by F. C. Clark
‘Harry, please don’t cry,’ I say.
‘Susan and Malcolm worship you both,’ Kiki says.
‘I just feel empty.’
‘Look, my dad doesn’t want to know me – let’s not forget he probably left me for dead, and may have planted a bomb at my house… I think knowing who your biological father is is a little overrated.’ Harry releases a very emotional giggle.
Kiki and I both return to our stools.
‘Harry, I don’t know how to make this better.’ I squeeze her fingers, feeling helpless.
‘I do; my friend has just started working the door at Vista. Let’s get pissed.’ Before we have agreed, Kiki’s already texting – I’m assuming the friend at the door.
Harry sighs and runs her fingers through her hair. ‘What a shit day! I keep thinking this morning I was none the wiser and now my world has been shattered – again… And to think I really hurt Dad.’
‘He’ll understand. Thank God we never told Mum – Christ, the shit would have hit the fan then. What about Raymond? What did he say?’
Harry looks at her hands, twiddling her fingers. ‘I haven’t told him; he’s super-busy getting a collection ready and he’s already up against the clock.’
‘Do you want to go home and talk to him?’ I ask.
‘He’s at the studio. I may as well stay with you two, and wallow with a glass of wine in my hand.’
‘That’s my girl! None of this self-deprecating bullshit; we’re made of strong stuff. Now let’s go, my driver is outside,’ Kiki commands her pack in full Kiki style – she is in princess warrior mode this evening.
As soon as we arrive at the top floor of Vista the noise hits us. Kiki, being the driving force, leads us to an empty table. Harry and I hang back as she pushes her way through the crowds of people. I send a quick text to Thomas: I’m breathing, and take the night off! Almost being married to the boss must give me the power!
Kiki weaves her way through the sea of punters with her arms full: one ice bucket, two bottles, and three glasses.
‘Looks like we’re here for the night.’ I remove the ice bucket from her arms and place it on the table.
‘That’s right: I’m here for one reason only – or maybe two if the mood takes me,’ says Kiki.
I look across to her. ‘I think you should abstain from shagging… try it.’
She takes a bottle and begins to pour. ‘Or I could just get back on the horse.’
‘Kiki, I’m serious – a dry spell might do you good.’
Harry takes her glass. ‘Cheers, girls, here’s to lost parents, shit men, and…’ She looks at me, waiting for a reason that I can join their club.
I raise my glass. ‘Controlling fiancés and strangers who want to get in your knickers!’ The girls stare in disbelief.
‘Strangers in your knickers? Kate bloody Harper, you need to explain yourself.’ Harry demands.
‘Nothing to tell, other than Bradley Taylor has the hots for me. He said he’d “like to carry me to his bed”.’
‘No bloody way… and when were you going to tell me?’ Harry asks.
‘He’s the guy from Barney’s party… Good-looking, if I remember? That night feels a bit sketchy,’ says Kiki.
‘You were a grumpy bitch that night – so much for my shag monster saving me.’
Kiki pours more bubbles. ‘So I can shag blokes when it helps you out, but other than that I’m to keep my chastity belt locked? I suppose you want the bloody key.’
‘Too bloody right.’ I laugh.
‘I take it Luke doesn’t know, and I guess the man is still breathing?’ Harry says.
‘Actually, he does – at SGI he was watching me from his office, that’s where all the security cameras record. He saw me dancing with Barney and then talking to Bradley.’ I raise my brows, waiting for their response.
‘He’s seriously fucked up! He can’t watch you like that.’ Kiki tells me how it is – and I agree.
‘Oh, he can, and clearly he does. To be fair, I think he happened to be in his office the moment I started talking to Bradley, so right place, right time, or in my case wrong place, wrong time.’ I drink the remainder of my second glass.
‘That doesn’t explain how Luke knows – shit, did you kiss him?’
‘Harry! No I bloody didn’t. I told Luke – well, not the part about him wanting to carry me to his bed – I assume Bradley wants to see his next birthday. Anyway, Luke’s offered him a job in Dubai finishing off his hotel.’ I raise my glass again. ‘As I said, here’s to a controlling fiancé who will pay huge amounts of money to get other men away from me.’
