Chapter 13 #2
‘I acc—’ I swallow the rest of the sentence.
Every inch of me is screaming to accept his apology, get back to some sort of normal with him.
It would be easy enough. Eventually, we can move past this and learn to work together.
But I’ll always be on edge, always waiting for the next time he snaps and turns against me. It would only take one mistake.
I want to clear the air properly. Put it all out on the table. It’s the only way we can move forward.
‘I’m not going to pussyfoot around what happened yesterday.
We need to have it out. What you said hurt.
A lot. And to make it worse, you said it behind my back, to my boss, and without giving me a chance to try better.
Gethin took a huge chance on me, considering Topaz wouldn’t give me a reference.
But you’ve never tried. It’s like you think I only exist to make your life difficult. ’
He frowns at me over the top of his glass.
‘The past few weeks have been difficult. You came here and everything changed. Cai and Gethin stopped listening to me, stopped valuing my input. We already got off on the wrong foot at Halloween, and all the shit with Topaz in the dressing room… It fucked me off so hard – you blowing in here and changing it all. Now, they turn to you for advice instead of me. You’re this big voice and what you say goes. I’ve been reduced to a lackey—’
‘But you’re not a lackey. You’re good at what you do.’ Oops. I’ve gone and done exactly what he’s accused me of: blustering in here and washing out the value in his opinions. ‘Sorry.’
‘I know I’m not a lackey. But it feels like when I do get a chance to have my say, you don’t listen to me. All this last-minute stuff? Makes my life fucking difficult. I need time to sort things out, make sure I have the right crew on hand. Cai deserves the best, doesn’t he?’
‘He does.’
‘My reaction was uncalled for. I’m fucking ashamed that I did it. My mam would ring my neck. And the stupid thing is I don’t hate you. Not really.’
I sink into the cushions, letting his words digest. There have been times when I’ve ignored him, or when I’ve not given him time to do his job properly.
And while it doesn’t make what he said right, I can see why he got frustrated at me.
His confession casts him in a new light.
Our jobs are difficult as hell. We need to be on the same page to make it easier.
‘I guess I could have made more of an effort to talk to you about things. Topaz kept me away from the rest of the team. Isolated me. I didn’t have to answer to anyone else there. Apart from him.’
‘He’s a bellend. And I’ve been a bellend too. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be involved in everything. Can’t think of anything worse. But the shit that creates more work for me? You’ve got to come and talk to me about it.’
‘Okay. I can do that. But you need to read your emails and my messages more often.’
‘Fine.’ He tilts his glass towards me, flashing a smile I’ve not seen before – lopsided and a little goofy-looking. Maybe it’s the scotch coursing through me, but it warms me a little and helps me to relax.
I chink my glass to his, unable to stop from returning his smile.
‘Thanks, Lucy. Also, you can stop offering to get me organised. Not that I want to toot my own horn, but I’m good at what I do. I’d be a super bodyguard PA if you trained me too well.’
‘I don’t want to lose this job. Despite the hiccups – you being an arsehole, death threats, and pink thongs aside – I’m actually enjoying it.’
He laughs. ‘An arsehole? Ouch, that hurts.’
‘Hey! You were the one calling yourself a bellend.’
‘I can say what I want about myself. You need to make it up to me.’
I’ve never drunk scotch before. Maybe I shouldn’t. I’m softening towards him but I can’t let him off the hook completely. I need to see things have changed.
So I change the subject to something we have in common. ‘It’s a good job Cai’s away.’
‘Yeah. Gives me chance to speak to Aled, check the house is safe and whoever tried to hack us didn’t get to any of our files. Shit that he had to race to my sister, though. Jasper’s at the top of my hit list. Wish I’d fucking punched him yesterday.’
‘Is Bethan okay?’
‘She never speaks to me about this shit. Thinks it's weird since Cai’s my best friend.’
‘And are you okay with them being away without you?’
He wrinkles his nose up. ‘I don’t want to be the one standing guard while they’re doing it. No fucking thank you.’
‘Oh God. I didn’t think of that.’ I cover my eyes. ‘It was bad enough having to listen to Topaz with whoever he’d brought to his dressing room. Or to the townhouse while I was supposed to be meeting with him. Or in the bunk next to mine on the bus. The guy didn’t care who was listening.’
