White Tiger. Kylie Chan

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       CHAPTER SIX

      The next day Leo avoided me until he had to take Simone and me to lunch with my friends. Simone had wanted to come, and Leo was grudgingly forced to drive us so decided he might eat with us as well.

      We walked across the cracked pavement next to Queen’s Pier and Simone stopped. ‘Look, Leo, the Star Ferry!’

      The green and white oval-shaped Star Ferry that carried passengers the short hop between Central on Hong Kong Island and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon pulled into the pier nearby.

      ‘Don’t know why they don’t just build a bridge,’ Leo said. ‘With all the reclamation, it’s not so far across.’

      ‘They can’t,’ I said. ‘Fung shui. The harbour is the money flowing through Hong Kong. If they build a bridge, it’ll interrupt the flow.’

      ‘How much fung shui do you know?’

      ‘Absolutely none at all. My friend April told me that.’ Simone jiggled. ‘Daddy’s shui!’ I took her hand to lead her into City Hall. ‘Daddy’s water?’

      ‘Yep.’ She shook my hand free and ran ahead, then tripped over her feet and fell.

      I caught up with her and helped her up. ‘You “did a Simone” already. Now we have to wash your hands.’

      ‘You always wash my hands before we eat anyway, Emma.’

      ‘Don’t complain,’ Leo said. ‘If you wash your hands before you eat, you’ll never catch a nasty disease.’

      ‘Don’t be silly, Leo,’ she said. ‘You know we never get sick.’

      ‘Emma!’ Louise was standing at the top of the stairs and gesturing for us to hurry. ‘We have a table. Move!’

      We raced up the stairs to take the table before the receptionist called the next number in the queue. She led us into the enormous hall with its huge floor-to-ceiling picture windows overlooking the harbour and sat us at the round six-seater table.

      ‘Louise, April, this is Simone, and Leo, her bodyguard.’

      ‘I’m the driver, Emma,’ Leo said, quietly exasperated.

      ‘Yeah, sure you are,’ Louise said, eyeing him up and down. ‘Nice outfit, Leo.’

      As usual, Leo was dressed very well in a made-to-measure dark business suit. He stared at Louise in disbelief.

      ‘Don’t mind her – she’s Australian, like me,’ I said.

      ‘Is that supposed to make a difference?’ Leo said, sceptical.

      ‘All the difference in the world, mate, get used to it,’ Louise said. ‘Hello, Simone. How old are you?’

      ‘Four and a half.’

      ‘Only four? You look older than that,’ Louise said.

      Simone nodded, eyes wide and serious. ‘Everybody says that. I think it’s because Daddy’s so special.’

      ‘He’s special, is he?’ Louise said, then grinned knowingly at me.

      The white-jacketed waiter threw the bowls, spoons and chopsticks onto the table with a loud rattle.

      ‘What tea would you like?’ April said.

      ‘Sow mei,’ Louise and I said together.

      ‘You happy with that, Leo?’ I said.

      ‘I’m not here. Ignore me,’ Leo said, looking around at the other diners.

      ‘You’re too big to ignore, mate,’ Louise said before I could. ‘You’re here to eat too. If you want a beer or something, just say so.’

      ‘Not on the job,’ Leo said.

      April was distracted. ‘No trolleys anywhere,’ she complained.

      The waiter returned with a pot of tea and an extra pot of hot water.

      Louise reached into her handbag for a notebook. ‘Who paid last time?’

      ‘I did, and I’m winning this time,’ I said. I pulled out my own notebook. ‘I’ve collected some really good ones. Wait ’til you hear them.’

      Louise and I flipped the notebooks open.

      ‘Apple,’ she said.

      ‘Had that one before, it’s not new,’ I said. ‘Winsome.’

      ‘Buxom,’ she retorted.

      ‘Good СКАЧАТЬ