The Bonus Read online

  “Nuggets? I didn't think the Commodore would do chicken nuggets.”

  “I'm in McDonalds.”

  “You're so cheap. Where's lover boy? Raw or whatever his name is?”

  “He's gone out for a few hours. Hey, you should have seen me this morning. I was like a proper PA. Organising travel and shit. And, you'll never guess what? Westgrove has his own private jet.”

  “Bloody hell.”

  “I know.”

  “Has it got a chipmunk on the tail fin?”

  An image of an aeroplane shaped like a giant chipmunk flashed into Lacey's mind.

  “Jees. I hope not. I'd better go. I want to be there when he gets back. Hey, he's given me an Iphone too. See you later.”

  “Later, babes.”

  Westgrove returned twenty minutes after Lacey had returned from lunch.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I've rearranged everything as you requested.”

  “Already?”

  “Yeah. Super PA—that's me.” Lacey beamed.

  “That's unfortunate.”

  “Why?”

  “I'm afraid there's been another change of plan.”

  “Oh?”

  “You're going to have to swap everything back the way it was.”

  She laughed. “You're joking.”

  He shook his head. “Sorry.”

  “Shit.”

  “As quick as you can please, Super PA.” With that, he disappeared into the bedroom.

  For several minutes, Lacey stared after him. Was this some kind of joke? Some kind of test?

  She stomped across the room, and poked her head around the bedroom door. Westgrove had his back to her. He'd changed out of his suit and was now wearing only jeans. His tee-shirt was still on the bed. His upper torso was ripped—he was toned and had muscles in all of the right places. Lacey tried to speak, but her vocal chords refused to play ball. She knew she should get out of there, but her feet were glued to the floor. She put a hand on her chest in some kind of ludicrous attempt to steady her heartbeat. Any moment now, he'd turn around or catch a glimpse of her in the mirror.

  'Reverse! Reverse!' Her brain was doing its best to send the instructions to her feet. After what felt like an eternity, they responded, and she began to walk slowly back to the table.

  How was she ever going to work alongside this man for twelve months without succumbing? She gave herself a gentle slap on the cheek. 'Get a grip! You've seen men with better bodies'. It was a lie, but she needed to persuade herself it was true somehow.

  “Are you okay?” he asked when he came back into the room. Lacey wasn't sure if she preferred him in formal or casual-wear. Why was she even thinking about it?

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “You look flushed,” he said. “Is it too hot in here for you? I can turn the heating down.”

  “No. It's okay. I'm fine,” she lied. It was way too hot in there, but it had nothing to do with the temperature of the room.

  “Were you joking before?”

  “What about?”

  “Swapping back the travel plans?”

  “I never joke about business. Haven't you started yet?”

  “I'm on it now.”

  Three hours later, and everything had been re-re-arranged. She'd found it much more difficult this time around because he'd been in the room with her. Although he'd been engrossed in his own paperwork, she'd still found his presence intimidating.

  “Mr Westgrove,” she said.

  “I've told you not to call me that. Call me Raw.”

  “I'm not calling you Raw. I'll call you Rory if it makes you happy.”

  “Raw would make me happier.”

  “Rory. What time do I finish? We didn't discuss working hours.”

  “There are no set hours. It all depends on what's happening. Have you managed to swap everything back?”

  “Yes. All done.”

  “Great. There's not much point in starting anything else today, so you may as well get off. Unless, of course, you'd like to have dinner with me. We could go to a club afterwards, and then after that—.” He smirked.

  “Thanks anyway, but I have to find myself a new flat.”

  “Catch!” He threw something to her. This time Lacey was too slow. The key fob sailed through her hands, and landed on the floor. She stooped to pick it up.

  “It's in the basement garage,” he said. “A Golf GTI.”

  “For me?”

  “I told you the job came with a company car. It's black. I hope that's okay.”

  “Black's good. Black's great. Thanks. See you tomorrow.”

