Mr. Dirty

by Nana Malone

  If he caused any sort of bad atmosphere in the room, she was going to have no choice but to try and reason with him. If he could just be civil and courteous for one night then she could forgive him for being such an arse. Just one night; that’s all she had to make it through.

  Nathan

  Nathan picked out a ripped pair of jeans and a long sleeved jumper in preparation for this evening’s party. He only ever wore a suit when it was absolutely necessary, like a wedding or something. Otherwise, he ignored every dress code he’d ever read, and he’d been let in everywhere regardless.

  He was only going to this thing because his step-mother, Judith had begged him to, and if she asked him to jump, he asked how high. She’d practically saved Nathan’s life when she’d married his father. Most young boys would be unhappy about an interloper. But she was everything he’d needed at the time.

  He wasn’t some precious little mummy’s boy though, not by any means. He was just really protective over her; he admired her strength and courage and tried to repay her as best he could by being a good son. Though, I’m the worst son in the world right now.

  Nathan hadn’t been to visit her in months. True to his word, he’d skipped Christmas. Opting for getting drunk with Garret in Mallorca for the holiday. But in his defense, he’s sent her a lavish gift. A first edition Agatha Christie novel as well as Agatha Christie memorabilia he’d bought at auction. As a thriller writer, she’d get a kick out of those. He’d felt terrible about missing the holiday, but there was no way he would be able to look her in the eye, knowing what he knew.

  He felt the now familiar stab of disgust for his dad right in the gut. It was the only feeling he got when he thought about his father these days. Networking and choosing companies to invest in was Nathan’s domain. Used to be Nathan’s domain.

  A year ago, Nathan had told his dad he wanted no association with him or the business, and he’d told his mum he wanted to go out and find his own way in the world, to make something for himself. The latter hadn’t been a complete untruth actually, though it definitely wasn’t the catalyst that had caused him to try and sever ties.

  His father was persistent though; he’d give him that. On average, Nathan still received at least three invites a week to represent his dad’s company at award ceremonies, to do talks to kids in school about becoming successful, or, like tonight, to invest in up-and-coming start-ups. He had turned down each and every invitation since leaving, except this one.

  His mum had approached him herself about tonight—Apparently the company hosting was the sister of one of his mum’s friends, and she’d pleaded with him to go.

  “You know that your father doesn’t trust these internet start-ups. He doesn’t understand apps and technology; there’s no way he’ll invest without some kind of feedback from you. Just go, ask about the product so that you can tell him about it in layman’s terms. He trusts your judgment. He’ll listen to you.”

  Nathan had sighed. “I’ll go if it will help out someone you know. I’ll email you the feedback and projections and you can give it to him, though. Deal?”

  Now it was his mother’s turn to sigh. “Oh, Nathan, I don’t know what on earth’s happened between the two of you. It hurts me to see you putting so much distance between you. You used to be so close.”

  “Until I realized that … ” Nathan stopped himself. This wasn’t his job. “Dad knows exactly why. He should tell you.” He imagined his mum on the other end of the phone, rubbing her eyes in exasperation. He didn’t like the image. It made him feel confused about whether he was doing the right thing. It made him feel guilty for not being there.

  “I’ll see you soon, okay?” Liar.

  He couldn’t keep avoiding her. And he couldn’t tell her either. One way or another this needed to end.

  8

  Sophie

  Every passing minute filled Sophie with more and more trepidation. With every group of guests that entered the bar, the tightly wound spring inside her coiled ever tighter as she waited for Nathan’s arrival.

  “Wow. You get paid to do this?” Christopher came up to her at the bar, swigging on a glass of free champagne, eyes boggling at the scantily clad waiting staff and even more scantily clad female guests. Weather be damned, the theme was sexy.

  “Er, well …. yeah. Except I can’t relax and get pissed like everyone else.” Christopher raised his eyebrows, looking pointedly at the half empty glass of bubbles she was holding.