‘Cheers, here’s to the fucked-up Sutton boys.’ Kiki needs no excuse to feel angry with Declan. Her relationship with Luke is fragile; I must monitor the amount of ammunition I give her.
‘Did I mention I had lunch with Bradley today?’ I look at my watch. ‘He’s in the air as we speak, heading back to New York.’
‘Do you have a death wish? I assume Luke doesn’t know,’ Harry says.
‘Thomas, the mole, informed Mr Control Freak Sutton – not that he’s admitted he knows, merely hinted that payback will be a bitch.’
Kiki tilts her head. ‘I can’t deny pissing Declan off always ended with a good shag. Come to think of it, I’m sure I did it on purpose.’
Two bottles of Prosecco take us an hour to consume. I barge my way through the crowds to the bar for a refill with Kiki’s help, who takes shit from no one. Within fifteen minutes we return to Harry with ice bucket number two, and another two bottles of bubbly.
‘You all right, babe?’ I plant a tender kiss on her cheek, nearly falling in the process. I can’t be drunk!
‘I just texted Raymond, warning him I’m getting pissed.’
‘I was thinking, let’s go shopping tomorrow – Oxford Street, like the good old days, fifty pounds in our pocket and share a lunch? We can stop at Mum and Dad’s for a coffee on the way home.’
‘Yeah. It would be good to do something, like we used to,’ says Harry.
‘Definitely.’
My thoughts stop as I hear my phone ringing. I pull it out of my bag. Caller ID: boss. Crap!
‘Wish me luck – controlling fiancé on the loose.’
The girls fall about laughing. I try to compose myself. ‘Hi.’ I shut my eyes to focus.
‘Kate.’
‘Luke.’ I mimic his tone perfectly, which makes me laugh.
‘Are you drinking?’ Oh, here goes with the unrelenting questioning.
‘Just a couple; the girls have had a shit day… How are you?’
‘How am I?’
‘Is there something wrong with the reception where you are?’
‘As ever, the love of my life wants to be the pain in my arse.’
‘How so?’
‘Explain to me why Thomas is not with you, and I would love to know why you gave him the night off.’
‘I asked him to run some errands for me – anyway, we have Kiki’s driver.’
‘Errands!’
‘Yes – e-r-r-a-n-d-s… shall I speak slower for you?’
‘Don’t fucking push me, Kate.’
I look at the girls; their eyes are glued to me.
‘Push you, and how exactly am I pushing you? I am out with my sister and Kiki.’
‘That spells trouble.’
‘What?’ Oh my God, I want to slap him.
‘So you’re pissed off because I gave Thomas the night off?’
He laughs, with no humour. ‘You can add that to the list if you wish.’
‘So I have a list for pissing you off? You’re unbelievable, do you know that?’
‘How was your lunch?’
‘Well, I didn’t fuck anyone, if that’s what you’re asking.’ There is a stony silence at the end of the phone.
I push the receiver closer to my ear – heavy breathing is all I can hear. ‘I bet you love having spies watching me. I couldn’t get out of it. He wanted to take both of us to lunch – but you weren’t there.’
‘I’m on my way to get you.’
‘For Christ’s sake, Luke, I’m not a bloody child.’
‘Clearly you like to behave like one.’
‘That’s because you treat me like one… Loosen the reins, Luke.’ A nibbling suspicion causes alarm bells to ring in my head. ‘Back up, 007 wannabe, how the hell do you know where I am?’
‘I’m on my way – stay where you are.’
‘You used my watch.’ I begin to pace the area surrounding our table. The girls look on, intrigued.
‘I did find you with the help of my security team. This proves that if I could trust you to stay out of trouble, I wouldn’t need to search for you.’
‘You know that irrational behaviour we’ve spoken about? It’s back like the fucking plague… How about you call me and ask, “Hey, honey, where are you?” That’s what normal people do… But I forgot you’re not bloody normal.’
I slam the phone on the table.
Harry reaches for my hand. ‘Babe, are you OK?’
