'Hi', I said, not really quite believing where I was.
He pulled me into him, and kissed me deeply. It was such a welcome kiss, I didn't want to let him go.
'I missed you', I said, losing myself in him. I hadn't realised by quite how much, but just seeing him made the depressing week I'd had, seem like a million miles away and nothing of even the slightest importance.
'I've missed you too', he said. 'This week will be ours. No work, no long phone calls, no business at all, unless it's to do with us, I promise.'
'I can't believe this. Is this your own plane?'
'Haha, yes', Devizes said. 'Of course. Come and sit down, have a drink.'
It was just like I'd seen on films, but even better. A bar, sofas, a TV, it looked just like someone's living room. I couldn't believe I was in a plane. A private plane. I sat down, Devizes next to me with his hand on my thigh. I picked up his drink and took a sip.
'Mojito', he said.
'Mmm', I said, 'it's delicious.'
'Would you like one?'
'Ok', I said. 'Why not?!'
'There were staff members buzzing around making checks, and busying themselves before we took off. Devizes called one of the girls over - a pretty cappuccino skinned model type who I wondered whether was Stephanie, and she took my drinks order with a large smile that showed off her light brown gums.
'So where are we going?' I asked.
'We'll get to that', Devizes said, 'but before that, I have some good news for you.'
'More good news?' I asked, a little overwhelmed already.
'Yes.'
He produced my book from a drawer in a cabinet next to us.
'Fallen Away', he said, holding it up. 'has been described by my senior editor, as a brilliant piece of work.'
I couldn't believe what he was telling me. I put my hand over my mouth and choked back tears as he kept on talking, bathing me in compliments.
'I quote, subtle, heartfelt, and tear-jerkingly sad, this page-turning romance is one of the best books I've read in years.'
'You're kidding me', I said eventually.
'I'm not, I promise you', Devizes said, 'she loved it.'
'I can't believe it', I said.
'She did also say, and this has nothing to do with the story, that it had literally hundreds of grammatical mistakes. Commas in the wrong places, typos, apostrophe issues, you know, the common things the average person struggles with.'
'Right', I said.
'So she's going to get someone to do a copy edit, and a proofread, and then approve it for publication.'
My mojito arrived.
'Publication', I said, my jaw almost banging on the floor.
'Publication', Devizes said, a wide smile on his face. 'Advertising campaign, full promotion, book launch and signing, prominent adverts in major sites across London, full scale internet campaign, and TV interviews if we can get them.'
I didn't know what to say. Devizes slid the book back to me and took a sip of his mojito, and all I could do was look at him blank-faced.
'What do you say?' Devizes said eventually.
I burst into tears.
'You're supposed to be happy', Devizes said, jokingly.
'I am', I said, a mess of tears, red eyes and saliva gummed lips. 'You don't know how much this means to me.'
'I can see', Devizes said. 'The team will do the revisions while we are away - she's brilliant too - and then the advertising should already be up by the time we get back. They are keen to get this book launched quickly, because there's some romance tie-in they want to work with. Is that ok with you?'
'Yes', I said. 'My god, yes of course.'
'That's not all', Devizes said.
'There's more?'
'There is', he said. 'We want to commission you to write another one.'
'Another one?' I said, unable to process anything at all right now.
'Actually another three. It's a three book deal.'
'A three book deal?'
More tears came running wildly out of my eyes. I was crying so much anyone would have thought Devizes was giving me bad news, not good news. I felt the room spin and everything around me go a little blurry. If I didn't have Devizes's beautiful face to focus on, I would have passed out.
'A three book deal', Devizes said. 'I have to say this isn't my area of expertise, but they want to offer you a commission to write three books for them, well for us I suppose, over the next three years. So that's a book a year.'
'I don't know what to say.' I said, utterly bewildered by what was going on.
'They'll give you an advance, and then all royalties on the book sales over that advance amount. Do you want to know how much they want to pay you per book?'
