The Goldsworth Series Box Set

by Davie J Toothill

  Asher considered the offer and couldn’t help but compare it to his date with Diane. She had offered him a taxi ride and he had felt like a deer caught in the headlights. Now that Carl was offering, he nodded instinctively, eager to prolong the time they spent together.

  Carl led the way to where he had parked his car and Asher listened raptly to what he was saying. They had made sure they had only had a pint each, so that Carl was under the legal limit to drive.

  Asher waited for Carl to unlock the car and then dropped into the front passenger seat, getting a rush of excitement when Carl’s hand brushed against his as he put the car into gear and they did up their seatbelts.

  “I’ll drop you on the edge of your estate,” Carl said, pulling out from the side of the road. “I can’t be too late, Clare will get worried.”

  “Maybe it’ll do you both some good,” Asher said, before he could stop himself.

  Carl glanced at him, clearly taken aback at the comment.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that maybe you two spending some time apart will make you appreciate what you have,” Asher said, feeling himself start to sweat. “Some people would do anything to have what you’ve got.”

  Like me, Asher thought. He would do anything to have Carl to himself.

  “Maybe you’re right,” Carl said, not taking his eyes off the road. “But I don’t think Clare would see it that way. She’d think I was asking for a separation or something.”

  Asher kept quiet, not wanting to rock the boat anymore and make him uncomfortable. He thought about Diane’s words of wisdom. Maybe he should just tell Carl how he felt about him. Then he would know either way and could stop his heart from aching with each beat.

  Carl pulled up to the side of the road and Asher felt frustrated that the drive was over already. He had wanted to tell him how he felt, explain how much he loved him, and had hoped that Carl would tell him the feelings were reciprocated and they could be together at last.

  Now, Carl looked at him expectantly and Asher undid his seatbelt, his hands shaking, starting to feel nervous at being in such close proximity to him.

  “Thanks for the ride home,” he said.

  “No problem,” Carl said. “We should do it again sometime. Maybe make it a weekly thing. God knows I could do with a couple of pints these days.”

  “Yeah, that would be great.”

  Carl was leaning forward in his seat, looking at him. His face was half in shadow and half illuminated from the nearby streetlamp. Asher looked at him, unable to move. He wanted to say goodnight and leave, but his body wouldn’t let him.

  Before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning forwards. Carl’s eyes widened in surprise and Asher closed his eyes, finding his lips with his own. For a second, their lips met and Asher felt his heart leap.

  Then Carl’s hands were on his chest, not pulling him closer, but pushing him away. Their lips broke apart and Asher saw, in the dim light, that Carl’s face was a mask of horror and shock.

  “I’m sorry,” Asher said, horrified at what he had done.

  Carl didn’t speak, looking too shocked to say anything. Asher opened the car door and was grateful for the cold air pouring over him. He took a backwards glance, but Carl’s expression hadn’t changed. Asher climbed out of the car as fast as he could and slammed the door behind him.

  The car’s engine caught and Carl sped down the road, leaving Asher looking after him feeling both humiliated and devastated. He had acted, and he had been rejected. Not just rejected, but now he would be lucky if Carl didn’t come after him with a tyre iron.

  He wouldn’t want to partner him anymore and definitely wouldn’t want to go for a few pints at the pub with him. The news would spread around the station and Asher felt himself sweating at the thought of the embarrassment he would feel.

  He began walking across the estate towards home, fighting against the tears he knew would come. He had blown his chances and things could never be the same again.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “What do you mean, we can’t have it?” Charley asked, feeling her temper rising. “We offered to pay the deposit and everything. You said that the checks were just a formality.”

  The estate agent looked uncomfortable but Charley didn’t care. She had been kept waiting at the office for over half an hour, expecting to be able to sign the lease, hand over the deposit and collect the keys to the flat. Instead she had been told that the official checks had come through and they couldn’t rent the flat.

  “They are a formality,” the estate agent said, trying to keep up the facade of a smiling beauty. “We check employment history and financial history. It’s just to make sure that the rent can be paid in full each month and it’s just a nuisance for most people.”

  “Why not for us then?” Charley asked, rising to her feet and looming over the woman, putting her hands on the desk. “We can afford to pay the rent each month, so I don’t get what the problem is.”

  The estate agent blanched but kept her ground, crossing her arms and looking up at her, holding her gaze and battling not to betray her nerves.

  “You’re both listed as unemployed,” the estate agent said, her voice cool. “The landlord isn’t happy about renting the property to you. If your circumstances have changed, we can run another check and everything would be fine. As it is, we can’t rent you the flat.”

  “My boyfriend has a job,” Charley said, fighting to stop herself from reaching over the desk and throttling the woman. “He earns good money. How else do you think we can afford the deposit? I have the cash right here, have a look.”

  She dropped her handbag onto the table and fumbled with the zip. She pulled out a small pile of twenties, wrapped in an elastic band. She knew that it was enough for the deposit, because she’d counted it out with Bolton that morning in his bedroom.

  “Look, its five hundred quid,” Charley said, shoving the money under the woman’s nose. “And if you ask me, the flat ain’t even worth that much, but we’re willing to pay it.”

