He could see her swithering. ‘You don’t have to say anything,’ he added quickly. ‘Though anything you do say may be given in evidence…’
She nudged him hard on the arm, laughing.
‘It’s not him, no, but I should be arrested!’ she said, just as House of Pain told everyone to jump around and a crowd surfer who’d lost a shoe was passed precariously over the dancefloor before getting consumed into its centre like a multiheaded monster eating its prey. ‘For crimes against jobseekers!’
Jamie’s face must have told her he had no idea what she was on about. Clearly, she had no intention of talking about her break-up.
‘I had a job interview yesterday morning, and I was criminally bad. I’ve been having cringey flashbacks to it ever since!’
‘I find that hard to believe.’
‘Hah! They asked me about globalisation strategies and I talked about Pigeon Angus’s tractor.’
‘Uh, okay?’
‘I talked at length, like, for an unwarranted amount of time.’ Her voice strained over the music. ‘I’m pretty sure they only interviewed me because of Murray, anyway.’
‘Murray?’
‘My twin brother.’
Jamie’s brows lifted at this. ‘You’re a twin? Cool! How come I’ve never seen a brother round the place?’
‘He’s hardly ever here. He works for the charity that interviewed me. You know, sometimes I forget you’re not one of the locals with their noses in everyone’s business. Anyway, I felt like they were just doing him a favour.’
He laughed at the nosey thing, but there was that anxiousness in her eyes again. He wanted to fix it. ‘It’s OK to have someone that knows you vouching for you; it doesn’t make it nepotistic.’
‘You reckon? Either way, I blew it, banging on and on about nothing. They’ll give it to some cool twenty-year-old, or some guy’ll get it.’
‘What? Just any guy?’
‘You know that’s how things work, right? I won’t stand a chance if there’s even one mediocre bloke up for the same job.’
Jamie wasn’t so sure that could be true. Ally was amazing for a start. Any employer would be lucky to have her, but he daren’t mansplain sexist hiring practices to a woman. Instead he asked, ‘Did you really want the job?’
She held herself very still for a moment, thinking hard. ‘Truth is, I did want it, but I only figured that out as I was watching my one opportunity slipping through my fingers in front of Barbara, Andreas and V.’
He didn’t recognise any of those names. He’d remember meeting a V in Cairn Dhu. ‘So, not a local job then?’
‘Zurich,’ she told him flatly.
There seemed to be a moment where she was searching his face for a reaction. He couldn’t help feeling some kind of test that he hadn’t revised for was being sprung upon him. He fixed his face into a delighted smile.
‘Awesome,’ he said, even though something was constricting within him and he didn’t like the feeling. The thought of Ally McIntyre leaving for Zurich should not bother him this much. ‘Verry nice,’ he said, definitely overdoing it.
She swept her straw around the bottom of her glass. ‘Want another?’
He quickly chugged the last of his to keep up. ‘Sure.’
All the while, he knew two cocktails was probably not the best idea, but he didn’t care right at that moment. Why couldn’t he just have something easy and relaxed and happy for once? That’s what Karolyn had texted to tell him from the road as he was getting ready earlier. She’d told him to just kick back and enjoy himself for once, underlining the words, it’s allowed!
Ally paid for their drinks and they watched the barman shaking and pouring, salting and garnishing. Jamie was feeling more reckless by the minute. To hell with station protocols! Did they even apply to him as a Special Constable? And on a temporary posting at that? And was Ally actually involved with the jewellery robbery case any more? Even if they said they were keeping an eye open, his senior officers had plenty on their plates policing the illegal parking and congestion on the high street at school run times, and Pigeon Angus kept everyone on their toes with his latest firearm certificate infractions. Those jewels were long gone, and the robbers too, more than likely. Case gone cold. What was stopping him enjoying Ally’s company?
‘Just popping to the loo,’ she was shouting, hopping from her stool as an ancient Electric Six track blasted from the sound system, shouting, ‘Danger, High Voltage!’ at the clubbers.
If the song could be interpreted as a subliminal message for Jamie, he was determined not to pay it any attention. He was already resolved to make Ally happy if it was the last thing he did tonight.
‘Cheers,’ he told the barman as he lifted his fresh drink to his mouth. He was enjoying himself.
