Page 69 of Payback
He holds his hands up in defence. “Aye, a wee bit. I’m sorry to say this, but with me you’re chill and shouting at me about bad moves on Fortnite. When you’re trying to impress a burd, you do this Rico Suave shite that makes my skin crawl.”
“Fuck you!”
“Don’t shoot the messenger,” he howls. “I’m just saying, I like Allie. I like you around Allie. She can stay.”
“Well, thanks for your approval,” I snap, annoyed by the turn this conversation took. “So, you think taking her home is a good idea or bad?”
Mac takes a big swig of his beer and replies, “Allie is going to flip the fuck out.”
I swallow the nerves I’ve been feeling ever since the idea came to me. “You’re right. She will flip the fuck out. That’s why it’ll be a surprise. That’s sort of our thing. She’s afraid and I’m confident. I like to push her.”
“Yeah you do,” Mac leers, shooting me a dirty wink.
It’s disturbing. I didn’t even know winks could be dirty, but evidently they can be when they’re attached to a giant Scotsman.
“So, you think it’s a good idea then? You think I should do it?” I ask for final confirmation.
Mac deadpans, “No. I think it’s a bad idea. I wouldn’t do it.”
I’m sitting at my desk outside of Niall’s office, going over the seating chart for the Get Fit Britain Gala when a text comes through from Roan.
Roan: Do you think you can get a few days off next week? We’ll be back in plenty of time for the gala. I promise.
Me: Maybe…Why?
Roan: I want to take you away.
Me: Take me away where?
Roan: It’s a surprise, but it would involve a longish flight.
Me: Is this real or fake?
Roan: It’s always real with me, mooi. ;)
Since Roan and I became an item last week, I’ve been trying to find the nerve to tell Niall about us. I think coming clean and putting our cards out on the table will make everything easier and less secretive. I have enough past secrets in my life. I don’t need to add this one to the mix.
I will admit that becoming more serious with Roan wasn’t my original plan. I’m not sure it was his original plan either. But things between us have progressed in such a natural, easy way, it seemed impossible not to take the next step. And the step after the next step is telling my boss.
I stand up from my desk and walk back to Niall’s office. Nerves swirl in my belly as I knock on the glass window and see his head pop up from his computer.
He waves me in. “Allie, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve selected the two winners for the Win A Date Campaign, and I want you to run background checks on them.” He grabs two papers off the printer behind him and hands them over to me.
“No problem,” I reply, gripping the pages tightly in my hand as I linger in front of his desk.
He looks up at me with a furrow to his brow. “Was there something else you needed?”
I nod and swallow. “Yes.”
He pauses to examine me for a moment, clearly intrigued by what has me so tense and awkward. “Have a seat.”
I sit and take a deep breath before saying, “I wanted to talk to you about a relationship that’s developed between myself and a player for Bethnal Green.” I look up nervously and see Niall failing to hide a knowing smirk.
“Continue,” he states crisply.
I shift to the edge of my seat. “When I came to London, I had a previous, um, history with Roan DeWalt. He was a friend of the Harris family and, well, we knew each other from a couple of years ago…And I guess you could say we’ve reacquainted now.”
“I see,” Niall states, propping his elbows on his desk and rubbing his hands together as he ponders this information.