'Ok', I said, completely lost.
'Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds.'
'Jesus Christ', I said. I had to take a long gulp of mojito just to control my breathing.
'I made them put it up to a million for the three books over the three years. How does that sound?'
I nearly spat the mojito out all over the desk.
'A million pounds', I shouted.
'A million pounds', Devizes said again.
'I think I'm dreaming', I said. 'Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming.'
'You're not dreaming Alice.'
'Where did you come from?' I said. 'This is all just too much for me to believe. Three weeks ago I was just a waitress with a box of books gathering dust in my closet, and now I've met you, and you want to publish my book, and pay me a million pounds to write three more. A million pounds Devizes, fucking hell. Why me?'
Devizes shrugged his shoulders humbly. 'I like you', he said. 'What more can I say? And that contract, by the way, they decided that, not me. You earned that without me.'
'I wouldn't have got the book there without you.'
'They wouldn't have agreed to take it on if you weren't talented enough.'
'I can't believe what's happening. Thank you Devizes, thank you so much.'
I threw myself at him then, hugged and kissed and pressed myself on to him. 'Does this plane have a private booth?' I asked.
'Otherwise known as a bedroom?' Devizes said, raising his eyebrows. 'What kind of self respecting billionaire do you think I am? Of course it does.'
'Can we go and use it?' I whispered into his ear, while I pressed my hand between his thighs searching for his joystick.
'When you tell me where you want to go we can', Devizes said.
'You mean?'
'Yep.'
'Anywhere?' I asked. 'This is fucking insane.'
He nodded.
'Anywhere you like. If it went to the moon and you wanted to go, I'd take you there too.'
'Italy', I said. Venice. No wait, the French Riviera. Or India. Or Canada. Or New Zealand. I don't know.'
'What kind of thing do you want?' Devizes asked. 'City, country or beach?
'Beach', I said. 'Definitely beach.'
'Touristy or secluded?'
'Secluded'
'Tropical or temperate?'
'Tropical.'
'Ok', Devizes said. 'Ireland it is.'
I laughed. 'Wait' I said, 'I don't have clothes, I didn't bring anything with me but my passport.'
'We'll buy clothes', Devizes said.
'We're not really going to Ireland are we?' I asked him, after he'd phoned the message to the pilot and ordered two more mojitos.
'No, Devizes said, we're going somewhere a little more exotic, and a little more personal. I've got an island in the South Pacific, that should suit our needs perfectly.
'You have an island?' I said, still not grasping the difference between our two worlds.
'It's a group of islands actually, but yeah, I guess I do.'
We belted up for the take off, and then when we'd climbed high enough to walk around the plane freely, Devizes took me into his bedroom and we climbed that little bit higher together. 'Holy fuck, a million fucking pounds, he's going to publish my book, holy f
ucking fuck that feels good, don't you dare stop', were just a selection of the words going round and round my head, as Devizes and I got even more intimately acquainted in his own private chamber, Stephanie the PA, and my dad's book launch already distant memories. The plane might not have taken me as high as the moon, but Devizes definitely could. In fact he went beyond that and landed me right amongst the stars.
Chapter 10
Alice was sat down reading her book when someone rushed past, all legs and smiles, a wave of nervous energy.
'Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhht!' he shouted.
Even though Alice couldn't care less about two boys slugging it out at the far end of the football field, she did know that whether you liked it or not, it was obligatory to turn up, so when asked about the exact details of what went on, you didn't look like a complete and utter nerdatron when you were required to explain it all back.
She gathered up her things, joined the tail end of the crowd, and went to find out exactly what all the fuss was about.
'You fucking gypsy', Pike shouted, and spat on the ground. 'I'm going to tear your fucking face off.'
Dan Pike was so big he looked like he'd been genetically modified. From where she'd joined the watching ring of testosterone fuelled men and slutty girls who'd just discovered they liked that kind of thing, she couldn't see who the insult was directed at, until Pike moved towards his victim. Toby.
