Free Legacy by Larissa Behrendt Page B

he should be finished with you by now,’ Carol quipped, knowing full well she was walking a fine line when it came to Tony’s healthy ego. She knew when to stop and softened. ‘You have a busy day ahead of you, Champ. Back-to-back meetings until five so I’ll just keep sending them down.’
    â€˜Okay. And Carol, make sure there are no unannounced visitors.’
    Rachel had taken her suit jacket off and Tony could see the tattoo that ran all around her arm in an intricate band. He hated tattoos. They were bad enough on men, let alone women. He had always told Simone that if she ever got one he would disinherit her. But at this moment Rachel looked sexy, fresh, and the tattoo didn’t matter. He leant with one arm on the architrave and sucked his stomach in.
    â€˜What’s up, beautiful?’ Tony asked, trying to sound casual.
    Rachel looked up. ‘Well, good morning,’ she smiled, leaning back in her chair and placing her arms casually above her head.
    â€˜Did you miss me?’ he asked.
    â€˜Nope. I’m getting sick of you already.’
    She said this with a laugh but Tony could only muster up the weakest of smiles. Her teasing made his shoulders tighten.
    â€˜I thought we could get some DVDs and take-away tonight,’ he said.
    â€˜Nice thought. But I’ve signed up to a lecture at the Law Society tonight.’
    â€˜Can’t you cancel? We haven’t spent an evening together for ages.’
    â€˜No,’ she laughed again. ‘We could meet later though.’
    Tony began to feel the prickles of agitation. ‘It will be too late.’
    He walked down to his own office and closed the door.
    It was not a rare thing that a beautiful woman would present herself as an opportunity. He had travelled a lot around New South Wales in his work as an activist and now in his role as Director of the Aboriginal Legal Service, giving talks and attending meetings. Women would often front up to him and tell him that they admired him or were moved by what he had said.
    It was hard to be unaffected by admiration, especially when he was so far away from the comforts of home – from Beth Ann – and had only a chilly, nondescript hotel room awaiting him. It was too easy to give in to the temptation of sleeping against the skin of someone who adored him, someone who looked up to him.
    His seductions would usually end in the faded florals of fibro motel rooms in sleepy country towns. Every so often a dalliance evolved into a romance that he would enjoy until the expectations upon him became too great. Then he would say: ‘There is no future for us. I told you that I would never leave my wife. You knew that from the start. You have to admit that I was honest with you from the beginning.’
    This speech he knew well. He could say it with tenderness, without revealing the resentment he felt when the excitement and fun of a tryst had transformed into something tiresome and difficult, something he needed to escape.
    Rachel was different. When she had started working at the Legal Service she had inevitably become the subject of much male banter (‘hot body’, ‘great legs’, ‘love to do her’ were the more polite jibes), especially at after-work drinking sessions. Instead of joining in, as he usually would have done, he found himself defending her, wanting to protect her. He would get angry at comments made about her that he would have found funny had they been made about anyone else. Once he even had to suppress the urge to thump John Franks and was now plotting to have him dismissed after he insinuated that he had known Rachel intimately.
    Tony had conspired to create projects that he could work on with Rachel and would find meetings they both had to attend. The more time they spent together, the more intrigued he became with her. She was more than just darkly beautiful. She had a sharp wit, a clear mind, a good sense of humour. She made him