When it came time to go, Steve passed around glasses of champagne before paying the complete bill.
“I can’t, I’m driving,” Lisa said, putting up her hand.
“One glass is okay, Lis,” he insisted, handing her the glass anyway.
“Now let’s drink to Sophie and Frank.” He raised his glass, and they all toasted the couple, making Sophie blush.
“To Sophie and Frank,” everyone said together.
“We must do this more often, team. I will pay,” Steve announced.
“I will drink to that,” Sophie said with a chuckle.
Leaving the restaurant, a photographer appeared from behind the bar, and the group posed for a photo. Steve made a point of standing next to Lisa. Then, slowly, everybody went their separate ways. Lisa had followed Steve from work, both parking in the underground garage at the end of Maximilian Street, opposite the Theatre of the State Opera. They had hardly swapped a word over dinner, and Steve was all business on the short walk. Only when Lisa stopped to look in the window of Louis Vuitton did he change.
“You deserve beautiful things.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Steve. But these beautiful things are out of my league.”
“They are not in your league, Lisa. You are a beautiful woman, and you should have beautiful things.”
Lisa knew she should be running in the direction of the car, but the champagne and a genuine need for a little affection made her stay.
“Steve, don’t be naughty; you know I’m married.”
“Of course, I do, and he is a very lucky man. Where is he, by the way? If you were mine, I would never leave you alone.”
He moved closer, invading her space. It felt dangerous, and at the same time, a little exciting. He was an extremely handsome man. His Bulgari aftershave filled her nose, and she had to admit that his Australian charm was difficult to resist.
“Come back to my place, just a nightcap,” he implored.
“No, that is not a good idea.” She made to break contact, but he caught her arm and went for the kiss.
It shouldn’t have surprised her, in retrospect, but surprise her it did. More surprising was that she found herself briefly kissing him back. Maybe it was his attitude towards her over the past two weeks. She loved a man’s attention, and although she had no desire to do anything about it, she had to admit to herself that Steve’s attention was very flattering.
Kissing him is wrong; what do you think you are doing? she chastised herself. If Michael ever found out, he would be devastated! On the other hand, she insisted to herself: It was only a kiss. Plus, Michael is partly to blame; he has treated me like shit for the past month. Her emotions swinging back and forth erratically, she instantly reprimanded herself again: It is no excuse.
Somehow, getting angry at Michael and his treatment of her helped her to stop feeling so bad for a minute, but she knew she had broken Michael’s trust.
“Whoa, look, Steve that was not a good idea, I’m sorry. Our relationship can never be anything more than work.”
“I know, I know, Lisa, but you can’t blame a guy for trying.” His boyish grin lightened the situation a little.
“I hope that this will not go any further?”
Now Steve looked hurt.
“Give me some credit, I am not about to tell anyone about this, Lisa. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I’m sorry, Steve. Goodnight.”
Lisa looked down at her feet in the hope the pavement would open up and swallow her. It didn’t; she would have to live with it. A deep breath and a forced smile, and she took off in the direction of the car, chastising herself as she went. She left Steve standing alone on the pavement. He watched her go, and then casually bent as if to tie a shoelace, looking over his shoulder. On the opposite side of the road, the photographer nodded before looking back at the camera to admire his work. The picture could not have been better. Her eyes were closed, and her arms were around Walker’s neck. They looked like a couple in love, kissing openly on a busy Munich street.
29
Heinz Hofmann was rarely scared of anything, but the thought of returning home to Jarvis’s wife filled him with a feeling he could not describe any other way. Jarvis had been making his life hell over the last two weeks. After the first incident, he had been forced to give orders that he should be restrained, were he to try to leave the club for any reason. That had happened on eight different occasions and put two guards in the hospital. Hofmann knew that Jarvis was now aware of his situation. He was also sure that Jarvis was in possession of his entire life history, at least as good as he could remember it himself. It infuriated Hofmann that his own flesh and blood could not understand and would not appreciate the opportunity he had been given. The Führer’s vision had been Hofmann’s life. It was a vision that had mobilised a nation—surely an IT manager from Yorkshire could be persuaded of its merits. Jarvis had become a constant presence, a shadow in the back of his mind, a misty figure in the room where he slept, watching him one moment and fighting him the next. Not since the speech in Marienplatz had he felt in control of this body. He had tried to make direct contact, submitting to Dr Ecker’s best effort at hypnotism in an attempt to reason with the man. He had hoped he may be able to communicate with him and persuade him of the cause. But Jarvis was having none of it. Since realising he could not escape Hofmann, he had taken to destroying Hofmann’s work. The job descriptions Hofmann had worked on all day for his new board members were gone in an instant. He was confined to the shadows to watch them go up in smoke. Hofmann was the one who must now adapt, learn the modern ways, use Jarvis’s knowledge to preserve his work in the future.
Fight fire with fire. If you want a fight, Jarvis, you will get one. I have been fighting all my life, on one level or another. You will capitulate or learn to regret it. Your wife should be perfect leverage.
Arriving at the Starnberg house, Hofmann was greeted by an enthusiastic Lisa.
“Darling, darling, I am so glad you are home!” Launching herself at him, she threw her arms around his neck, before kissing him passionately.
Hofmann caught her and, getting into the spirit, spun her around like a child.
“I am so sorry, my sweetie, it could not be helped. But I am back now.”
“That’s fine, let’s forget about it. Come in, I want to show you what I have done with the house.”
She rushed off, with Hofmann just a few short steps behind her. He could feel Jarvis prickle within him. An involuntary voyeur, bound to watch whatever show Hofmann decided to present him with. Hofmann smiled widely, allowing Lisa to believe the gesture was aimed at her. Jarvis knows differently, he thought.
Leading him into the house, she made a beeline for the stairs, taking them two at a time.
“Come on, darling. I want to christen every room in the house,” she called provocatively.
Hofmann stared at her up the stairs. He had not taken time to appreciate his new bride’s good looks. Watching her slim waist disappear onto the first-floor landing, he had to stop himself from rubbing his hands together.
I will fuck her, unless you submit to me! he shouted into the deepest recesses of his mind. Hofmann was not sure if he would get an answer, but it didn’t take long. His feet gave way, and he crashed to his knees on the hard marble steps. Gritting his teeth against the sharp pain in his shins, he continued on up the stairs.
You can’t stop me, you know that, but you can make it easier for her.
This time it felt as if his heart had briefly stopped as his ribcage contracted, robbing him of air as a sharp pain shot down his left arm.