'Fuck', Alice said.
Toby already had a reddened cheek, rapidly developing into a swollen eye. His school bag had been upended, and all of his things had been dumped out onto the field and were still being kicked about by Pike's underlings. Alice desperately wanted to help, but if she did, she knew she'd be doing so on her own, and doing something on your own, was the last thing you did at high school.
Toby'd had a rough ride of it since they got here. For Alice, it hadn't exactly been a walk in the park, but at least she knew how to play the system a little bit better that Toby, or at least bothered to try. Toby just sort of did his thing, which she admired him for, but it always landed him in trouble, either with the teachers or with everyone else. She knew for a fact that he'd never tell the teachers he was being bullied for example, because he was far too embarrassed by it.
'Go on fuck him up', someone from the crowd said to Pike. Alice eye-balled him and he scowled back at her. 'What the fuck are you looking at bookworm?'
Alice shook her head. 'Nothing', she said.
Toby didn't have a chance against this monster. He had some fight in him, but every attack he made was worthless. Pike just baited him, and then landed punches so fiercely on each side of his head, Toby just ended up on the ground every two seconds. He wouldn't give up though. Every time he was knocked down, his face reddened even more, or Pike ripped his shirt, Toby just came back at him, a ball of pent up energy and anger.
'Teeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaacher', someone shouted.
Alice turned around to see Mr Hardwick jogging across the field to them. When she turned back to the group, everyone had already begun to disperse.
'That's not it, gypo', Pike warned Toby, and then ran as quickly as he could away from the mess he'd created.
The only people that weren't moving immediately were her and Toby. Toby sat down on the ground, exhausted. His nose was bleeding, so he wiped it with the back of his sleeve.
'What the hell is going on here?' Mr Hardwick said.
Alice was already collecting up the spilt contents of Toby's bag.
'Alice?' Mr Hardwick said. 'What's going on. Have you been fighting again Toby?'
'I've been trying', Toby said.
Mr Hardwick put his hands on his hips. He was a maths teacher with a goatee beard, long hair, and a collection of different coloured tank tops. He had a sweat problem, and wasn't very popular.
'Get to Mr Dixon's office now', Mr Hardwick said.
'Mr Hardwick it wasn't-' Alice begun to say.
'Now', Mr Hardwick cut her off.
Toby got up, snatched his bag from Alice without looking, leaving her to collect up the few remaining papers that had been turned out and trodden into the mud, and walked slowly across the field in the direction of the principals office.
'I'm disappointed in you', Mr Hardwick said to Alice, and left her there at the end of the field to think about what she'd done.
Alice made sure she'd collected everything that had been upended so effectively from Toby's bag, and walked back towards the school.
'What happened to your boyfriend?' Lisa Dart asked her when she got to the geography block.
Lisa Dart was one of the most popular girls in school. She was fiercely intelligent, hugely manipulative and had eyebrows that looked like slugs. Alice had already worked out that being on the right side of Lisa Dart was essential to ensuring her survival through high school. She formed part of the crowd of girls that other girls were desperate to be like and liked by, and that boys were desperate to be with.
'He's not my boyfriend', Alice said.
'That's not the rumour that's going round', Lisa said.
'Yeah well, the rumour's not true', Alice said.
'That why are you carrying his things?' Lisa said.
Alice looked down at the handful of muddy papers she had in her grasp.
'Mr Hardwick told me to collect it for him', Alice said, thinking quickly.
'Do you do everything that Mr Hardwick asks you to?' Clare said. She was like Lisa Dart's right hand girl - the muscle to the brains.
'No', Alice said. 'Of course not.'
'Then throw them away', Lisa said.
'These', Alice said, holding up the papers. 'What if they're important?'
'I knew you were in love with him', Clare said.