  It made Sophie laugh. “I can have a drink or two, obviously. I need to look like I’m enjoying myself as I’m forcing enjoyment on others. But it’s hardly relaxing.”

  “So, are you always this on edge at events? You haven’t stopped looking around the room. Isn’t everything in place now? Or are you just waiting for something to go wrong?”

  Suddenly, Sophie wished that she’d never mentioned this evening to Christopher. He was irritating her with all his questions. Questions that she couldn’t really reply to. It wasn’t as if she could say, “I’m normally really chilled out once an event gets going. But Nathan the nympho neighbor is coming to this one, and I feel really anxious about him being here for reasons that, even for me, seem slightly irrational.” Instead, she just gave him a tight smile and tried to drop her shoulders to adopt a calmer posture.

  She needn’t have bothered; Christopher wasn’t paying her the slightest bit of attention. Momentarily, she was drawn away from her obsessing over the door to feel a bit put out.

  “Stop gawping at people,” she said to him in a loud whisper. She felt mean as soon as she’d said it. The people here, they weren’t the sort that she and Christopher would usually be mingling with on a rare night down their local.

  The bodies Sophie had hired were mostly models, and with that (combined with the rest of the guest list being representatives for some of the most successful businesses in the UK), the crowd made for a jaw-dropping bunch. Sophie was used to it now—the sheer … expensiveness that these people exuded. But Chris, this was a whole new world for Chris, coming from just as humble beginnings as her own.

  “Okay.” She gave him the kindest smile she could muster and rubbed his arm affectionately. “You go and mingle if you want. I just need to make sure all the canapés are going to be out on time and that the DJ’s ready, then I’ll be able to take more of a back seat.”

  It seemed that Christopher didn’t need asking twice. He kissed her quickly on the cheek and then sauntered off into the darkness of the bar.

  The darkness of the bar. The smoke machine obscuring the air with its scented fog … Sophie screwed up her face and waved it away.

  “Fancy meeting you here.” The deep voice made her snap her eyes open, though she hadn’t needed to open them to know who it belonged to.

  Standing right in front of her was Nathan. And he looked so gorgeous she thought she might lick him.

  At first, Nathan couldn’t decide if Sophie was going to slap him or burst into tears. God, he hadn’t ticked her off that badly, had he? She kind of wilted with disappointment when she first opened her eyes. He was not used to having that effect on a woman, that was for sure.

  For the first time ever, in his life, Nathan was at a complete loss for words. Considering himself the absolute expert on reading people and being able to win them over, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he could not work out this confusing creature before him. He looked into her eyes, noticing those green flecks again, despite the dim lighting in the room, and tried to read what she was thinking. She stared right back at him, an expression on her face like … It was so frustrating. He just didn’t know.

  “I’m working. This is my night, I’m the events manager,” Sophie said finally. Nathan thought it might have been the most personal and pleasant conversation he’d ever had with her, even if they were only one sentence in. He liked it. He wanted to get to know her. She fascinated him, but before he could make any kind of remark back or compliment her on her good job, she interrupted.

 
; “I don’t know why you’ve been invited and it’s not my business to know, but I’m asking you please not to discuss our … challenging accommodation relationship with anybody here. Please.”

  Nathan laughed. He couldn’t believe she’d thought she even had to ask him that. Who did she think he was? Of course he wouldn’t talk about that here—He wouldn’t talk about it to anybody she knew. Did she really think that he’d make her look bad or unprofessional? This was silly. He shook his head as his laughter died down. They really had to get to know each other better.

  “Okay. Fine,” Sophie said sadly, walking away before he’d even had the opportunity to talk. What the hell was that girl’s problem with him? He went over to the bar and ordered a drink, feeling more than a little confused, and he didn’t like it one bit.

  Sophie

  Sophie couldn’t believe that Nathan had just laughed in her face when she’d asked him not to talk to anyone about the kind of interaction they’d had. She stalked around the room, checking in with her client and hurrying the caterers along, not thinking about a single thing that came out of her mouth or listening to anything anyone was saying. Her mind was just reeling, replaying Nathan’s mockery of her over and over. She felt hurt, bizarrely, that he hadn’t afforded her some respite.

