‘I think that’s rather their point,’ said Slim, lighting up a B&H. ‘This is an oasis of culture and tradition. Or rather’ – he glanced distastefully up at the screens – ‘it was . . .’
Frankie had had enough. ‘Yeah? Well, bad luck. This isn’t a charity or a museum. The TVs ain’t going anywhere. At least until the final. Especially if England get through.’
‘Ah, so there is a chance this’ll turn back to a proper club after that, then?’ Slim said. ‘You should have just said. I’ll let the boys know.’
A proper club? By which he meant a snooker club, which is exactly what the Ambassador Club had been since 1964. And, yeah, a big part of Frankie wanted that too, to keep the tradition alive, but for that he needed money and the plain fact of the matter was that all his usual punters like Ash and Sea Breeze just didn’t bring in enough cash.
‘It all depends on how the tournament goes,’ he said. He meant his tournament, not this one. Snooker, not footy – the Soho Open. The tournament he’d spent every second of his free time these last six months trying to set up. ‘If that starts to make money, then fine. We’ll go back to how it was. But until it does, the TVs stay and this lovely lot’ – he pointed at the crowd – ‘they stay too. Because it’s their wonga that’s currently keeping this place alive. And, anyhow, I don’t see what your problem is with any of them, they all seem perfectly bloody nice people to me –’
A sudden burst of shouting. A goal? Nah, nothing doing on the screens. Frankie’s eyes flicked right. More yelling. Shit. Trouble. A surge of bodies over there in the corner. The sound of breaking glass.
Bollocks! Here we go again. Frankie gritted his teeth in anticipation of more trouble coming his way, just when he didn’t need it. The story of his fucking life.
THE BREAK
Ronnie O’Sullivan OBE won his first major snooker event at the age of seventeen. He has won thirty-three titles, including five world titles, six UK Championships and a record seven Masters titles. Blessed with the rare gift of being able to play both left- and right-handed, Ronnie made the fastest 147 on record at the 1997 World Championship – in five minutes and twenty seconds.
Away from snooker, Ronnie loves running, cooking and writing. The Break is the third book in the Soho Nights series, following the hugely successful Framed and Double Kiss.
By Ronnie O’Sullivan
Fiction
FRAMED
DOUBLE KISS
THE BREAK
Non-Fiction
RUNNING
RONNIE
First published 2018 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2018 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-6400-3
Copyright © Ronnie O’Sullivan 2018
Cover Images: Centre man and pool table © RooM the Agency/Alamy; Woman © PeopleImages/Getty Images; Man © Shutterstock
The right of Ronnie O’Sullivan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third-party websites referred to in or on this book.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.
The Break Page 25