“What’s that?” Simon asks.
“Each player has a handicap of between minus two and ten. I’m at four, whereas Andrés is at eight.”
Simon beams at his boyfriend, obviously proud of his skill, as he should be. Andrés winks at him.
“Each team adds up their handicap, and matches usually require them to be within a range. Those with a lower score start thegame with goals on the board. It makes the game more balanced and fair.”
“That makes sense,” Simon says.
“What were you before?” Andrés asks Charley.
“I was a two, but this is good. I figured I’d have to start back at minus two. In fact, I wondered if you’d only asked me onto the team to offset Andrés’s score.” Charley laughs.
“Who says I didn’t?” I tease and he nudges my leg with his knee under the table. He doesn’t move it away again and I’m hyperaware of it for the rest of our lunch.
When we’ve finished everything put before us, because it’s too delicious to leave, Simon goes back to the kitchen and Andrés heads off back to the stables. I walk with Charley through to the offices and see a car pull up.
“That’ll be Oscar. You already know him and what’s already happened with the marketing, so will you sit in on this please?” Charley asks and I agree.
“Oscar, it’s good to see you again. I have to be honest, I had no idea you worked forRenownuntil Oliver mentioned it,” I say and shake his hand firmly. “This is Charley, the manager here.”
He offers Charley his hand and he shakes it. Oscar’s as tall and handsome as his brother, both dark-haired and with an olive complexion, a contrast to the blondness of me and Charley. He’s just a few years younger than Oliver, which makes him a couple of years younger than us. He’s also gay, a fact I do know, as he had a boyfriend with him at Olly and Immy’s wedding. His hand lingers far too long in Charley’s, and I see his eyes flick up and down checking him out before he smiles, his dark eyes crinklingat the corners. It makes my teeth clench and my hands curl into fists.
“How’s Heath?” I ask, forcing my jaw to work. His smile slips and he drops Charley’s hand abruptly, taking a step back.
“No idea. The arsehole cheated on me and I dumped him at the end of last year.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, and Oscar shrugs like it’s no big deal. What I’m more sorry about is that I wanted to remind him he had a boyfriend while he was making eyes at my . . . Charley, and all I’ve managed to do is make it known he’s single again.
“How are the horses?” I return the conversation to safe ground while Charley makes us all a coffee.
“Good, I’m heading over to Aachen in June for the big show there. With any luck I’ll be on the British team again.”
“Congratulations,” I say and mean it. Oscar’s a talented showjumper and deserves every success he has.
“Oh, that sounds cool, but does that mean you won’t have time to work with us?” Charley asks, handing us mugs and leading the way through to his office to start the meeting properly.
“Not at all. I’ve managed to fit in my showjumping round working for the magazine. But I feel stifled there, like I’ve learned everything I can. I know athletes in horse sports generally have a longer career than a lot of others, but I’d like to have something outside of it just in case anything happens before I have to retire. I’m wanting to set up my own marketing company, catering for equestrian and county lifestyle clients. It’s my background and where I have the most contacts. I’ve been thinking about it for the last few months but haven’t taken theplunge yet. If what I can offer you is acceptable, you’ll be my first client.”
I take him through what we have in place so far, and Charley tells him what we have planned. He even makes a few suggestions we hadn’t thought of, which could open up exposure in new areas. He shows us a portfolio of his work and it’s impressive. It’s clear he has a flair for design as well as an aptitude for marketing. It’s a productive hour. I think he’ll be good for the business and I can see Charley thinks so too.
“I think I have a good handle on what you want,” he says, closing his laptop. “You’ll want to get started as soon as possible, so how about I draw up a proposal and bring it over on Wednesday and we can discuss it then?”
“That’ll be great, thank you,” Charley says, rising ready to show him out. Again, when they shake hands it seems like Oscar holds Charley’s for longer, and gives him a warm smile which Charley responds to with one of his own. I stop the snarl that threatens to appear by clamping my teeth together.
“What do you think?” Charley turns to me as soon as Oscar’s car is out of sight.
“I think he’s talented and he’ll do a lot to help promote the centre.”
“I agree. I’m looking forward to seeing him again.” It doesn’t feel like he’s solely talking about the proposal, and a hollow pit forms in my stomach. The light seems to have gone out of the day, and I make an excuse that I have a meeting and return to the house early.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHARLEY
I don’t think I’ve ever been as tired or as happy in my life. As well as making sure everything is happening as it should for the opening weekend, I’ve been riding for at least two hours a day. Not only Arrow but a couple of Gabriel’s horses, Whisper and Jasmine, who I’ll be using for the friendly match on Saturday. In the evenings I’ve been going through the bar manager applications that the recruitment company has sent through and selected a few for interviews next Monday. By mid-week I’m needing two coffees before I can concentrate in the morning, but I know all the hard work will be worth it.
I feel drowsy after lunch, and the figures on the screen in front of me are starting to jump about when Oscar arrives.
