Action

She leaned across the table to pat Derek’s hand. Jack growled. Derek snatched his hand away. Davina wanted to snap: down boy!

“Look,” she said to Derek. “I told you right from the start. I needed a good cameraman. We already agreed you’re the best. I thought you were helping me out, as a friend.”

Her cheeks flushed. It was more a case of hoping that he was helping her as a friend. In reality he’d been clear in his own slimy way about what he wanted in return.

“Well, you can kiss goodbye to my help.” Derek pushed his chair back to stand.

“No,” Davina stood too. “No. I need you. Please. This is all a misunderstanding.”

Derek pushed his shoulders back as he stood tall, but he still couldn’t match the strength and power that emanated from Jack.

“I think I understand perfectly,” Derek said. “You led me along to get what you wanted. There’s a word for that.”

“And you better not say it,” Jack said calmly but the threat was clear.

Derek threw his napkin on the table in a Hollywood gesture.

“Let’s see how far you get without me,” he told Davina.

He pushed past Jack, who wouldn’t move an inch.

“I won’t forget you either,” he said to Jack. “No one makes a fool of me.”

“Seems no one has to,” Jack told him. “You’re doing fine on your own.”

Derek’s cheeks flushed. He held his head high and walked straight out of the restaurant while everyone looked on. Davina didn’t know where to look. She was centre stage and for the first time in her life she didn’t like it one bit. Eventually she sat back down in her chair with a thud.

“You’re welcome,” Jack told her.

Davina caught the eye of the waiter and ordered another piece of chocolate cake. There was no way to lessen her humiliation, other than to run. Considering her ride had just stormed from the restaurant, leaving her with the bill and a talking Gorilla, running wasn’t an option. She put on her best fake smile and pointed to the chair Derek had warmed.

“Sit,” she ordered. “You’re scaring the diners.”

Jack became aware of the people around him for the first time since entering the room. He sat. They stared at each other.

“That guy is pond slime,” Jack told her.

“I know.”

Her cake arrived. It was astounding to Davina, that even in a moment of crisis, she didn’t lose her appetite. She forked the cake.

“So why are you putting up with him?” Jack spread his hands wide to emphasise his clueless state. Like it needed emphasising.

Davina savoured the chocolate tart, letting it slide slowly down to her stomach before she pointed her dessert fork at Jack.

“It might come as a surprise to you, Jack, but you have no knowledge of my life and no say in my life. In fact you have nothing to do with my life at all.”

His deep set eyes disappeared further under his furrowed brow.

“You’re living in my house.”

“As your tenant.” She lifted another fork to her mouth. “That’s it. You’re my landlord. We’re not friends. We don’t date. We’re not family. You’re over-stepping here. You’ve no idea of the trouble you just caused.”

She rested her fork on her plate, leaned forwards and linked her hands together on the table.

“And,” she said sweetly, “on top of all that. You are seriously cheesing me off.”

As Davina smiled pleasantly, she wondered how much damage she could do to his forehead with a dessert fork.