Page 51 of Saving Mr. Bell

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“No?”

Nelson shook his head. “I work for you. You tell me to jump and I ask how high.”

“Since when?”

“Always have. You were just too… distracted to notice it.”

I had an inkling he’d been going to use another word, but had censored himself. “So what if I tell you to get on the plane to Paris? Will you do what I say?”

Nelson thought for a minute. “No.”

“Right…”

“Because my job is to keep you safe, and if I let you get on a different plane, I’m not doing it.”

“I guess we’re both going to London, then.”

Nelson smiled. “I guess we are.”

We dropped lucky with flight times, a Lufthansa flight leaving for Heathrow within the hour. I bought two tickets, and we took a seat on the concourse to wait for boarding to start, Nelson somehow squeezing his bulk into a seat far too small for him. He pulled his phone out and stared at it with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. “I will have to let Jade know you won’t be arriving in Paris as expected.”

I let out a hefty sigh. “If you do that, she’ll shout at you and then she’ll call me and shout at me.” I pulled my own phone out. “So we may as well cut out the middleman, which is you, just in case you’re not getting that reference.”

Nelson held his hands up. “Not going to argue with you.”

“I bet you’re not.” I stood, an upright position seeming a much better vantage point to make the call from. I paced for a few steps, gave myself a good talking to, and then pressed call before I could chicken out.

“Jade Turner.”

She sounded… pleasant. Which told me she hadn’t checked the caller ID and didn’t know it was me. Had we ever had a conversation I’d describe as pleasant? I didn’t think so. She’d exploded into my life one day and set about making it as miserable as possible. And I’d let her. Well, it was time to stand up to her. Time to stand up to everyone who thought I was nothing but a puppet to be pushed in front of a piano or a camera.

What was it Arlo had said? Something about being the captain of my destiny? He was right. He’d been right about everything. I had been spiraling. I might not have an alcohol or drug problem, but I’d have developed one eventually, given I’d been using any means necessary to avoid confronting my unhappiness. And I had needed a break. An opportunity to get my head on straightand work out where things had gone wrong. I hadn’t asked to be saved, but I’d needed it. “It’s Rudolf.”

“Oh.” It was amazing how she could squeeze disappointment, irritation, and the desire to end the conversation before it had even begun into a tiny one-syllable word. “You should be on the plane. Is the flight delayed?”

“I’m not coming to Paris.”

“You can’t—”

I didn’t give her space to finish. “I can. And I am. I’m getting a plane to Heathrow. And then I’m going home to speak to my father. I need you to get on a plane to London and meet me there.”

“I can’t just drop everything here.”

“You can’t drop looking aftermyinterests to meet withme? I suppose it would be different if I said my father wanted to see you.”

“Does he?”

There was a note of confusion in Jade’s voice, like she could no longer work out which was way was up. Why had I let her push me around for so long? “He does,” I lied. It was possible she’d call him, but I’d take the risk. I wanted to see her face-to-face. Not in Paris, though. It was better to kill two birds with one stone. More, if I could. “I’ll see you back at the house in Hertfordshire. Oh, and Jade.”

“Yes?”

“Get the earliest flight you can. No dilly-dallying.” I hung up before she could respond. When I turned back to Nelson, his smile stretched from ear to ear. “What?”

He looked me up and down. “What happened to you in Austria? You’re like a different man.”

I sat back down, stretching my legs out in front of me while I pondered how to answer the question. In the end, I settled for the truth. “I met a man. Well… technically, we’d already met. Soperhaps I should say I reconnected with a man. He made me see things in a different light and I’m taking charge of my life from here on in. I would say no more Mr. Nice Guy, but I never was that, especially when I was drunk. So I apologize for anything mean I ever said when I was pissed. Or when I was sober,” I added as an afterthought.

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