Chapter Forty-Five Katy
Chapter Forty-Five
Katy
Katy heard the lift door ping open. She braced herself for another encounter with Travis Mason, the guy who fucked her then chucked her, returning to his wife, who she’d never even known about.
She tried to remind herself of how easily he unsettled her, how much of a hold he had over her, even though she was wary of it now; there was always something about him that reeled her in.
Katy wasn’t sure what he wanted from her this time – maybe comfort or distraction, or simply answers, given the recent scandal.
Travis walked into the living area towards her. It was a large space, and it seemed to take forever for him to reach her. Katy could feel her heart rate pick up as he came closer. He wore casual jeans and a hooded black jumper, with Nike trainers.
Katy stepped nearer to him. ‘Hey.’
The silence in the apartment seemed to grow as his footsteps echoed, bouncing off every wall.
‘Hey,’ he said softly.
Katy grinned, relieved he wasn’t coming in all Stormin’ Norman at the drama unfolding in the media.
‘Do you want a drink or something?’ She glanced at the kitchen, eye contact feeling too much.
He looked good, his eye darkened as a result of Jimmy’s punch, but somehow he almost suited it, she thought.
‘No,’ Travis said. ‘I just wanted to see you, I’m not sure why,’ he admitted.
Katy’s heart thundered. This was the sentimental shite that always seemed to get her into trouble.
‘Well, come and sit down,’ she said, walking around the sofa and taking a few short, sharp breaths to regain composure.
‘How are things with Fee after . . .’ She didn’t want to repeat what had happened; it was still far too raw.
Travis lowered his head into his hands, then sat up, the bruising on his face more apparent the closer he was to her. ‘You can imagine,’ he breathed. ‘I stayed at the house last night, while she stayed out. She says she can’t be near me, and I don’t blame her.’
Katy was fidgeting with her hands, realising the intensity of what she’d done.
Even if she was initially duped into believing he was single, she knowingly pumped him in the snack cupboard afterwards, fully aware of Fee.
Fully aware that Fee was in the same fucking building at the time.
She cringed. Guilt pressed down on her heart and shoulders.
‘I’m sorry about the app,’ Travis continued. ‘It was a great idea, and now it’s such a waste,’ he said, tutting and sitting back.
‘Yeah, shame,’ Katy said, too tense to risk saying more.
‘So, I take it you girls will be heading home soon?’ Travis asked, his eyes flickering upwards. Katy noticed he seemed more curious than casual, almost as if he needed to know their plans for personal reasons.
‘Erm . . . Yeah, right. I suppose that’s the plan. Woo-hoo!’ She fist pumped the air. ‘Better look out my fur-lined leggings for the trip back to Scotland.’ She laughed, cringing at herself.
Travis let out a slight chuckle. ‘So, eh . . . when? When are you thinking about going?’
Katy felt her face twist. He was seriously acting very oddly.
She knew heading home was on the agenda, but the girls wanted to tie up the mystery of the stalker before they left, so they hadn’t actually booked flights.
‘Erm . . . Was it tomorrow?’ Katy bluffed, feeling like Travis was pressing her for info.
‘I’m sure it is. Yeah, like tomorrow, in the morning.
Or the afternoon. Ella has organised it all, of course, I just .
. .’ her voice suddenly became high-pitched, ‘go with da flooow!’ She felt like whatever he was planning involved them leaving the States, so she rolled with it, lying without compunction.
Travis breathed out slowly. Katy wondered if it was relief that left his lungs.
‘I’ll really miss you.’ She smiled. ‘I know it didn’t go to plan, and I know it got really messy, but that first date of ours was probably the best anyone has ever treated me, like ever. I’ll always remember it.’
Travis looked like he was in a daze. ‘Me too. In another life, maybe,’ he eventually replied.
Katy agreed, fidgeting with the cuffs of her sleeves. ‘So, are you going to try to fix things with Fee and Jimmy?’
He stood up and started pacing the floor, suddenly looking uncomfortable.
‘Fee – yes. She is my wife after all, but after tomorrow’s board meeting, I’m not sure Jimmy will ever want to reconcile.
’ He walked to the back of the sofa, deep in thought, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
‘Will the board really take over his company?’ Katy asked, knowing the answer already, but noticing how it was affecting Travis.
He shrugged. ‘It seems that way,’ he replied simply. ‘But with any luck, Fee will take over and keep Jimmy’s name on it.’
Katy got to her feet and walked towards him. ‘That’s so sad, though. He’s built the company up from nothing, you all have, and for it to be just taken away from him. Who would do something like that?’
‘It’s not that simple, Katy.’ Travis’s tone grew sharp, making her step back. ‘There have been discrepancies happening for years that the board are aware of.’
Katy was desperate to reply that it was his division’s job to keep the money in check, but he seemed pissed and she didn’t want to make him angrier.
‘Right. I just mean, it’s a shame. Jimmy’s a great guy,’ she replied innocently.
Travis glanced over to her with glazed eyes. She wondered when the last time he slept was; his eyes were puffy and exhausted, not only from the punch. ‘He can be, but business is business,’ he grunted. ‘You don’t get it.’
Suddenly, there was a screech of cheering and hollering from the bedroom.
‘YES!’ Zola’s voice called out, followed by cackles of laughter.
Travis stood completely rigid. ‘Who is that?’ he demanded, pointing towards the hall.
Katy panicked; her arms hugged herself tight. Her mind raced – should she accuse him of hearing things? But she pictured him walking in, uncovering Ethan at a laptop in their apartment, and dread twisted in her chest.
‘It’s just the girls,’ she said, shrugging it off, unfazed.
Travis looked horrified. ‘You told me you were alone,’ he muttered under his breath.