‘Oh my God, I want to murder him! He used my watch to find me. That’s some seriously fucked-up behaviour, and now he’s coming to get me.’
‘He gets worried; the past haunts him.’
‘Haunts him! Jesus, Harry, I can’t live with him monitoring my every move.’ My blood is boiling hotter than ever. ‘I need the toilet.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ Kiki says.
My reflection looks beat; maybe I should be at home, not here, in my fuzzy, inebriated state of mind. I know the backlash will commence the moment Luke arrives – how tempting it is to move to a different location. A Harper–Sutton hide and seek challenge.
Kiki joins me at the sink. ‘I guess you love him; there’s no way I would put up with his fucked-up behaviour.’
‘He drives me insane.’
She holds up my watch. ‘So what’s this all about?’
I look around the bathroom, checking that we’re alone. ‘It has a tracking device; that’s how Luke found me in Russia. Tied to a chair.’
‘Holy fuck!’
I shake my head.
‘You’ve never really spoken about Russia. I didn’t want to push you… But tied to a chair – Christ, Kate, who did it?’
‘Luke thinks Ivor, but…’ I shake my head.
‘Is that why he behaves like a controlling lunatic?’
‘I would love to say yes, but honestly, Russian ancestors or not, he would be the bloody same.’ I sigh, and pull my ponytail tight. ‘Not a word to anyone about the watch, not even Declan… Promise me?’
‘Not a problem, as I don’t want to talk to that fucking loser… I have your back.’ She links her arm through mine. Solidarity always wins.
We re-enter the noisy bar and weave our way back. A pull at my arm stops us.
‘Kate Harper?’
It’s Matthew Williams.
‘What a treat, two hot girls, and who are you?’ His eyes scan my sexy friend.
‘Never mind that – who are you?’ Kiki asks.
‘A twat.’ I lean to Kiki’s ear. ‘This is the moron who shagged Luke’s ex, Maddy, behind his back.’
‘Best friends, then!’ she says.
‘Come on, let’s go.’ I push Kiki to move, but Matthew is still holding my arm.
‘Like I said, I’m still hunting,’ Matthew says.
‘Don’t touch me.’ I look at Kiki. ‘Move.’
‘Kate Harper, you know it’s mandatory for me to fuck Luke’s fiancées.’
I stop and turn. ‘What did you say?’
‘Kate, ignore him, come on.’
‘No! What did you just say?’
‘You know I test out his potential candidates.’
Time seems to slow down. My fist clenches into a tight ball. Without hesitation it shoots out from my body and hits the very surprised Matthew Williams.
‘What the fuck?’ His words ring in my head, as I begin to return to the here and now.
‘Bloody hell, Kate.’ Kiki bellows.
I hear the lift ping. My head turns as my eyes meet the glare of a very pissed-off Luke. He heads straight towards me.
‘Oh, bollocks! Kiki, we need to get Luke out of here… now!’
‘What?’
Too late. Luke is at my side.
Matthew smirks, while rubbing his cheek. ‘I hope you’re here to control your fiancée; she’s just fucking punched me.’
‘Luke, let’s go.’ I place my hands on his chest and try to push him.
‘Did he touch you?’ His sexy tone is raw.
‘No.’ I look at his eyes, allowing him to see that I’m fine – pissed off with him, yes, but physically OK.
‘Not yet,’ Matthew says.
Oh, for Christ’s sake. I glare at Matthew. ‘You’re pathetic. Luke, let’s go.’ I try to push him again; this time Kiki reads the potential Code Red situation and joins me.
‘What did you say?’ Holy fuck, how to ruffle Sutton feathers.
‘I guess she’s not Maddy, but I’ll try anything. If it’s good enough for you…’ Matthew turns to his friends, laughing.
Quickly Luke closes the distance between them. They stand nose to nose. ‘If you fucking touch her, I will kill you, make no mistake.’
Bloody hell, this is getting out of control. ‘Kiki, grab Harry and our bags – we need to leave.’ I turn to Luke and try to pull him away. ‘He’s not worth it. Don’t play into his hands, Luke, please.’
Matthew sniggers. ‘The sound of a begging Sutton fiancée.’
