Bad Boy (Invertary 5)

“It was an accident...” Abby began, which was pretty insulting.

“Another accident?” Katy screeched. “Stop having accidents.” She glared at Flynn. “This wasn’t in our deal.” Suddenly her thunderous face turned into a calculating smile and Flynn felt genuine fear. “I’ll let you kiss my Muma if you buy me a

pony.”

“Katy!” Abby was on her feet and heading towards her daughter before he fully registered the words.

Flynn laughed as Abby lectured Katy on how she couldn’t sell her mother for a pony. He caught the terrorist’s eyes and gave her a thumbs-up gesture. If a pony was what it took to get his lips on Abby again, he’d gladly buy the kid one.

12

"I never comment on referees and I'm not going to break the habit of a lifetime for that prat."

Ron Atkinson, former manager of the England team

“I’m going to ask you again to reconsider,” Lawrence said as he drove back into the centre of town. “You have the power here. You can spend the rest of the week getting to know your sister and your niece before you go home and tell your mother there’s no reason to bring in the lawyers. Wouldn’t that be preferable to carrying out your mother’s orders? You know as well as I do, she’s in the wrong. She has no right to interfere in Katy’s life.”

Victoria stared out of the window at the passing scenery. If it wasn’t for the tight set of her lips, he would assume she wasn’t listening. He let her be for a moment. He’d known Victoria most of her adult life. She needed time to think through things. A trait he normally admired.

Abby’s house was nestled at the base of the lush green hills that cradled Invertary. It wasn’t so far away from town to be isolated, but far enough to be quiet and private. It made him reconsider his Waterloo apartment, which he’d bought after his divorce purely because it was close to the office and had a view of the Thames. He had every luxury in his apartment, yet still felt like he was living in a box. One of many boxes piled on top of each other. All filled with busy little worker bees who put in long hours in order to pay for their box. He smirked at himself. Middle age was getting to him. Next thing he knew he’d purchase a motorbike and get his ears pierced.

“Mother won’t listen,” Victoria said at last. “She never listens. You know this better than most. She wants to make Abby pay for embarrassing the family, and the best way to do that is to take her daughter away.”

Her voice was dead, as though she was stating an irrevocable fact of life. Something over which she had no influence. Her lack of emotion made Lawrence burn. There was always the option to fight.

“You can try to make her see reason. I will too. Together, we’ll make her listen. This action against Abby is baseless and will be costly. Surely your mother will understand that?”

Victoria let out a dry laugh. Admittedly, Lawrence’s time spent with Victoria had been limited to business meetings in the office, but he couldn’t remember ever seeing her smile. He thought hard, but no images of Victoria with a genuine smile on her face came to mind. The realisation was shocking.

“Mother only listens to Mother. Even when Father was alive, his opinion only mattered when it matched hers. She’s ruthless, conniving and completely without compassion. All she cares about is getting what she wants.” Victoria turned back to him, and he saw pain in her eyes. It stole the air from the car. He was so used to the emotionless veneer she presented to the world that the sight staggered him. “You deal with her more than most, Lawrence. You know it’s the truth. The best thing Abby can do is to give in quietly, hand over Katy, negotiate to spend time with her daughter and then get on with her life.”

“You don’t believe that.” He hoped she didn’t believe that. It was too horrific to contemplate if she did.

Lawrence turned into the top of the high street, a cobblestone road flanked by mismatched whitewashed houses. At the bottom of the road, the loch sat glistening in the sun, enticing everyone who looked at it to give up on their tasks and laze beside it.

“I know exactly what she’s capable of.” Victoria’s small voice sliced through him like a knife to his soul. “I know from experience, the faster you surrender, the more painless it is. She will win anyway. She always wins.”

Before he could stop himself, Lawrence reached out and patted her knee. She jerked back at his overly familiar touch.

“Not this time, Vicki. This time she’s up against the both of us. I have a good reputation and an excellent track record. The firm doesn’t need your mother’s support. We will manage fine without her business. We’re all wealthy men. If it comes to it, our partnership will cut ties and we’ll fight her on this.”

Victoria’s eyes went wide. They were an exact match to Abby’s. Except where Abby’s eyes gleamed with laughter and life, Victoria’s only held dead acceptance and fear.

“Why?” she whispered.

He noticed she didn’t remove his hand from her knee. It sent warmth flaring throughout him.

“Because it’s the right thing to do, Vicki. Because it’s the right thing to do.”

Her cheeks flushed pink and something like hope flared in her eyes before she turned back to look out the window. Lawrence returned his hand to the steering wheel and concentrated on the drive. Wondering all the while what Victoria would look like if she smiled. He bet she would be beautiful.

13

“Julian Dicks is everywhere. It’s like they’ve got

eleven Dicks on the field.”

Sports commentator for Metro Radio