‘Duh, I was?’ Katy managed a laugh, her heart beating against her chest. ‘But they came in just before you arrived, and I said I needed the room. It’s fine!
It’s only Ella and Zo.’ She shrugged again, rolling her eyes at him, but wondered why he was suddenly acting so sketchy and suspicious.
This was not the smooth, confident man she met on that first date.
‘Well, why are they screaming like that?’ Travis pushed, stalking in restless circles.
Katy could feel her stomach churning; anxiety flickering through her as her body tightened in response.
She could feel the urgent beginning of nervous diarrhoea, especially after the razor incident.
Her discomfort seemed to intensify with each of his probing questions; she could feel sweat trickling down her clammy back.
‘I don’t know,’ she said with an idiotic giggle.
‘Will I ask them? Oh, yeah! Maybe they’ve managed to add on a bag for the flight cheaper than they expected.
’ She shrugged. ‘Have you seen the price they charge for extra luggage these days? It’s fucking ridiculous.
You know I booked a trip on Ryanair once, have you heard of them?
’ She was waffling, using any absurd thought for a distraction, ‘Anyway, the fucking luggage ended up costing more than the flight itself!’
Travis was studying Katy, glancing down the hallway, then eventually resting back on her far-too-innocent face.
‘Do you have the same problem with budget flights in the States?’ she asked.
Travis relaxed slightly, smirked, then placed his hand on her face. ‘I don’t do budget flights, babe.’ His mood shifted; his arrogance returned. ‘I just wanted to say goodbye.’ He tapped her cheek. ‘Safe flight. It’s been fun.’ He winked.
Katy stood in complete disbelief. What was happening? Did he know? Was he double bluffing?
‘Thank you,’ she said, clearing her throat. ‘Fun, such fun.’
Travis stepped towards the lift and pressed the button, facing the door.
‘Travis?’
He turned back, raising his head slightly.
‘Did you really mean in another lifetime?’ she said, knowing he was a total dick but still craving his affection.
He sighed, gazing at Katy, now with no interest in her whatsoever. ‘Sure, maybe.’ The door opened. ‘Say hi to Nessie for me.’
Katy stood bewildered, shaken and glued to the spot.
Why did he turn so cold? Did I lie so much that he eventually believed me and understood that I wasn’t going to be an issue?
But what happened to Mr Nice Guy? Replaying him looking down on her.
There was something off, completely off.
She turned on her heels and thundered to Ella’s bedroom, pushing open the door.
‘He’s in on this!’ She felt weak, totally disorientated, like she had been lied to and manipulated all this time.
‘What?’ Ella jumped off the bed and came over to Katy, rubbing her arms, ‘How do you know?’
Katy glanced at Ethan, who was writing on a piece of paper now.
‘He changed, so suddenly. He was caring at the start, sweet, then I realised he was just trying to get answers out of me. He started asking when we were going home, and all of this – so I lied and told him tomorrow. Then he heard you guys and seemed panicked – as if our presence threatened whatever he was planning – so I made up some story about how you must have got cheaper luggage allowance.’
‘Did he believe you?’ Ella said.
‘Yeah, I mean, I was talking sense, the luggage pricing is ridiculous.’ Katy’s face twisted, reliving the moment, trying to make sense of it.
‘But then he turned into a complete, uncaring prick. Like he had the answers to the questions he wanted and realised I wasn’t a threat, maybe?
Everything changed in an instant, and he looked at me like I was dog shit on his shoe! ’
Zola walked a few steps towards Katy. ‘You bluffed him, babe!’
Katy shook her head. ‘I didn’t, I just . . .’
Ella giggled. ‘You totally did, Katy! You won, you told him we were going home, and we’re not. He won’t expect what’s next now, thanks to you,’ she said with a huge smile towards Zola and Ethan.
Katy was confused. ‘Help me out here. I have no idea what’s going on.’
‘We have a code that’s linked to a member’s ID at Flirtify.’ Ethan’s voice was as deadpan as usual, but his grin was wide.
Katy’s jaw hung open, not entirely sure what that meant, but she could only assume it was positive.
‘Tomorrow morning, before the board meeting, we’re going to sneak into the IT department and run the code against the list of employee names. Then the snake will be exposed!’ Zola clapped and let out a huge whoop of relief.
‘Then we’ll find out the stalker?’ Katy said, her weeks of torment showing.
Ella wrapped her arm around her. ‘Yeah. It must all be related. Katy, we’ve almost got them!’
Katy felt her legs grow wobbly and she crouched to the ground, covering her mouth in disbelief. She then bolted up, ran towards Ethan, flinging her arms around him.
‘Oh, he doesn’t like physical . . .’ Zola began.
But Ethan held his hand up and embraced Katy. ‘It’s fine. I have a sister just like her,’ he said, patting Katy’s back until she was ready to let go.
‘So, wait, how are we going to get into the building?’ Zola asked. ‘They’ve probably revoked our access cards after the Met debacle, and that place is harder to get past the front desk than into my local GP’s surgery!’
The four of them thought for a few moments.
‘There’s a lift in the basement,’ Ella said. ‘Jimmy and I used it one night. Would you have access to it?’ she asked Ethan.
He hummed. ‘Sure. All board members have access to that parking lot, but I prefer to ride my bike to work.’
Zola shot him a stare, as if to say, dude, you can break your routine this one time.
‘But tomorrow I will borrow my mum’s car,’ he conceded, his eyes rolling slightly at the inconvenience.
The three of us smiled at his reaction, and Katy pushed back her shoulders. ‘So, we finally get to the bottom of this tomorrow then?’ she asked.
‘Too right.’ Ella smiled. ‘Yep!’
Zola grinned, striding towards Ella’s bedroom door. ‘So, let’s get the heads down, guys, and finally catch this bastard!’