  Sophie watched him draw a long sip of beer, and then turn and smile brightly at the woman who approached him. One of the models she had hired, no doubt. Before she knew it, she was narrowing her eyes. And then she caught herself.

  Oh my God, Sophie. You’re jealous, she thought with shock. No. No, I’m not jealous. I don’t like him … I can’t. I don’t actually even like him as a person. Do I?

  She realized that she didn’t know one single thing about him and so, technically, she couldn’t really make that judgment.

  What she did know was that she could see the way his bicep swelled as he raised his arm to drink. She did know that his jeans and jumper were a refreshing and sexy change from the onslaught of suits in the bar. And she did know the delights of that body beneath that very T-shirt.

  She had also noticed that his eyes—a sunnier blue than the turquoise oceans of the Maldives—always seemed to be smiling. Like he was permanently happy. His confidence knew no bounds and was sometimes quite enviable, even inspirational to some, she guessed. She imagined he could be quite a compelling person to be around, even without his perfectly styled dark hair and Calvin Klein model jawline.

  Sophie bit her lip, knowing full well that she had just unleashed an entire can of worms into her head. She was working, with her boyfriend, yet standing here thinking about how generally sexy her neighbor was. The guy who hated her guts.

  Come on. You must be ill. The guy’s a womanizer. He’s not your thing at all. Focus, Sophie. Come back to the room. Trying to gain control of her head, she set off in search of Christopher.

  Half an hour later, she made it back to the bar and eagerly grabbed a glass of champagne that was freshly poured and offered to her. She hadn’t managed to find her boyfriend. Her client had instead insisted on thanking her, which was very kind, but had then introduced her to about fifteen different people. None of whom she could remember now.

  As she drained her glass, one of the waitresses came up and tapped her on the shoulder.

  “Excuse me. This is kind of awkward—just … I saw you two kiss at the start of the evening and, well … Isn’t that your boyfriend over there?” She pointed in the direction of a darkened corner near the bar, murmured that she was sorry and walked away.

  Sophie squinted toward where the waitress had gestured to. The light in here was so bad, but she could just about make out …

  She froze. Now that she’d located him, there was no mistaking it. Christopher was standing in front of one of the guests, a striking blond-haired beauty, and he was trying—to the point of assault—to kiss her. She was laughing shyly but it was obvious that she was trying to push him away politely. Sophie stared in horror as he lunged at the poor girl yet again.

  “What the fuck?” Nathan was suddenly beside her, looking in the same direction. “That’s your bloke?”

  Sophie looked up at him, not bothering to hide the hurt in her eyes, and nodded. Of all the people to be witness to this, of course it was bloody Nathan. She was beyond caring anymore.

  “Son of a bitch,” Nathan hissed, taking a stride over toward the corner. Sophie grabbed his arm quickly.

  “Don’t,” she said, keeping her hand on his arm. “Just leave it. I’ll handle it.”

  “Let me see to him.” Nathan’s jaw was clenched tightly. Sophie could practically feel the anger pouring from him. How bizarre that the whole time she’d known him, she’d seen nothing but arrogance and ignorance, yet now here he was, by her side wanting to fight for her honor. If she wasn’t feeling so crushed by the scene in front of her, she’d have almost enjoyed having a knight in shining armor.

  Nathan

  Nathan had to fight hard to keep the rage inside him from boiling over. What a fucking nerve that guy had. Not only trying to kiss someone right next to where his girlfriend was standing, where she was working, but also trying to kiss someone who quite obviously did not want any of his greasy, slimy advances. He felt awful for Sophie. He felt furious with that dick of a guy.

  Had Sophie not touched his arm just then, he would’ve gone over and knocked the guy to the floor. It was the least he deserved.

