34
The little hotel was swanky by name and swanky by nature. Fancy chocolates on the pillows, mini-bar full to the brim, the toilet roll was folded into neat triangles. Mind you, none of it was complimentary, as they would have you believe, not at two hundred and fifty pounds a night. They had checked in yesterday and had a little meal in the bar; that had cost a small fortune, considering it had barely been big enough to feed a poxy budgie, but Tanya had cheered up a bit, so Jay thought that it had been worth every penny.
His plan had been just to drop Tanya off, but now as the sunlight beamed through the edge of the curtains he realised that she had had other plans: she had been persuasive last night. He had to get back now though, he hadn’t seen Kate in three days, and although there had been times he had been away from home for longer he wanted to know what was going on, if anything. Looking at Tanya lying next to him, her tanned naked body all snug under the sheets, it was hard to drag himself away. Being careful not to disturb her, he quietly put his clothes on and took his car keys from the side table. Leaving a note on the coffee table saying that he would call her later, he left her some cash for pampering at the spa, closed the door gently behind him and made his way home.
Ryan couldn’t physically function in the morning without a cup of tea with four sugars, he was like a bear with a sore head most of the time anyway, but catch him before he’d woken himself up with his mug of “cha” in the morning and you’d be in trouble. He glanced once more out of the window, watching the beamer pull up outside.
Billy had filled Ryan in on what had been happening with Jay: not only the drugs and debt collecting that had been done in Billy’s name, but the girls, including his sister’s best mate, Emma. He had been only too happy to stay at Sonia’s and keep the scummy fucker out. The couch had been nice and comfy and Sonia was just knocking up a nice fry up for him, she had been keeping the teas coming since he had arrived yesterday. She was a lovely woman; he could see that. His mum had been a waste of space. She had had no time for him or his brother and they had been left alone frequently when they had been growing up, often nearly starving and having to fend for themselves. How the fuck someone like Jay could have such a lovely mother like this one, God only knew.
To be fair, none of the lads had taken to Jay when he had first come on board. However, they had all been told by Billy that that was the way it was going to be and they were to like it or lump it. Jay had only been given errands, really: nothing major. They certainly hadn’t given him any “in” on the real money that there was to be earned.
All of the lads knew that Billy thought the world of his sister, and that was the only reason he had put them in the position of having to work alongside with such a loser, but it had at first made everyone question Billy’s priorities. They had worked alongside him for years, and he always came up trumps with deals and connections. He had a real way of talking people into things and getting exactly what he wanted: he was a perfect businessman. Billy had wanted to keep an eye on Jay, and that he had: he knew everything about the crooked little shit now. Billy was currently making sure that Jay Shaw didn’t fuck up his sister’s life any more than he had already: cue Ryan. After what he had been told about Jay and his scummy ways, it was the least he could do to help Billy out; knowing that none of them had to put up any pretence anymore and be civil to the sly little fucker was the icing on the proverbial cake.
Hearing Jay scraping his key at the front door, Ryan put his cup in the sink, and gave a now pale-looking Sonia a reassuring look; he knew he had the look of a man that could sort anything, and he was in control of this situation.
Trying another key, Jay couldn’t work out why he couldn’t get in; he only had a couple of keys on the fob, and one of them had to work. Realising he was getting nowhere, he realised that the dozy bitch Sonia must have changed the locks: well, that answered one question then, didn’t it? The shit had obviously hit the fan. What Sonia thought she was doing getting involved he just couldn’t fathom, he had as much right to be here as her: if it wasn’t for him, she would have fuck all to her name. It might be her house, but he had done the place up; he had bought some massive fuck-off telly for her to watch her poxy soaps on: what was she fucking playing at? Jay was about to start booting the door in, when it opened. He was confronted by a large, beefy-looking Ryan. Jay didn’t have a chance to ask Ryan what the fuck he was doing in his house, before he registered what was going on, he was slammed onto the floor, with Ryan’s fists raining down on him, blow after blow.