‘Yeah. Am happy to let the new guy, Bryn, prove his worth on this one.’
‘Sounds like you promoted the right one.’
‘Told you, I’m good at what I do. And Cai has to learn to be without me. I don’t exist only to look after him.’
‘What else would you do if you weren’t working here?’
‘Used to play rugby. Maybe I should get back into it. Was pretty good. Could have played for Wales.’
Of course he did. It’s the Welsh national sport.
I dip my gaze to his legs to see if he’s telling the truth.
Rugby players have thighs the size of tree trunks.
His black jeans stretch over the muscle.
Definitely a rugby player. When I look at his face, he’s smirking.
I open my mouth, to challenge him, or quiz him further or I don’t know what, but the intercom buzzes around the house.
‘Food or police?’ he asks, his voice an octave lower as if he’s affected by me checking out his thighs.
‘Food. It’ll take the police a couple of hours at least.’
I was wrong. The pizza doesn’t arrive until after the police introduce themselves, and they question us while we chew on slices. Neither of the detectives have any cyber crime experience, so they tell us they’ll call in some help. But probably tomorrow.
By the time they leave, it’s gone midnight and I’m asleep on my feet. I lean against the balustrade as Rhys shuts the front door.
‘I should order a taxi,’ I say around a yawn.
‘You could stay here,’ he suggests, setting the alarm as if it’s already a done deal. ‘The cops will be back tomorrow with their tech friends and it’ll probably be an early start. I’m gonna nab one of the spare rooms, try and get some shut eye. Plenty of space for you.’
‘Are you sure Cai won’t mind?’
‘Nah, I asked him earlier and he’s cool with it. There’ll be something for you to wear somewhere. Come on, I’ll help you get settled.’
His hand finds its way to the small of my back as he leads me up the stairs, turning the lights off as we go. If I were less tired, and if we hadn’t patched things up, I’d have a chat with him about boundaries between colleagues. It’s too late to bicker with him now.
He stops outside the first door at the top of the stairs. ‘This is the nicest of the spare rooms. ‘S got a balcony and everything. I’ll grab you a top now.’
He disappears into the room next door and returns with a Rhys-sized shirt. I can’t be that tired because my thighs squeeze together at the thought of sleeping in his clothes. Maybe my one scotch was too many scotches.
‘Do you have a room here?’ I ask instead of delving into why wearing his clothes turns me on.
He glances at the door. ‘Kinda? I keep a supply of spares in the room there, in case I need them. Maybe you should too. Better than you traveling across town alone at night. Sometimes I sleep here if we’ve been out partying.
I can never be arsed to walk to mine once I’ve got Cai home and locked up safe. ’
‘Makes sense.’
‘Want me to check for monsters under the bed?’
‘I’ll be oka—’ A yawn steals the rest of my words, and I sag against the wall. The spare bed better be comfy.
‘All right. Well, at least it’s a quiet day tomorrow. No rehearsals. Nothing. Gives me time to sort out this shit.’
‘You’ve learned the schedule?’
‘What? Like it’s hard?’ He smirks over at me and I’m momentarily stunned.
‘How are you quoting Elle Woods to me?’
He taps his nose. ‘It's a secret. You know where I am if you need anything, okay?’
I brush past him to head into my room, but linger at the doorway. It’s difficult to say goodnight to him now. Something has changed. The air is clear, and an ease has settled over us. The emotional whiplash is enough to give me a headache.
I need to sleep the past few days off. ‘Thank you, Rhys. I’m not sure what I would have done if I’d been here alone.’
‘You would have been fine. Nos da, Luce.’
‘That means goodnight, doesn’t it?’ His smile confirms it. ‘Then nos da, Rhys.’
He gives me a weary wave as he trundles along the corridor to his room.
I close my door and although nobody else is in the house, I check the wardrobe, ensuite, and balcony anyway. As I settle under the thick duvet, in a top that smells of chocolate and spearmint and something inherently Rhys – like coffee but more bitter – it clocks that he called me Luce.
I’m not usually a nickname kind of girl, but from his lips, it sounds kind of nice. I’ll let this one slide.
But only for him.