Page 38 of Perfect Night

“I contacted Sumptua and told them we wouldn’t be proceeding with them.”

“You did what?”

“But youweren’tproceeding with them, so I passed on the news and then look, your little hustler blocks you.”

“Jesus Christ, Bex. Charlie already knew we weren’t going to use them.”

“What?”

“I told him the day of the pitch. He said he’d be fired because they’d want to blame him, so we were waiting until next week to give him time to find something else. He’s probably lost his job and now it looks like I lied to him.”

“Does it really matter?”

“Of course it matters. I told you to keep out of it.”

“Look, you’re not thinking sensibly about this one. I’m still at the airport. I can bump myself to a later flight. Why don’t you just –”

Sebastian hung up on her before he said something he’d regret. He silenced his phone and tossed it on the bed. He loved his sister, but she was out of line this time. Things might not work out with him and Charlie, but she wasn’t even giving it a chance. She’d written him off without hearing his side of the story. If he could just get Charlie in front of him and talk to him, he was sure they could work things out. He knew where he lived, but if he did that, he’d have an audience and he’d have to explain how he knew the address. It had to be the two of them, one-on-one and somewhere private.

An idea popped into his head. At first he dismissed it, but then decided he needed another opinion. He grabbed his phone and saw that he had a dozen missed calls and texts from his sister. God, she was persistent. He ignored the messages and called Patrick.

“To what do I owe this early morning pleasure?”

“I want to ask your opinion on something, but I need you to just listen until I’ve finished. Can you do that?”

“Of course.”

He talked through his plan with Patrick and didn’t take a breath, so there was no chance for him to interrupt. He had to get it all out before he lost his nerve. When he’d finished, there was silence at the other end.

“Are you still there?”

“Give me a second.”

Okay, he could do that. Patrick liked to process things. He wasn’t as impulsive as Sebastian.

“Okay, I’m here. Are you insane?”

“That was a ringing endorsement.”

“You don’t think this is going to backfire on you spectacularly?”

“I need to speak to him privately. At least this way, I know he’ll come.”

“He might just need some time, especially if he just lost his job.”

“I can’t wait. I need to see him and explain that it wasn’t me and tell him I don’t care about his other job.”

“Can you really be in an open relationship?”

“That’s not what this would be. It’s just a job. I can separate the two. I at least want to try.”

“Look, I think this idea is bonkers, but I know you well enough to realise that you’re going to do it anyway. So let’s go through a few things, so you at least have a smidgen of hope this will work.”

Sebastian listened to his best friend’s advice. It was sensible. Patrick had always been the mature one between them. Also taking Patrick’s advice, he called Bex and cleared the air. He said he’d be home as planned on Sunday, and would see her in the office on Monday. He didn’t bring her in on his plans, as he knew what she would think and she’d be straight over to stop him. All he told her was that he was going to speak to Charlie and hear his side of the story. With that all done, he packed up his case. He needed to get settled in his new place. Then he had a phone call to make.

It was just before seven o’clock, and Sebastian was pacing with nerves. He’d had to change his shirt into something more casual, as he was sweating so much. He kept going back and forth on whether this was the worst idea he’d ever had. Sebastian needed a drink, but he wanted to be sober for this.

On the dot of seven, there was a knock on his hotel door: the new one he’d moved to. They didn’t have any suites, but it was their largest room and it was suitable for what he needed. He looked through the spyhole and there was Charlie, looking handsome, even through the distorted glass. He took a deep breath and opened the door. Charlie’s jaw dropped in shock. They just stood looking at each other for a few seconds. Charlie’s expression then changed to one of anger, and he looked ready to bolt, so Sebastian grabbed him and pulled him inside, closing the door and pinning him to the it.

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