“Next time you show your face around here, boy, I’m going to cut your fucking throat, do you hear me? You’re not fucking welcome. If I hear of you even looking at Sonia or Kate the wrong way, I’m going to personally cut you up into tiny little pieces and feed you to my fucking dogs. Do I make myself clear?”
Jay could just about see Ryan’s face; it was screwed up and red with hate and anger. Just when he thought the punches had stopped, Ryan leant down and whispered:
“And this one’s for Emma, you slimy fucking cunt.”
Getting up and launching his size-eleven boot into Jay’s stomach, he then spat at him before turning and walking back into the house and double-locking the door, more for Sonia’s benefit than anything: he had a strong feeling that Jay wouldn’t be so stupid as to come back again.
Jay struggled up off the floor. It had been a pounding all right, but he knew Ryan’s reputation, and that was a little tap compared to what that man was capable of. Glad that the warning was over, he scurried back to his car; hoping that as few people as possible had just witnessed his humiliation, he pulled away so quickly that his tyres screeched. He was aware that his own mother had probably stood and watched that whole scene, along with half the fucking neighbourhood, twitching their curtains and probably loving the show. He pulled up a few streets away and, after wiping the blood from his nose, he rested his head on the steering wheel.
Shit, they knew about Emma.
He knew he was up fucking Shit Street without a paddle. Billy has dumped Tanya, now it was Jay’s turn to be in the firing line. He decided to make a few calls to his contacts to see exactly how far this thing had gone.
Robbie Challis had been expecting Jay’s call. Billy had paid him a visit a few days earlier, after following Jay. Robbie had been very humble to Billy and had explained that he had thought Jay was working for Billy. Billy had felt sorry for the bloke, it was clear Jay had mugged him off and was using Billy’s name to do so. He asked Robbie how much he had given in cash to Jay, and Robbie figured it at about four grand; his last lot had been the week before, and they were busting their guts to make the five grand a week Jay demanded.
“Tell you what, mate, you keep it, on the condition that you tell Jay the next time he calls round that you do work for me, and that from now on he’ll have to go through me, too: understand?” Billy reasoned.
“Yeah.” Robbie was shitting himself; he could see Billy was really pissed off; he was glad that he wasn’t his target.
“What about Jay, though, he’s bound to kick off, Billy.”
Looking around the tiny flat, seeing the scales on the table and the collection of mobile phones next to them, Billy could see that this guy was out of his depth and just some small-time druggie, Jay always tried to pick on the weak. Billy grinned, deciding that Robbie could keep his money, he wanted no part of it: he had bigger fish to fry.
“If he calls, just pass the message on. Any trouble from that ponce, you call me, right. As far as I’m concerned, you and me have no axe to grind, mate, you get on with your business, it doesn’t interest me one bit, but you make sure you tell Jay you’re working for me from now on, got it, and trust me, once he hears that you will get no trouble at all, mate.” Dropping his card onto the table, he let himself out.
“Right.” Breathing a huge sigh, Robbie was relieved that he no longer had to break his neck trying to get Jay’s dough together before he could think about his own money. So when the call from Jay cam
e in, Robbie Challis enjoyed every word. As he inhaled one of the biggest spliffs he had ever rolled, this one of course for celebration purposes, he said down the phone:
“Jay? Sorry, Jay who?”
Riled, Jay thought the bloke must be truly fucking stoned to be talking like this.
“You listen to me, you fucking waster,” he began, but before he could finish his sentence he was interrupted by a slow cackle.
“Why don’t you just fuck off, Jay, you poncing cunt,” Challis said, slowly and clearly so that Jay could take every syllable in. “Billy says he’s personally collecting the money from now on, any problems with that and you take it up with him. So you, you fucking mug, can do one.”