'That's not good for your reputation you know', Lisa said, tidying up her nails with an emery board. 'Being friends with the enemy is kind of like being the enemy yourself.'
'I used to like Alice', Clare said.
'Oh me too', Lisa said. 'Shame she was a dick about that gypsy boy.'
'He's not a gypsy', Alice said. 'You know that don't you?'
'Dur, I think he is actually, it's pretty fucking obvious. His trousers don't reach his ankles and he smells like shit. His parents are gypsies which pretty much means he's a gypsy too. It's not rocket science. Why, are you a gypsy too, Alice?'
'No', Alice said.
'Good', Lisa said. 'Now prove it and throw that stuff away.'
Alice looked at the two girls. Clare blew a big bubble of bubble gum, and Lisa widened her eyes to lift up the caterpillars that graced them. Reluctantly, Alice walked to the bin and threw away a large portion of Toby's sketch journal.
The girls giggled. 'Well done, bookworm', Lisa said. 'The sooner you forget about Toby, the quicker people will like you.'
'We're only trying to help', Clare said. 'We wouldn't want to have to beat you up to knock some sense into you.'
Alice watched her mash her fist into her palm menacingly
'Thanks', she said. She'd seen Clare pull one of the year seven girls to the ground by her hair, and kick her in the ribs just because she was Indian. She definitely didn't want to get on the wrong side of her.
Lisa beamed. 'You may pass', she said.
Alice walked past them towards the classroom with her head down.
'Oh Alice', Lisa said. 'If we see you with Toby again, we won't be so helpful next time.'
***
'What do they care?' Toby said, throwing sticks off the side of the tree house into the blue bell woods beyond. His eye had already swollen up, and his cheeks were still red and sore. Half a cigarette stuck out from between his middle finger and ring finger - an affectation he'd picked up from his father - from which he took long drags from time to time, like a seasoned smoker.
'I don't know', Alice said. 'I think they like me, but can't be seen with me if I'm friends with you. They just told me if I was friends with you, I'd get beaten up.'
'That's a bit fucked up isn't it?' Toby said.
'So tell them to fuck off', Toby said.
'Why are you fighting all the time?' Alice said, changing the subject slightly to avoid answering his question.
'I'm not fighting all the time', Toby said, defending himself.
'Er, yes you are. Every time there's a fight at school, you're involved.'
'He said something about my dad', Toby said.
'So what?' Alice said, 'ignore him.'
'Is that what your going to do about Lisa and Clare?' Toby said, turning around.
Alice was silent for a moment. 'It's a different thing', Alice said.
'No it's not, it's exactly the same fucking thing', Toby said. 'I thought we were supposed to be friends.'
'We are friends', Alice said.
'It doesn't feel like it', Toby said.
Alice reached into her school bag and pulled out the drawings she had rescued from the dustbin after school had finished. Doing so had meant she'd missed the school bus home and had to call her mum for a lift. Toby had tried to get it to wait, but the driver was being an ass-hole and left without her. Toby had missed her on the journey home, feeling the emptiness of the seat next to him, reflected in the hollowness of his heart.
'I picked these up for you', Alice said, handing the drawings over to Toby. 'They were all over the school field.'
Toby took them from her, folded them in half and put them to the side.
'Maybe we shouldn't spend so much time together at school', Alice said.
'What the fuck, Alice?' Toby said. 'Don't let them bully you too.'
'I'm scared', Alice confessed. 'I'm not as strong as you are.'
'Yeah well maybe I'm not as strong as you think I am.'
'And maybe you're stronger than that too', Alice said.
'I'll protect you', Toby said.
'Yeah you did a good job of protecting yourself today.'
'Thanks', Toby said sarcastically.
'Look, it would just be at school, that's all. Just for a while until things calm down', Alice said.
'You're giving up on me', Toby said.
'I'm protecting myself', Alice said. 'That's all. I'm not giving up on you.'
She reached out for Toby's hand, but he pulled it away.
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