He wasn’t moving on yet.

‘Organise me a car to Sydney. I’ll fly from there.’

‘The strike’s Australia-wide.’

‘That’s impossible. I need to be in New York for Christmas.’

Why? There was enough space in her muddled thoughts to wonder what-or who-was waiting for him at home.

The gossip magazines said this man was a loner. He’d been an only child, and his parents were wealthy to the point of obscenity, long divorced and enmeshed in society living. As far as Meg knew, he never saw them. There’d been an actress on his arm last time he’d been in London but the tabloids had reported her broken heart at least three months ago. And it hadn’t been very broken, Meg thought wryly. She knew how much the woman had received during their short relationship- ‘Send this to Sarah… Settle Sarah’s hotel bill…’ and now Sarah had already moved on to the next high-status partner.

So who was waiting in New York?

‘I can’t get you to New York,’ she said, trying to stay calm. To tell it like it was.

‘You’ve tried everything?’

‘Yes, sir.’

He stared at her for a long moment and she could see his cool brain assessing the situation. He trusted her-he’d trusted her from the moment he’d hired her-and she could tell by his expression that already he was in Melbourne for Christmas and making the best of it.

‘I can work here,’ he said, angry but seemingly resigned. Frequent flyers knew that sometimes factors moved out of their control, and she wouldn’t be fired for this. ‘I’ll need to make some fast arrangements, though. We can use the time to sort the Berswood deal. That’s urgent enough.’

Deep breath. Just say it.