  “You’re not listed as employed,” the woman insisted. “Without proof of a steady income, the landlord just doesn’t want to take a risk and rent the property to you.”

  Charley dropped into the chair she had vacated and groaned. There was no point in getting worked up over this, she told herself. There were better places out there, after all.

  “Can’t you just take our word for it?” she asked, knowing the answer even as she asked.

  The woman smiled genuinely for the first time and shook her head.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, and Charley looked into her eyes. The woman may not be entirely sorry, more eager to get her out of the office than willing to help out, but she felt apologetic for raising her voice to her all the same. “You say your boyfriend has a job? If he comes in and proves his employment with us, then we could start the negotiations again.”

  Charley considered it for a moment.

  She knew that Bolton’s line of work was either illegal or on the borderline and she doubted he could prove anything to the agency. Still, it was the only option available to her.

  “Thanks,” Charley said.

  She picked up her handbag and rose to her feet. She nodded at the estate agent, who looked relieved that she was leaving, and crossed the room to the front door, where the plate glass windows made up the front of the office.

  “I’ll be back,” she said, and gave a little finger-wave to the woman.

  Enjoying the reaction she got, Charley breezed through the front door and began walking down the street. Half a block down from the office, she pulled out her phone and dialled Bolton’s number. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes.

  She had wanted the flat so much, and she just hoped Bolton could get it for her.

  * * *

  Asher lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. The white paint was cracking and was turning brown in some places, where the moisture had got in from the flat above.

  The thought o
f going to work made him feel ill. Since he had tried to kiss Carl and been rejected, he hadn’t heard from him. He could picture Carl and Clare laughing about it, their marriage cemented at his expense. Then Carl would tell everyone in the locker room and Asher would be laughed out of the station when he next went in.

  The bedroom door creaked open and Toni stood in the doorway.

  “Why aren’t you at work?”

  “I called in sick,” Asher said, not looking at his mother. He could picture the look of disapproval on her face and didn’t need to see it. “I’m staying in bed today.”

  “If you’re ill, I’ll go to the shops and get you some medicine,” Toni said, her voice softening. “Then you can go to the doctors when you’re up to walking.”

  “I don’t need medicine; I just want to be left alone.”

  “If you’re not ill, you should be at work. It doesn’t do you any good, lying in bed like this. This isn’t the man I raised you to be.”

  Asher groaned and pulled the covers over his head. Seconds later, the duvet was pulled off his face and Toni loomed over him, glaring down at him.

  “Is this because of that girl you met?” Toni asked. “Has she broken up with you?”

  “No, it’s nothing to do with that.”

  “You shouldn’t let a girl like that upset you so much,” she continued, as if he hadn’t spoken. “If she can treat you like this, then you can do much better.”

  “This is nothing to do with a girl,” Asher said, growing impatient.

  “Is it work then? Are they treating you badly?”

  “No, I just didn’t feel like going in today.”

  “In that case, I expect you to be out of bed in ten minutes,” Toni said, heading for the door. “And I’ll be up to check before I go to the shops. A man needs to earn good money before he can find a decent wife, and you’re not getting any younger.”

  Asher rolled his eyes as Toni left the room and pulled the duvet back over his head.

  * * *

  Bolton hugged Charley close to him and kissed her on the cheek.

  “I’ll go round now and sort things out. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we get this sorted out and we get our flat.”

  “They aren’t going to listen,” Charley said, pulling away from him and wiping at her eyes. “That bitch in the office told me that we need to prove one of us is in steady employment.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “Really?” Charley asked, eyebrow raised. “Whoever you work for is going to give you a written reference or whatever? I don’t think so.”

  “Maybe not, but there’ll be a way round it.”

  “She sounded pretty sure that there wasn’t,” Charley said.

  “She ain’t met me yet, babe.”

  Charley considered him for a moment and shrugged.

  “It can’t do any harm I suppose,” she said. “Anyway, I’d best go home. Mum rang me, saying something about Asher. Apparently he’s not going into work today.”

  “Doesn’t she even let him have a day off every now and again?”

  “I think she’d have us all out working twenty-four-seven if she could get away with it,” Charley said, the traces of a smile forming on her face. “You know what she’s like. Everyone should be out working except for her.”

  Bolton kissed her again and rang Dante for a lift to the office. Charley waited at his side whilst he made the call and then headed for the bus stop.

  Ten minutes later, Bolton arrived at the estate agency’s office and marched through the door, a sports bag in his hand. Dante was two steps behind him, his fists clenched and his nostrils freshly lined with a few lines of cocaine.

  “Remember the plan,” Bolton said out of the corner of his mouth.

  Dante nodded.

  “No violence,” he said, shaking his head. “Unless absolutely necessary.”

  The estate agent looked up as they entered. Her eyes flickered nervously towards them and she ran an anxious hand over the top of her head to the tight bun at the back, forcing herself to smile at them.

  “What can I do for you gentlemen?” she asked.

  Bolton stopped in front of her desk. Dante was bouncing on his heels beside him, unable to stand still. The estate agent eyed him wearily.

