‘It’s hurting me as much as it’s hurting you, Nev,’ he drawls, like we’re old mates.
I fucking bet it isn’t, I think bitterly. There’s no camaraderie here, only betrayal.
Bradley’s just yanked the rug out from under me, and now he’s got the audacity, the absolutenerve, to call me ‘Nev’, as if we’re pals. The cunning little bastard knows exactly what he’s doing.
I can’t hold back any longer. ‘We had an agreement, Bradley,’ I snap, my anger boiling over. ‘I gave you all the materials at cost. I cut you a good deal.’
The betrayal stings. How could I have been so blind to his real intentions? But this ends now. He’s not getting away with it. Not if I’ve got anything to say about it.
He shrugs, maddeningly casual. ‘The work is shoddy, Nev,’ he says, his eyes like flint. ‘I’ll have to pay to get it redone.’
The fury inside me flares. How can I not have seen this coming? People warned me about Bradley’s reputation, but I was desperate. He circled me like a vulture over an injured animal. Now his scarred cheek twitches as he meets my gaze, and I realise just how cleverly I’ve been played.
Bradley Stern isn’t a friend. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I am the lamb.
‘You’re a piece of scum,’ I shout, raising my arm to punch him. His two gorillas immediately step forward and grab me. ‘I should have listened to what people said about you.’
‘It was shoddy work, Nev,’ he says calmly.
‘I’ll take you to court,’ I growl.
‘Try it,’ he says. ‘If you can afford a solicitor, which I doubt. First rule of business, Nev, know your clients. Now, I’ve got a mess to sort out, so either walk out or get thrown out.’
‘Stop calling meNev! I did a good job and you bloody well know it.’
‘Yeah. At the start. When I paid you half the money. Then it all went downhill, didn’t it?’
The houses I built were perfect, and he bloody well knows it. He’ll have tenants in them within weeks, collecting rent, while I’m left with nothing. After paying the builders, I’ll be lucky to have two grand left. Meanwhile, Carol’s on my back for overdue child support and is threatening to take me to court.
‘I can’t let you see them, Nev. Not if you don’t support us,’ she said.
Once Bradley had paid the final invoice, I planned to give her three months in advance plus the back pay. Now, all I can scrape together is the back pay, and God knows how I’ll afford the next payment.
‘Tell you what I’ll do,’ Bradley says heartily, tapping me on the shoulder. I shrug him off. Right now, I could kill the bastard.‘You forget all that court nonsense, and I won’t tell anyone the work was shoddy.’
‘I didn’t do shoddy work,’ I yell.
‘That’s the deal, Nev. Now get the fuck out of my office before I change my mind.’
His goons take a step forward, but I don’t give them the satisfaction. I turn and walk out.
It’s a ten-minute walk to town, and I head straight to The Crown. A waitress walks past me with plates of fish and chips. My stomach rumbles.
‘Ploughman’s?’ George, the owner, asks.
‘Not today. Just a pint.’
‘I’ll bring it over.’
I sit down, and to my horror, my mind drifts to ways of ending it all. Pills? I wouldn’t know what to take. Hanging? I’d probably botch it. Maybe throw myself under a bus. Or I could use the car exhaust… I jump when George places the pint in front of me.
‘I was just telling those fellas,’ he says, nodding to a table of suited men, ‘what a great builder you are. Showed them the extension you did here. One of them’s looking for someone. Want me to introduce you?’
Fate, or what?
Here I am considering suicide, and it turns out that maybe someone is watching over me after all. ‘Sure,’ I say, grabbing my pint.
I follow George. The men look up. They’re wearing slick suits and have a confident air about them. They’re of the type who never have to worry about bills or bailiffs.
