Page 4 of The Payback Plan
Bella frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
‘I don’t mean murdering them or anything.’ She waved a dismissive hand. ‘I mean… look, these guys have had everything go their way, right? They got to walk all over us. Or walk out on us,’ she added with a grimace. ‘Why should they just get to live their best lives while we’re picking up the remnants of ours?’
‘Yes.’ Astrid’s eyes were as effervescent as the fizz. ‘I like where this is heading.’
‘Why not have a little fun at their expense?’ Sienna continued.
‘What kind of fun?’ Bella asked warily.
‘Nothing serious,’ Sienna assured. ‘Stuff that would inconvenience them. That we could have a laugh over. Like…’ She paused as if searching for a precise kind of punishment. ‘Signing them up to hundreds of mailing lists. Or putting a dead fish in their wheel hubs. Buy them a cow and have it delivered. Switch out their clothes for a size or two smaller. Change all the names in their phone contacts to Dr Seuss. That kind of thing.’
Three sets of eyes blinked at Sienna. ‘Wow,’ Paige murmured, impressed. ‘Remind me to never get on your bad side.’
Bella leaned in closer. ‘Some of those things would require us to get close,’ she said, almost at a whisper. ‘They’ll know it was us. There’s no way we’d get away with it.’
Sienna smiled triumphantly. ‘That’s why we pick someone else’s ex.’
The circle went quiet as they contemplated the idea and then Astrid murmured, ‘It’s an excellent plan. So good, I wish I’d thought of it.’
‘Me too,’ Bella admitted. ‘Very Machiavellian.’
Paige was rather taken by the idea, as well. She knew she should just be drawing a line underneath the Harvey chapter in her life but screw that. Four years later she was still just treading water, stuck in a life she hadn’t planned on, too scared to take any kind of risk.
And why should he get off scot-free?
‘Okay.’ She nodded cautiously, her law studies making her a little leery. ‘Maybe.’
‘Who would you pick?’ Astrid asked Sienna.
Sienna snorted. ‘Harvey the horrible. If he spends time regularly in the US I’m sure I’ll be able to figure out something. You?’
Astrid didn’t hesitate. ‘I’d take your heartbreaker. Any guy who’d just walk out on a sweetheart like you deserves to be played a little.’
‘And I’d take your cheating, married,bastardex,’ Bella declared, apparently finally comfortable with the word. ‘Which leaves you with Olly.’ She honed in on Paige. ‘And that’s perfect because he slunk back to England after the wedding. To his dad’s place in Cornwall. How’s your sitting schedule for the new year?’
‘I have a few things lined up in Jan/Feb that aren’t set in stone. I have a month-long gig in Edinburgh starting March.’
So shecouldgo to Cornwall. Despite the inherent inadvisability of hatching a revenge plan with strangers while snowed in and tipsy at an international airport, Paige had the inklings of a plan.
‘Is the place big enough for two?’ she asked. Obviously the closer the proximity the easier it would be to mess with Olly.
‘Yes!’ Bella confirmed. ‘It’s very spacious and right on the beach.’
Now that sounded ideal. After all this freaking snow, sand appealed. Even if it did always manage to get into places not even a board-certified gynaecologist could access.
‘How would he feel about a guest?’
A slow smile lit Bella’s face. ‘He’s does like his privacy.’
‘I know exactly how he feels,’ Paige murmured.
Which was a sobering thought. Was this really a good decision to be making high on pink drinks and even pinker desserts? Her boozy angels were screaming yes, her wiser angels were being more circumspect.
They could be a real freaking drag.
‘I don’t know…’ Paige glanced around the group. ‘Are we really going to do this? Maybe it’s just the alcohol talking?’
‘Good point,’ Bella agreed, chewing on her bottom lip.
