, but not a suitable replacement for his brother. It was starting to look like she’d flown a long way on the paper’s dime for nothing.
“My paper expects an interview with Will Parker. And I’ll remind you it’s an interview Parker Corporation requested. I understand Mr Parker is a busy man and his availability may have changed, but I am prepared to wait.” There were limits to how long she could wait, how long Mark and Gerry would let her dick around in Shanghai dancing attendance on Will Parker, but Spiderman didn’t know that.
“As I explained, it’s not a matter of you waiting.”
“You’re cancelling the interview?”
“I’m offering you a substitute. We’re obviously distressed about not being able to make Will available to you.”
Darcy studied Peter Parker. He had one long leg crossed over his knee, arms lying along the rests of the square-shaped chair he sat in. He didn’t look remotely distressed. He had five hundred dollar plus shoes on. He had an
office you could easily live in. What did he have to be distressed about?
“You understand cancelling the interview might inadvertently affect your company’s relationship with the paper.”
Peter had the gall to laugh. “That sounds awfully like a threat, Ms Campbell.”
So they were abandoning first names now. “It’s not a threat, Mr Parker. It would be unfortunate if you choose to take it as one.”
“I take it, Ms Campbell, what you’re telling me is, unless I produce Will you’ll write something negative.”
Spiderman got to his spider legs and went to his desk. He did something to the phone handset and Aileen’s voice said, “Yes, Pete.”
“Can you join us, please.” He sounded impatient now.
Darcy was on her feet as well. She was disappointed, she was annoyed, and she was already feeling the prickles from the screaming match that would no doubt occur with Gerry. No matter what the truth of this, Gerry would insist Parker cancelled because Darcy was a lightweight. He’d make it hard for Mark to disagree. Her big career break was turning into a big disaster.
She heard a door open; that would be Aileen brought in to placate her. She looked at the framed pictures on the wall of Peter’s office. A photograph of Peter with what looked like a Chinese basketball team, a couple of official looking certificates and an earthy-coloured Australian landscape.
The gears in her head ground. She crossed the room to take a closer look. The basketball team was the Sharks. The landscape was an Albert Namatjira, an original, and one of the certificates was from Oxford, Rhodes College.
Mother of God. It couldn’t be. But he was Peter Parker, he was Spiderman. It was a long shot but worth taking.
“Darcy, are you sure I can’t make you a coffee?” said Aileen, coming up on her shoulder. They were going to try to end this as friends. She didn’t want coffee, but she wanted time to think this through.
“Thank you, I’d love one now.”
Aileen went to the machine and Darcy turned to Peter standing by the window.
“You went to Oxford.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Quite an achievement being a Rhodes scholar.” Parker inclined his head an attempt at modesty that didn’t sit well on him. If her gamble paid off, he wouldn’t look so smug in a minute.
“Especially for a boy from Tara.”
Aileen dropped a saucer and Parker’s head jerked up. But he was clever, so he didn’t miss a beat.
“It’s not about where you’re born, Ms Campbell, but how hard you work.”
“Did you live in the shipping container all your childhood or just some of it?”
Aileen tried to suppress a gasp and Peter stepped towards her. Darcy pressed her advantage.
“It must have been very difficult to get this far.”
“Impressive research, Ms Campbell, but I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”