  He watched with curiosity as Sophie gently pulled Christopher away from the woman and saw her whisper in his ear. Christopher put his hands in his face, clearly ashamed. Nathan hoped to God that Sophie wasn’t going to go easy on him. He was willing her to slap him in the face or kick him in the balls. Anything to cause him the pain he should be feeling right now.

  But instead she just walked slowly with him to the door and he saw her mouth goodbye to him. Nathan was stunned. How had she managed to keep her composure that well?

  If he thought that it wouldn’t show her up, he’d have given her a round of applause for keeping her head together during all that.

  9

  Sophie

  “Get out,” she hissed through clenched teeth. It was all she was able to say, given the circumstances. It wasn’t like she could exactly have a full-blown meltdown in the middle of work. And she was too strong for that. The only way that Sophie could get through it was to try and shut out the feelings. For now, at least. But she did allow herself one long, deep breath after closing the door behind Chris’s lying, cheating, model shagging arse.

  Christopher scrubbed his hands over his face. “Fuck Sophie. I’m pissed. I’m sorry.”

  She could only stare at him. What the fuck had just happened? She'd spent the last two years of her life with that wanker. She'd even changed her hair for him. And he offered no explanation other than he’d had too much to drink?

  “Two choices. You can leave now, or I can have you put out. You choose.” She turned from him, unable to meet his gaze again. She just wanted him out of her face. She just prayed that he would choose option one.

  She just couldn’t make sense of what she’d just witnessed. Christopher had been trying it on with another woman. In front of the people she worked with.

  What the hell was wrong with her that she—Oh God. Her stomach clenched. Nathan had seen that. Mr. Smug Bastard himself.

  Of course, he’d been there to see that, Sophie thought bitterly, heat suffusing her face. Because what good was public humiliation unless your nemesis was there to witness it? With her luck, he probably recorded the whole thing for Photogram or something. Not that she secretly stalked him on social media under a pseudonym like @neighbourswhostalk, because that would be creepy …

  Humiliation twisted her insides. Christopher was not the kind of boyfriend to cheat. She was supposed to be able to count on him.

  Swallowing back the tears, she dug her nails into her palm. She could get through the rest of the night. Independent woman and all that. Also, she had a tub of cookie dough ice cream waiting i
n her freezer at home and several bottles of wine. That was her motivation. If she was a good girl, she could just stuff and drown her feelings with ice cream and alcohol. A regular chip off the old block. There were only a few hours left to go. Only then could she break down. Not before.

  Plastering a smile back on to her face, she forced her way through the throngs of people, hoping to God that she looked a damn sight more cheerful than she felt.

  But her mind was reeling. How the hell had she been so wrong? About him, about everything? She'd been a good girlfriend, right? She'd been accommodating. Down to coloring her hair blond and always wearing it up. He'd always said she looked messy and unkempt with it down. And he said her natural red hair made her look like a tart.

  Why had she been with him again? Oh right. Because he’d been steady. Dependable … Well, so much for that.

  God. Nathan had seen that.

  Wait.

  Sophie suddenly remembered the look in Nathan’s eye as he had clocked what Christopher was doing. She’d had to hold him back. Had he been ready to fight him? For her? But that couldn’t be right. Nathan was a prick. He didn’t care about anything.

  No.

  That is not true. He’d wanted to stand up for her. No matter how she tried to play the scenario back in her head, there was simply no denying the fact that Nathan had been in her corner as she was being publicly humiliated. That went against the whole nature of their relationship.

  Fuck, she couldn't process any of that right now. She didn’t understand why her heart was pounding out of her chest thinking about it. She wanted to feel that blissfully numb feeling of someone who has had a lot of wine. But thinking about what Nathan had tried to do for her made her feel hot and breathless.

  For the next hour, she tried her hardest to convince herself that she was just functioning as normal, checking on the event, making sure everybody was doing their jobs properly. But after an hour of running herself ragged to avoid thinking, she gave in, and admitted to herself that what she was really doing was looking for Nathan.