  Lacey had always dreamed of owning her own car, but until now that was all it had been—a dream. There was a time when she'd actually expected to land a job straight out of university—she'd had it all planned: get her own place, buy a car. Yeah right! That was before she'd realised what a dead loss her degree had turned out to be.

  The lift seemed to take an age to reach the basement. It was hard to believe it was only a few days since she'd arrived at the Commodore in the Chipmunk Pizza van. At the time, she'd thought her life had hit rock bottom.

  The lift doors opened and she stepped out. The car park was full, so it took her several minutes to locate the Golf. It was brand new! Brand spanking new! She ran her hand along the bodywork; it was beautiful. Just wait until she showed it to Suzy. The parking bays were narrow, and she was a little nervous reversing out. It'd be just her luck to dent it before she even got onto the road.

  The security guard did a double-take when he saw her. She gave him a false smile while she waited for the barrier to rise. The petrol gauge showed full. She was going to take this baby for a spin on the motorway to see what it could do.

  Chapter 7

  Lacey had never had what you'd call a singing voice. At school, her music teacher had told her she was tone deaf. That didn't stop her singing her lungs out as she drove along the motorway. She loved the car. Absolutely loved it. The milometer clicked over to one hundred miles exactly. She wasn't headed anywhere in particular—she was just driving. Driving and singing. The fuel gauge showed three quarters full. Did she have to pay for her own fuel? She had no idea, but it didn't really matter. With her new salary, it wouldn't be a problem.

  She'd have been happy to drive all day, but she knew she should get back home, and start the search for a flat. Even though cash would no longer be an issue, she wasn't looking forward to the prospect of flat-hunting. Suzy could be a pain in the butt sometimes, but Lacey was going to miss her. That was the risk of flat sharing—you could never be sure who you might end up with. With her new salary, Lacey could afford to take a flat on her own, but that didn't really appeal. It was nice to have someone to chat with—someone to moan to.

  Rory had said she should only use her new Iphone for business calls. He surely wouldn't mind if she installed a few apps—not if she didn't tell him anyway. When she got back to the flat, she was going to install Spotify. Until now, she'd only ever been able to use the free service on her laptop. Now she'd be able to go Premium on her Iphone.

  “Oh shit!”

  Where was her Iphone? She patted the pocket of her jacket, but already knew it wasn't there. She'd had it when she was working at the table. It must have been in between the stacks of papers when she'd slid them back into the folder.

  “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

  If Rory tried to call her, he'd almost certainly hear the phone ringing inside the folder. What kind of PA loses a phone on their first day? The kind that should be serving pizza. The digital clock on the dashboard showed she'd been away from the office for two hours. It would take her at least another hour to get back—more if the traffic wasn't kind to her. If he hadn't tried to call her, she'd be able to retrieve the phone without him knowing. She could always say she wanted to double-check one of the hotel bookings.

  “Come on!” she screamed at the stationary traffic in front of her. Water from a burst main was streaming down the sid
e of the street. She'd been stuck in a queue for almost twenty minutes as it edged its way forward through temporary traffic lights. “Don't turn red, don't turn red. Yes!” She was through the lights at last. Five minutes later, she pulled up at the barrier of the car park. The guard seemed to take an age to raise the barrier. This guy had a serious attitude problem, but Lacey had bigger concerns. After parking the Golf in the first free parking spot, she raced over to the lift, slammed the pass card into the slot and pressed the button marked 'P'. Her heart was racing as the lift made its way to the penthouse. Had he tried to call her? She'd know as soon as she saw his face. Getting sacked on your first day would be impressive even for her.

  The lift doors opened. The folder was still where she'd left it. There was no sign of Rory, so Lacey crept over to the table. She couldn't hear any sounds from the other rooms. Maybe he'd gone out. She plunged her hand into the folder. Where was it? Had he tried to call her, heard the phone ringing, and retrieved it himself? Just then, her fingers brushed against the glass screen. Thank God. She checked the display. There were no missed calls or messages. A quick check of the call log showed there had been no calls made to or from the phone. She let out a huge sigh of relief.

