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“I’m about an hour from gaining access to all of Nina Anderson’s bank accounts. Closed and current. Anything hidden, I’ll find it.”
“No.” I close my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. The shit Mason has been through this year—this month. And then the way Nina has been there for him through it all. There’s no fucking way, and even if there was, and it is Nina, maybe turning the other cheek is the only right thing to do. At least for now. “Drop it with Nina. Close the account, so they can’t take anymore—can you do that? If you can find out who exactly sent the payments, tell me. I’ll pay you for the extra work you’ve put into this, and you can go back to your floor.” I sigh, deleting the email. “I appreciate the time you’ve put into this, Ben.”
“Lance, it’s her. It’s right there in black and white.”
I frown at his tone. “Is it, though? Nina wouldn’t have the first clue how to do this. It’s taken you months to figure it out, and you’re the smartest bloke I know when it comes to this stuff. This isn’t some random person, and you know it. Make sure it ends here and close the accounts.”
He doesn’t answer me for the longest time, and I get the feeling he’s pissed off, which I understand, considering he’s spent months working on this for me to tell him to drop it now.
“I’ll see you when I get back from my leave.”
“Yeah,” he sniggers, seemingly shaking it off. “Yeah, all right, Lance. Have a good one, yeah?”
I hang up and scrub my hands over my face, hating the way my gut tells me I’m an idiot for ignoring what Ben’s just told me.
I’m about to spend a week with Nina on holiday. If I can get her alone, I’ll ask her myself.
There’s a knock at my door. “Cheer up, mate.” I look up to find Charlie on the threshold. “You ready to go?”
I shut down my computer and stand, unbuttoning my vest and then my shirt so that I can change. “I was ready last week. It’s been the month from hell.”
He checks his watch and then strides around the room to sit on my sofa. “There’re not a lot of things I agree with you on, Sullivan, but even I can agree with that. How do you feel about seeing Scarlet?”
I shrug, sliding on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt.
“She’s doing great, in case you were wondering. Looking more like herself again.”
The idea she wasn’t herself, even for a second, is enough to make my jaw go stiff. I pull on my trainers. “Good.”
I have no idea how it’s going to go with her this week. Whether she will even want to talk to me. The fact she’s coming is enough. And it means she won’t be cooped up in the house all on her own.
When I eventually lift my head, I find Charlie twisted in the seat, looking at me with a smile.
Charles Aldridge isn’t much of a smiler.
“What?”
“You surprised me, that’s all.” He looks like the guy I knew at uni. A little lighter. He probably needs this break as much as the rest of us after everything that unfolded. “Do yourself a favour and talk to her this week.”
I reach for my suit and place it in my bag, cocking my head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
He takes his time to stand, a stupid smile on his face that he wears all the way out into the foyer.
Scarlet
A racing heart or heart palpitations can be caused by conditions such as dehydration, low blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and anaemia. I know this because I read it in my textbook just last week.
Highlighted the motherfucker for good measure.
I feel betrayed. Body and mind. Because Lance Sullivan is the only condition and cause for the state my heart is in right now.
I didn’t allow myself the time to think about how this would go. Didn’t get nervous or overthink spending a week with him and our friends. I buried myself in my assignments, making sure I was caught up and then some so that I could come away guilt-free and confident I was ready for uni.
Standing here now with my suitcase handle clutched in my hand, watching as he and Charlie climb from their taxi, I feel stupid for not giving him the headspace sooner.
“Why’s your ass fidgeting?” Elliot asks, looking down at me.
“It’s not,” I defend too quickly.
