“Isaac is back home. He’s pissing everyone off, including me and I can’t take it. I need to stay here for a few nights.”
I shake my head. “No way. I came here to get away from you guys. You’re not following me!” I say, my eyes wide. “Why’s Isaac home anyway?”
My big brother moved out of the family home six months ago. He got a new job and was soon flashing his cash around like he’d won the lotto.
“He’s looking for a new place.”
I wince. “Maybe I’ll be doing the same soon.”
Jordon looks at me for a second. “But you only just moved here.”
“I kind of walked out on my job today. My boss is a complete arse and I’ve had it.”
His eyes bug out of his head. “But you had a company car, and you could afford this place. Why would you leave? Mum’s gonna lose her shit.Bothher older kids coming home. Christ, I can’t wait to tell her.”
“Please don’t tell her yet. At least let me see if I can find another job that pays just as good.” Even as I say the words, I know it’ll never happen. Men like Warren Baxter hire secretaries who know how to do the job. I got the job by fluke. Mr. Baxter Senior walked in halfway through the interview I was royally fucking up, and told me I was hired. The office manager looked just as surprised as me. I didn’t hang around to find out why he’d chosen me.
I tip the red sticky shot down my throat and wince. Drinking on a work night is something I’ve never done, but now that I’ve quit, I’m making the most of it.
I bang my hand on the bar, counting to three, and cheer loudly as Courtney drinks hers. “My boss is looking for dancers,” she suggests.
I screw my face up. “You’ve seen how clumsy I am. No one will pay to see me make a tit of myself on stage.”
She giggles. “I would.”
“That job was so perfect for me,” I wail.
“That job was so out of your league, more like. Christ knows how you got it with no experience.”
“I have experience,” I protest, and she laughs harder.
“Filing your mum's bills is not experience.”
“My mum’s very particular about her filing system. She said I did a good job.”
“And she changed it all around after you left. Look, go back and tell the guy you’re sorry. You did spill coffee on his expensive carpet.”
“And his desk,” I add.
“Jesus, Lee, you’re so bloody clumsy it’s not even funny. Can’t you get lessons or something on how to behave normally?”
I scowl playfully. She’s known me for eleven years. She joined the school I was at, when we were both sixteen. We’ve been firm friends ever since I tripped over and fell into her, shoving her against one of the hottest boys in the school. After that, he asked her out on a date, and he was her first kiss. All thanks to me!
WARREN
I watch with envy as Anthony smashes the rubber mallet against the lad's kneecap. He cries out in pain, sending a thrill right through me. I love inflicting pain. I always have. Mum once said it was a trait in killers. I took that as a compliment, although I don’t think she meant it that way. These days, I have to take a back seat from the violence. It dredges up feelings I can’t control,and I get an unhealthy thirst. So, I settle for watching. “Now the other,” I say, and Isaac yells out a string of curses.
“How can I earn if I can’t use my fucking legs?” he yells.
“By crawling,” I hiss, and Anthony brings the mallet down on his other kneecap. “We’ll drop you off near home, so you don’t have to crawl too far,” I add, standing and straightening my jacket. “Don’t ever say I wasn’t generous.”
Anthony drives us to the rougher side of London. It doesn’t surprise me. Most of Alfred’s lads live here. It’s a bunch of high-rise flats we call The Jungle. I open the car door and kick Isaac onto the ground. “Next time I won’t be so forgiving,” I warn, slamming the door closed.
I find my brother in a bar. It’s where I always find him. A blonde female in a barely-there dress is sitting on his lap. I laugh as I take a seat at his VIP booth. “You think you’re Hugh Heffner,” I state, and he shrugs with a smirk on his face.
“Your point?”
I pour myself a glass of Champagne from the ice bucket in the centre of the table and look around the slim pickings of women dancing around the VIP area. It’s sad, really. All desperate to get picked up by a rich guy.