Hearing the dialling tone, Jay realised that Challis had hung up. He was shitting himself, his worst thoughts had been confirmed and he had a terrible feeling that this was just the start of things to come. This was turning into a bitch of a day.
35
The saucy brunette was using every trick in the book. She had on a low-cut top and a very pert pair of breasts spilled over of it every time she leaned forward. She had been flicking her hair and pouting for the best part of the evening but, to be honest, Paul found it more entertaining than anything else. She was a very attractive girl, he would be a liar to deny that, and it was good for his ego to know that he still had it, but he had met dozens like her and she was nothing special.
It never failed to surprise him that so many girls tried it on with him as soon as they realised this club was his. He was more shocked that they seemed to be completely unaware of how obvious they were. Gold-diggers of the worst kind, they were more transparent than the fucking windows.
Peeling himself away from the disappointed girl at the bar, insisting he had work that needed his attention, he made his way to the sanctuary of his office. Pouring himself a whiskey, he went through his e-mails half-heartedly. He glanced at the clock and then back at the computer screen; tapping his fingers on the desk, he chuckled to himself. He had just realised that if anyone had been here to see him they would have just witnessed the look of a lovesick man. He knew that he had been doing nothing but mope, he could admit to himself that he was feeling lost without Kate. She was having a few days off, she had rung and explained that she needed to help her friend, and after hearing the story Paul said he would help her in any way possible. Kate had also asked whether, when she came back to work, she could bring Emma for a trial behind the bar to see if she was up to it. He had agreed without question; they could always do with extra hands, the place was booming, and if Kate thought Emma was up to it that was good enough for him. Paul had told Kate that if there was anything she needed she should call him. She hadn’t, though. Which was, obviously, a good thing, but he had hoped that she would have called by now. He missed her. She had her brother to look out for her, but Paul was her friend: they had become close. He knew that if he hadn’t heard anything from her, though, it meant she was okay.
Paul realised that he wanted Kate to call just so he could hear her voice. He also realised that he had, somehow when he wasn’t looking, turned into a soppy bastard. Laughing once again, he knew that at some point he had fallen for her. He hadn’t known until now how much he loved being around her, working with her, laughing with her, talking for hours about anything and everything. He hadn’t felt like this about anyone for a long time and it had really shocked him. He had only been in love once, and he had been hurt badly: some might say beyond repair. His ex, Caroline, had taken him for a complete ride, she had cheated on him with anyone that had a pulse. He had been oblivious, completely unaware of what had been going on behind his back throughout their relationship. He had been so busy trying to build up his career, working every hour that he could, that he had no idea what she had been getting up to. Paul had wanted desperately to make a decent living so that he could provide for her and for his now broken family. Sophia, his beautiful baby… it broke his heart to think of her, she deserved more than what they had given her. It had been such a mess, when he finally found out the truth about Caroline sleeping her way through the city, through a work contact of all people who was trying to do him a favour, he had confronted Caroline, half expecting her to be sorry. At the least she could have sounded apologetic. He expected her to beg him to stay with her and to say that she had made an awful mistake. Paul had been full of rage at the betrayal, yet somewhere inside, he thought that if she was sorry and if she hadn’t meant to hurt him, maybe he could fix things. After all, he had done nothing but work twenty-four seven for months; even if it had been for both of them, he hadn’t been there for her. The last thing he had expected when he had confronted her was her laughing in his face and sneering at him that it was entirely his fault. Caroline had blamed him for all of it; none of it had been her fault. She had screamed at him in anger that it was he who had driven her to sleep with other men. He had neglected her; he had never been there; she had been lonely. She reeled off a list of her conquests whilst slugging a gin and tonic, all the time staring into his eyes triumphantly. He had stood in front of her a broken man, realising that this was nothing more than a game. Paul had tried to be a good husband; she had tried to score points. He had known then that it was all pointless; it had been for nothing. Paul had never known her. So he had walked away, and he had never looked back. Since then he had never trusted a woman, and he had thrown himself even more into building his career. He had found success, had more money than he could have wished for, but he had learnt the hard way that there was more to life than money and clubs. If he did get a chance at love again, he would put that first above everything. He wouldn’t make the mistake of thinking money was showing your love. Money wouldn’t keep you warm after a hard day at work, and he didn’t want to grow old alone.