Luke grabs Matthew’s shirt collar, forcefully backing him to the bar. At least it stops the man from speaking.
‘Luke, leave it… Luke.’
From the corner of my eye I watch one of Matthew’s friends try to rescue his friend. Agile Luke frees one hand, gripping the other man’s wrist and twisting it until I hear something snap, followed by a whimper.
His face returns to Matthew’s. ‘I repeat, if you touch her, I will kill you with my bare hands.’
Harry and Kiki are at my side. ‘I’ll get the lift.’ Harry feels the need to help. With this display of testosterone, there is nothing we can do to defuse the situation.
I hear the lift ping, and turn to Harry. It’s Declan and his friends. What on earth are they doing here? Christ, could today get any more bloody bizarre?
‘Luke, let go of him.’ Declan pulls at his arms. ‘Luke, drop it.’
I turn to Kiki. She looks like a lovesick teenager. She immediately heads towards the lift, fearful that Declan will see how much she needs him.
Luke releases his grip, but not before he taps the side of Matthew’s face. ‘Remember what I told you – I am a man of my word.’
‘Fuck off, Sutton,’ Matthew responds hesitantly.
I pull Luke’s arm again, and this time his hand slides into mine. Finally he moves towards the lift as Declan follows us.
‘Kate, are you OK?’ Declan looks at me. ‘What happened?’
‘Nothing, really. Matthew was talking crap, so I punched him.’
‘You did what? Jesus, Kate.’ Declan laughs.
‘Don’t encourage her.’ Luke glares at me.
‘What! He was bloody rude to me, to us…’ I release my hand from his grip and place it on my hips.
‘I’m pissed off at you. Do not mistake my tolerance for weakness.’
‘You tolerate me? Un-fucking-believable.’ I glare at Luke, mainly in shock. ‘Thanks for rescuing your brother, Declan. I’m going home.’
I turn to the girls who clearly don’t know what to say or where to look.
Decla
n moves towards us all. ‘See you later – oh, and Kate, try not to piss off my brother… Harry, Kiki.’
I follow Harry and a silent Kiki to the lift. Luke presses the button for the ground floor.
‘Bye.’ I give a small wave to Declan.
I look at Kiki. As the doors close she offers Declan her inner thoughts – using her finger!
The four of us make it out in one piece, although I lost my sanity somewhere today – any number of places could be housing it.
Luke hands over a card for his car.
‘Girls, I’ll take you home.’
‘I’m going out to get hammered.’ Kiki leans to me. ‘Take care. If you need me give me a call.’ She looks at Luke, once again allowing him to see her princess warrior persona.
‘Kiki, I think you’ve had enough alcohol. I’ll take you home,’ Luke says.
‘That bullshit may work with Kate, but not on me, Sutton. So you can take your need for control and shove it up your fucking arse.’
‘Kiki!’ I move towards her. ‘Don’t be like this… It’s my war, not yours. But Luke is right; I think you should go home.’
‘I’m exhausted; I need my husband and my bed.’ Harry looks like a deflated child.
‘I can party on my own,’ Kiki says.
Luke’s Range Rover pulls up beside us.
‘Kiki, please get in,’ I plead.
‘No.’ She begins to walk off down the street.
‘Crap. I hate leaving her out alone – maybe I should go with her.’
Luke glares at me. ‘Don’t even think about it.’
‘I’ll be safe; you can find me at any time. You can only imagine how comforting that is.’ My cutting tone fuels Luke’s rage.
Luke holds the door open for me. ‘Get in the fucking car, or I will put you in there myself.’
Luke draws the car up at Harry’s courtyard, then jumps out and heads for her door. She leans forward and plants a kiss on my cheek.
‘See you tomorrow. I’ll come to yours around eleven.’
‘OK. Love you.’
‘You too.’ She’s gone. I watch Harry open her front door. Raymond has come to meet her. Thank God he’s home, I know she’s hurting.
After a fairly short drive, Luke and I arrive home. We both remained silent for the entire journey; I have no words for him, or none that he would like to hear. I place my foot on the first step.
