“So you’re not mad?”Mila asks.
“What?”I sputter out a laugh, but clamp my mouth shut when I see how distraught she appears.“No.The only person I’m mad at is Sanjay.It took me way too long to figure out what a lowlife he is, and this sure seals the deal.”
“There’s…more?”Mila says in a small voice that comes out sounding like a question.“He eventually stopped texting me, but then a few weeks later, he drunk-texted me one night.It was kind of amusing, so I went along with it.I figured if he veered into anything inappropriate, I’d just block him once and for all, but it was sort of random drunk observations about life and the people around him…until he sent me a dick pic.”
My mouth drops open.“What thefuck?”
Mila winces again, this time likely at the unintended volume of my voice.“That earned him an immediate block.I was about to delete our entire chat history when something told me not to.I not only kept them, I took screenshots too, just in case.”Her words are coming quickly now, and her fingers are twisting together in her lap.
“The thing is, the drunk texts and the dick pic happenedafterthe no-fraternization policy was put into place.I pored over the new contract and the wording is vague, but itdoesextend to relationships between tour guides, not just guides and clients.I have evidence that Sanjay broke the terms, and sincehewasn’t above takinghisevidence to the higher-ups to getyoususpended…”
“You want to do the same to him,” I say slowly.
She tilts her head back and forth.“Not necessarily.As of a couple of weeks ago, heisone of the higher-ups, which means I’d need to go directly tohimwith my evidence.”
“You mean…blackmailhim?”
Her lips curve into a smile that holds a definite sharp edge.“You say ‘blackmail’, I say ‘motivation’.”
“Motivation,” I repeat, unable to stop the bewildered laugh that accompanies the word.
Mila laughs with me.“I show him what I’ve got and tell him that in exchange for it never seeing the light of day, he needs to release both of us from our contracts, including the non-compete clause.”
“You’re diabolical.”Just like I was unable to stop my laugh a moment ago, now I can’t keep the hint of pride from my voice.
The sound Mila makes in response can only be described as a cackle.She even throws her head back for good measure.“We’re talking about making our dreams come true here, Fiona.If we get to put a weaselly jerk like Sanjay in his place in the process, so much the better.”
That restless feeling from earlier returns, making my legs twitch until I get up and resume my pacing.
“I know you said you’re not mad about the flirting, but I wouldn’t blame you if you were,” Mila says.“I knew what I was doing was wrong, and I did it anyway.”
“If that doesn’t sum up my entire relationship with Sanjay, I don’t know what does,” I tell her with a mirthless laugh.“I knew it would never go anywhere, I knew I was just a warm body to him, Iknewwe were probably breaking company rules, but none of that stopped me.The arrangement we had, plus your flirtation with him, are all part of a vast grey area.”
Mila nods slowly, her eyes trained on her feet.“Still.Iamsorry, for what it’s worth.”
I return to the window seat and take her hand, waiting until she lifts her head to meet my gaze.“Think of it this way: what happened between the two of you could be our golden ticket out of On the Go and straight into our own business.”
Her eyes light up a second before a smile blossoms across her face.The sight alleviates some of the heaviness that’s been weighing on my chest since we started this conversation.
“Does that mean we’re doing this?”Her voice shakes with barely suppressed excitement.
“Maybe,” I say firmly, even though my own eagerness wants to take over.“We need to be sensible about this and put some real thought into it.And we need to see what Sanjay says once he’s confronted with the information you have.”
Mila makes a sound of disgust in the back of her throat.“Before I left London, I tried to make an appointment with him, but his assistant gave me the run-around at every turn.I even tried unblocking his number and calling him directly, but it wouldn’t go through, so he must have blocked me too.”
“Of course he did,” I say, rolling my eyes.“Okay, let’s take a few days to think about all of this and figure out our next steps.”
“Okay.”She visibly deflates, shoulders hunching in.When her eyes begin to droop, it registers that it’s not disappointment I’m witnessing, but rather exhaustion.
“Why don’t you go to bed?”I suggest.
“Okay,” she says again, this time faintly.She offers me a weary smile as she rises from the window seat.“Probably a good idea.I feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster the last few days.”She goes to the table and gathers up everything from Dad, replacing it in the box.“You coming?”
“I’m going to stay out here for a bit longer.”As usual, I’m the wired sort of tired.My body feels heavy and sluggish, but my brain is still whirring.
Mila comes over and presses a kiss to my cheek.“Good night.Love you.”
“Love you too.Have a good sleep.”