Paul never mentioned his beautiful Sophia to anyone; she was his private business. He had kept her and everything about her close to his heart, but he had felt lately that he could tell Kate, they had become so close; there were times when he almost had told her. She had her own stuff going on, though, what with her losing the baby, and he had never felt it the right time: one day maybe he would.
Deciding rather than moping in the office all alone, he would pick up the phone to give her a call to see how she was doing, he downed his whiskey and dialled.
“Ooh, someone has a little crush on you,” giggled Emma. Kate blushed as she put down her mobile phone. She had been on the phone to Paul for at least twenty minutes, catching up on the gossip from the club. Although it had only been a few days, she felt as though she had been away forever.
“Don’t be so silly; he’s my boss, and he’s just checking to see how I am.” Kate could feel her cheeks burning and knew that her friend was nowhere near convinced.
“A concerned boss, eh….” Emma was laughing. “Oh Kate, you really are oblivious, aren’t you, love?”
“What?” Kate exclaimed. “You have it all wrong, Ems, you really do; he’s just a nice guy, and he’s just making sure I’m okay. Not all men are after something, you know.” Immediately regretting her words, she quickly added, “Oh, Emma, I didn’t mean anything by that, honest….”
“Don’t be daft, Kate, I know you didn’t. I’m sure that he is a lovely guy. I mean, from all that you’ve told me; not that you talk about him every five minutes, or anything.” Laughing even louder, she ducked down as Kate threw a cushion across the lounge; just missing her it landed on the couch next to her. Kate laughed too and realised that it was the first time she had seen Emma apparently happy since they had left the hospital, including in the last few nights when they had stayed up late and spoken about everything. It had been hard for Kate to take it all in: she had no idea about what Emma had been through. Kate had been angry at first when Emma had first told her about sleeping with Jay behind her back, but Kate realised now that Jay was persuasive, and it had all been part of his plan. Emma had just been sucked into it all. Kate had found it hard to listen to some of Emma’s painful experiences, such as th
e time when Emma had been tied up and beaten by some psycho, and was even more freaked out when Emma told her that Jay had known about it, he had been, by all accounts, completely responsible for it. It sickened her to her stomach. Emma had also been beside herself with grief when Kate told her about losing the baby, but Kate had said as scary and devastating as it was maybe it was one of God’s small mercies, as she had been spared from being tied to Jay forever. The fact that she could no longer have kids she kept to herself; Emma had too much of her own stuff to deal with right now without Kate adding her own problems to the list. Besides, Kate had been trying to block it out of her mind, saying it out loud would mean she would have to deal with it, and she wasn’t ready for that yet. Kate could see that Emma was struggling without the drugs, but she was determined to stay clean. The doctor at the hospital who had treated her said he had rarely seen anyone who had become so dependent on drugs leave without medication to help them through the cold turkey process, but then he also added he had never seen anyone as adamant as Emma about staying clean.
“You know,” smiled Kate, “I think having someone like Paul watching out for me is not such a bad thing.”
“Oh?” Emma raised her eyebrows.
“Yeah, I know I have Billy looking out for me, but sometimes I have to be so careful about what I say around him, you know how over-protective he can be.”
Emma nodded. Anyone who knew them knew that Billy guarded Kate with his life; she had to admit though from what Kate had told her that Billy seemed to be easing off on her lately. He had given them this place, for starters, and he had given them space, just a few text messages every now and again just to check that they were both alright.
“Well, Paul is just so easy to talk to; he doesn’t judge me or quiz me about stuff, he just says his piece and that’s that; he’s been a really good friend.”
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