“It’s more than people like you deserve,” he sneers.
“People like me?” I ask as pure hatred takes over his face. But it’s not all for me. I can see it now, he’s fucking homophobic and hates that side of himself. He can’t come to terms with the fact that he might find men attractive. All the hatred andbullying towards me isn’t just because I rejected him, it’s what I represent. He’s directing everything he hates about himself towards me. Now I can see it, some of the fear and dread drops away. I’ve had enough.
“Are you talking about queer people? You want to try looking in the mirror sometime.”
His face goes an angry red and the veins in his neck pop out.
“I am nothing like you,” he hisses.
“Didn’t feel like it when you were thrusting your cock down my throat,” I say, and I swear he nearly bursts a blood vessel. It gives me a small sense of satisfaction, though my own heart is pounding from the exhilaration of finally standing up to him.
“Get out,” he screams, rising and leaning forward on his desk. His spittle arcing out of his mouth makes me recoil from him.
“Gladly. Don’t bother firing me, I quit.” I rise on unsteady legs.
“You won’t get work anywhere in this city. I’ll make sure of it,” he says as I reach the doorway.
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning to.” I wrench the door open and leave, trying not to show how much I’m shaking. Julia is standing just outside, and I’m not sure how soundproof his office is. She might’ve heard every word.
“Looks like you’ll have to do your own work from now on,” I say as I push past her. I quickly gather my coat, bag, and the few personal effects I have on my desk, and within a few minutes I’m walking out through the front door for the last time. I keep moving until I’m a street away, then I stop and lean against a wall and take a shuddering breath. My heart is still racing. I can’t believe I just did that. I stood up to Miles. Before the adrenalinecoursing through my veins dissipates and I reflect on how foolish I’ve been, I pull out my phone and call Gabriel’s number.
CHAPTER SIX
GABRIEL
I wait impatiently for Charley to arrive, checking the car park every two minutes for signs of his car.
“I haven’t seen you this excited in... well, never.” Andrés smirks at me as he enters the staffroom where I’m hovering.
“Haven’t you got some polo lessons to teach or something?” I snap and he just grins.
“Not until later. I’ll go and see Simon.” He heads towards the corridor that leads through to the restaurant.
“Don’t do anything that’ll reduce the hygiene rating of the kitchen,” I call after him and he just laughs. “I mean it,” I add but the door has already swung shut. Finding an amazing chef for the restaurant who just happens to be Andrés’ boyfriend was a stroke of luck, but I’m pretty sure he isn’t going in there just to talk about the weather. Those two can barely keep their hands off each other. I turn back to my vigil of the carpark. I’ve been keyed up ever since I received his phone call yesterday.
“Gabriel?” Charley had sounded breathless down the phone line.
“Charley? Is everything alright?” It didn’t sound alright from the heavy breathing I could hear.
“Erm . . . yeah.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Erm . . . how good is Silver Arrow?”
“It’s his first season, but he has the potential to be as good, if not even better than Heather,” I replied, but I didn’t think he’d really phoned me up to ask about a horse. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I could hear him take a deep breath as if to steady himself, and an urge to drive over immediately and check him out for myself came over me but I pushed it down.
“Does the offer still stand for the job?”
“Of course it does,” I replied.
“Thank you, I’ll be there tomorrow.” He ended the call straight away. I’m more than pleased he’s accepted my offer, but I can’t help the knot of worry in my chest. I wonder what changed his mind.
Eventually I see a car pull up and Charley climbs out. He doesn’t look like he sounded last night. He looks calmer and of course handsome. I go out to greet him before ushering him into the staffroom, where I make us coffee and then show him into my office.
“I want to say how excited I am that you called me. I’ll tell you the full details and give you a tour in a minute. I already have a contract ready that you can take away and read thoroughly before deciding whether to sign.” I pause and he nods that he understands. “But first can you tell me what changed your mind?”
He takes a swig of his coffee, and then the tightness in his eyes reappears before he drops them. Gone is the smiling Charley of a few minutes ago, and anger bubbles up at whatever it is that’s made him like this. I knew something wasn’t right. He takes a moment before speaking.
“I don’t want to go into the details, but my previous boss was a bully. He wasn’t always like that. He was nice, charming even. We had a brief affair. Then I found out he was married to a woman. I had no idea as he didn’t wear a ring. But the secrecy and driving out of town for dates, a night in a fancy hotel made to look like a special surprise and a treat... it all started to add up. He wanted me to be his dirty little secret. As soon as I found out he had a wife, I confronted him and broke it off. He immediately turned into my worst nightmare. He’s a powerful man and I’m pretty sure he has contacts with the mob. When he threatened me, that if I tried to work for anyone else he’d make sure there were consequences, I believed him. But he’s also a petty man and made my working days hell. The extra work he piled on me was bad enough, but the jibes and put downs were even worse.”
