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‘Yeah, yeah,’ his father replied, depressing the silicone circles with his thumbs so fast it sounded like he was making popcorn.
‘Dad!’
Kevin tossed the toy to the desk and picked up the fidget spinner again. ‘We’ve got a bit of an issue.’
James’s heart sank. What now?
‘We’re going to have to relocate the company I bought for you.’
‘Where?’
‘Here.’
‘No.’ James stood. ‘Absolutely not.’
His dad flicked the spinner and balanced it on the end of his thumb. ‘No choice, son. If we’re paying rent on that place in Bath then there’s no moolah left to pay for the gig next year.’
Christ. ‘How long have we got?’
‘Gotta be out at the beginning of next week.’
‘What?’ James felt like he was watching what little was left of his life disappearing down a plug hole. ‘It’s buying this shit hole that’s done it, hasn’t it?’ he yelled, gesturing to the house around them.
His father stood. ‘Watch it, son.’
‘They saw you coming, didn’t they?’
‘I got this pad for a steal,’ his father blustered.
‘Bullshit. It was on the market for months. You should have got it for a quarter of what you paid.’
‘Your mum wanted it.’
‘You still could have got the price down!’ James ran his hands through his hair. ‘I’m not doing this. I’m walking away.’
‘You can’t.’
James stalked to the door. ‘Watch me.’
His dad ran after him. ‘Son, if you do that, we’ll lose the house.’
‘What are you talking about?’
Kevin looked away, his hands now fiddling with loose change in his pockets. ‘Our businesses have taken a hit over the last couple of years, and you’re right, I overextended getting this place. I can just about scrape together enough to pay for what we promised in the contract, but if you can’t make the event next summer turn a profit, then your mum and I are out on our arses.’
James took out his phone and fired off an email.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Telling our only surviving member of staff to cancel the meeting on Monday with our business partner.’
His dad’s shoulders relaxed. ‘So, you’ll do it? You’ll stay?’
‘I’m doing this for Mum, not you. And you know what you have to do. Anyone connected with the new business, whether stakeholders or the guy who delivers pizza after hours, they never see you.’
James held his father’s gaze as the terms of a bargain struck twenty-six years ago were aired once more.
‘Deal?’
