“Preferably. I’m finishing up in about twenty minutes, fancy meeting in a pub in Sittingston?”
I checked my watch. It was a little after four o’clock. “Sure. Is everything okay?”
She started laughing at that, which I took as a bad sign.
An hour later, my taxi pulled up outside a pub in Sittingston where Sonia had suggested we meet. It was already thrumming with people. The Lucky Feather, Sonia had once told me, was the closest around these parts to a proper club, though she assured me that up until 8 p.m. on a Friday it remained a typical, if noisy, pub.
The driver gave me a wave as he tore off, and I sighed at the thought of having to use that taxi company on the way home. I made my way in through groups of teenagers who didn’t look old enough to tie their shoelaces, let alone drink, and searched for Son. I found her off to the side, bopping to the music at a table while sucking her drink down through a straw and texting with her other hand. She noticed me and waved heartily.
“Sorry, I’m late,” I said, coming over and getting a kiss on the cheek. “That taxi firm is bloody useless.” Sonia was dressed nicely in a summery wrap dress of light blue and orange. I felt a tad overdressed in a short-sleevedblack shirt, which was ever so slightly transparent. A tiny bit. But its capped sleeves made my arms look bigger and went well with black skinny jeans.
She nodded in agreement. “Always have been. One of the girls from work who doesn’t hate me gave me a ride from Compney on her way home. Maybe I’ll get Ade to give me a lift later on.”
I grinned at her. “Going well between you two, is it?”
She smiled coyly and sucked on her straw.
“I see. You okay for a drink? I’m going to head to the bar.”
“You have loads of money, so yes, I’ll have another,” she said.
Now I regretted my kind offer. The bar wasn’t too crowded yet, despite the pub being busy. There was a stream of people heading back and forth to the gardens, where most of the patrons had grabbed tables. It meant that the side of the bar for customers sitting indoors was a little quieter, and I was served quickly.
Once back with Sonia, I got her to talk about Ade.
“My Ade’s lovely. Honestly, Arden, I think we have a real future. Mum thinks he’s dead handsome and clever. He says all the right things to Dad about football.”
“And he’s a great shag, too,” I said, knowing it’d embarrass her.
“Arden!” she squealed. “But, yeah, he’s fabulous at all that.”
She lapsed into silence with a contented sigh. I cocked an eyebrow.
“Not to ruin your good mood, but what was the need for a drink about then?”
Her face fell. “Guess,” she said and then downed her cocktail.
“Your brother and Dhapinder?”
“Ding ding ding.” She used her straw to stir the ice in her drink for any leftover liquid. “They suspect something.”
My eyes shot to hers. “You’ve not said anything that could warrant them being suspicious, have you?”
“No, no. I’m playing it very cool. But I think they suspect that someone suspects them, not me, but someone in the company suspects. Or they suspect that we suspect that they suspect … that … I suspect … wow, how many of these have I had?”
“You were on your third when I got here.”
“That’d explain it. Let’s have another.”
“Okay,” I said, getting off my seat, knowing that meant I needed to buy them. I wasn’t annoyed – I really was quite rich. Even if my best friend, who kept calling me manic, was about to try and screw me out of my money to appease fucking Donal Callous. Wow, okay, I really wanted another drink too now. “But Son” – I turned back to her – “you’re being careful, yeah? No silly buggers with this. You need to make sure you play this smart. Only try and access the books when you know it’s safe, no risks.”
She nodded. “I know, I know.”
I gave her another look and then went to get the drinks. We’d been there a while now, and the bar was starting to fill up. Tables and chairs were being moved out of the way, and not long after, the lights were dimmed and voilà, the Lucky Feather was now a club.
Some horrendous David Guetta song came on, and Sonia squealed. “Let’s dance!” she said and grabbed my hand, pulling me along.
“No, please, no. Come on, Son. I’m, like, ten years older than everyone else in here.”
