He stalked out of the room.
“What’s wrong with him?” Adam asked. “He’s like a bear with a sore head.”
Udo watched the door close. “God knows. What I can say is he’ll take it out on me. Whatever it is.”
Adam’s house was huge. Part of it looked very old too. Udo had expected something modern. Footballers didn’t usually go for restoration projects. They wanted everything sparkling and new.
He parked next to the others. As they all got out of their respective cars, they examined Udo’s.
“Nice wheels, Holtmann,” Goran said. “They fit right in.”
Udo appreciated the kind gesture. Goran drove a Bentley, which shone in the sunlight next to Ewen’s Ferrari. Ingvar’s Range Rover came next. Adam’s Bugatti completed the line. Poor Colin hadn’t passed his test yet.
“I’ll be upgrading soon,” Udo replied. “I didn’t need a car in London and I wanted to make sure I wanted to…well you know, put roots down.”
They walked to the door.
“And do you?” Goran asked.
“Yeah, I reckon so.”
“I’m glad,” Goran said. “This is a decent team and they treat us well.”
Before Udo responded, the door was flung open by a grinning Adam.
“Gentlemen,” he said. “Come on in.”
He led them into a large hall with wood-lined panels. Goran obviously knew his way around. He opened a door to reveal a cupboard for coats and hung his up.
“Udo?”
Udo took off his leather jacket and handed it to Goran.
“It’s his second home,” Adam explained to Udo.
“He chose well. This place is gorgeous.”
“Thanks. It was a shell when I bought it. The lads called me fucking crazy.”
“I can confirm we did,” Goran said.
Adam stuck his tongue out at him. They had a bond that Udo had never had with other players. He’d always held something back.
“Took three years,” Adam continued. “So worth it.”
He led Udo into a vast lounge area with floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Instead of doing one big extension, they built all over the original. This is the first new bit.”
The modernity of the lounge didn’t clash at all. It had been sowell done it complemented the older parts of the house. The view of the rolling gardens gave the impression of sanctuary.
“Wow,” Udo said.
“Come through.”
They walked into another room that was clearly an annex. There they found Ewen and Ingvar.
The room was the man-cave to end all man-caves. Adam had arcade machines, darts and what looked like a poker table in the back. Colin was frantically playing pinball.