  “My girlfriend was here earlier,” Bolton said. “About the flat she viewed and –”

  “I remember,” the estate agent nodded. “Have you come to prove your employment?”

  Dante snorted beside him and Bolton shot him an angry look. The estate agent stiffened behind the desk.

  “Sort of,” Bolton said, dropping the sports bag onto her desk, flattening her paperwork and the estate agent murmured in protest. Before she could say anything, Bolton unzipped the bag and opened the flaps. The estate agent gasped. The bag was filled with stacks of notes. Bolton smirked at the shock on her face.

  “Call the landlord and get him down here,” Bolton said. “See if he still wants to carry out that employment check when I’m paying the first six months up front, in cash.”

  The estate agent looked at him, a new look on her face.

  “With your commission, of course,” Bolton said, with a smile. “With a little extra if we can get this sorted quickly. I’m sure there are plenty more flats out there if you can’t deliver.”

  She seemed to regard him in a different light now. She picked up the phone from her desk and punched a number in. Whilst it rang, she looked at Bolton, with a glance at the stacks of money.

  “I’ll get him down here,” she said. “I’m sure he’ll be willing to reconsider.”

  * * *

  Charley arrived home to find Toni sitting in the kitchen across from Asher, who was wearing a dressing gown and looking tired and irritated.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, looking from one to the other as she put her bag on the kitchen table and ran a hand through her hair. “You made it sound like this was some big emergency, mum.”

  “Your brother’s refusing to go to work,” Toni replied, shaking her head. “He’s even threatened to resign. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he says he’s not feeling ill.”

  “What’s wrong then?”

  “It’s too early for him to be having a midlife crisis and he won’t talk to me. I’m worried, he’s never been like this before.”

  “I am here, you know,” Asher said, glaring at them both. “I’m not deaf. I just don’t know whether I want to work at the station anymore.”

  “Why not? I thought you liked your job,” Charley said, sitting down across from him.

  Asher shrugged.

  “It’s all right,” he said. “Let’s face it, I’m hardly saving the world.”

  “You’re not doing it any harm either,” Charley reasoned, “And you’re doing more for it than most.”

  “Never mind all that,” Toni interrupted, leaning forwards and clasping Asher’s hand in hers. “You make good money. You have a respectable career. Why would you want to throw it all away just because of some girl?”

  “What girl?” Charley asked.

  She had never seen Asher with a girlfriend, but then she hadn’t spent too much time with him. She had her own life, and he had his. It wasn’t her business what he got up to with his lady friends.

  “It’s nobody,” Asher said.

  “A girl he went for dinner with,” Toni said. “She broke up with him.”

  “It was a mutual decision.”

  “Why are you so down then?” Charley asked.

  “It’s nothing to do with that,” Asher said, sounding agitated. “Can’t you two just leave me in peace for a bit? I need time to think.”

  “Fair enough,” Charley said, rising to her feet. “I’m here if you need to talk.”

  “Typical of you,” Toni said, glaring at her, and looking offended. “Your brother is in trouble but all you can think of is yourself. I don’t know where you got your selfishness from, but it certainly wasn’t me.”

  “Leave it mum,” Asher
said, holding up a hand.

  Charley looked at him, amazed. Even when he was in a bad mood, Asher played the peacemaker. She had to give him respect for that.

  “I won’t resign,” Asher said. “I just needed a day off. That’s all. I’ll be back at work soon.”

  “That’s my boy,” Toni said, looking relieved. “I’ll make you breakfast. Maybe you haven’t been eating properly. A nice cooked breakfast and you’ll be feeling better.”

  Asher nodded, not looking entirely convinced.

  Charley wanted to rescue him and was about to open her mouth to speak as Toni got up and began making breakfast, but her phone rang.

  It was Bolton.

  “Did you visit the agency?” she asked, after answering. “What did they say?”

  “I told you I’d sort it all out,” Bolton said, and Charley could hear him smiling down the phone. “I paid the deposit and filled out the paperwork.”

  “We got the flat?” Charley asked, hardly able to believe it.

  “Yeah, we got it,” Bolton said. “I told you not to worry.”

  Charley put a hand to her chest and felt her heart beating beneath it. Toni and Asher were both looking at her, Asher looking pleased for her and Toni wearing a frown. But even Toni’s disapproval didn’t affect her.

  Charley was delighted that she and Bolton would finally have a flat of their own and she would no longer have to live with her mum. Everything was falling into place.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Charley surveyed her small bedroom to make sure she hadn’t forgotten to pack anything. Her clothes were crammed into a suitcase that waited for her by the front door, and there were two cardboard boxes of hair products, make-up and the rest of her things.

  “Don’t even think about taking anything that belongs to me,” Torey said, stretched out on her single bed. “And once you’ve gone, don’t think about coming back. I finally get my own room and I don’t want to have to share with you again.”

  Charley rolled her eyes and felt emotion rise inside her.

  She had lived and slept in this room all her life and despite the frequent arguments caused by living in such close proximity to her sister, she had good memories too. It felt strange to be leaving, knowing that she wouldn’t be coming back, except for perhaps the occasional visit, though she doubted her mother would be forthcoming with invitations.