  There was still no sign of Rory. She'd been lucky. Damn lucky. If she wanted to make a go of this job, she'd have to get her act together. This was a great opportunity and she couldn't afford to blow it.

  As soon as the lift doors opened onto the car park, she spotted him. Rory was walking along the row of cars to her right. He had his back to her. She heard the car unlock and saw the indicators flash. It was a Jag. She couldn't make out the colour. Dark—blue or maybe black. He climbed into the car, and set off for the exit. She'd been lucky. Those roadworks had been a blessing in disguise. If she'd got back any sooner, Rory would have still been in the penthouse.

  The traffic was still gridlocked when she pulled out of the car park. A friendly old guy driving a Rover let her pull out in front of him. As she sat in the queue of traffic, she spotted the Jag ahead of her. Rory had been held up by the traffic lights too. Where was he going? It was none of her damn business. That didn't stop her being curious. She should get back home to start flat hunting. Still, it wouldn't do any harm to follow him for a few miles to see where he went. She loved driving the Golf. Any excuse to spend a little more time in it. The Jag just failed to make it through the lights before they turned red. There were about ten cars between his car and hers. She made a bargain with herself. If she got through the lights on the next 'green', she'd follow him to see where he went. If she didn't—well if she didn't she'd have lost him anyway. Secretly, she'd always fancied herself as a private detective.

  She made it through the lights, and still had him in her sights. This was exciting. Stupid and pathetic, but exciting all the same. The traffic had thinned out—there were now only a couple of cars between hers and the Jag. This was stupid. If he spotted her in his rear view mirror, he'd think she was some kind of head case. And he'd be right. She'd had some stupid ideas in her time, but this was right up there with the best (worst?) of them. If he didn't pull over soon, she'd abandon the stupid mission and head back home. Two minutes later, the Jag pulled up in front of a row of small shops. Two of the six were boarded up. There was a launderette, a newsagents, a hairdressers, and what appeared to be an office of some kind—maybe an estate agents. Lacey wasn't sure it was such a good idea for him to leave the Jag unattended. It was the kind of neighbourhood where he'd come back to find it jacked up on bricks, and the wheels gone. Rory made straight for the office. Why on earth would he be visiting an estate agent in such a run-down area? Less than two minutes after entering the office, he re-emerged. Lacey thought better of following him again—she didn't want to push her luck. She pulled the Golf into the spot vacated by the Jag. Now she was closer, she could see the office appeared to be some kind of letting agency. There wasn't a sign above the shop—just a small plaque on the wall next to the door. She skipped out of the car and walked across to the office.

  Clemens Properties

  She'd never visited her landlord's office—she'd never needed to. Why would Rory have come here? She peered through the window at an office which was empty except for: a desk, coffee table, a couple of threadbare chairs and a filing cabinet. Mr Clemens was seated at the desk. He didn't spot her; he was too busy counting the pile of bank notes he'd taken from a brown paper bag.

  The temporary traffic lights seemed to take an age to let her through.

  “Come on!” she screamed at the red light.

  By the time she'd parked the Golf, and reached the lift, she was shaking with rage. It took her a couple of attempts to get the pass card into the slot.

  “Lacey?” Rory greeted her with a puzzled look. “Did you forget something?”

  “You bastard!” She spat out the words.

  “What's wrong?”

  She marched across the room to where he was seated at the table.

  “You really are below contempt!” she screamed at him.

  “Would you please tell me what it is I'm supposed to have done?”

  “Don't give me that bullshit. I saw you!”

  “Saw me what?” He stood up and began to walk towards her, but she held out her hand in a 'halt' gesture. “Don't come anywhere near me.”

  “Why don't you sit down and tell me—”

  “I saw you. At Clemens' office.”

  “Oh.” He frowned. “I can explain.”

  “Don't bother. How could you do it? How could you have me thrown out of my flat just so I'd have to come and work for you?”

  “I didn't!”

  “Shut the fuck up! I'm speaking. Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to interrupt?”

  “I just—”

  “Well you can stick your job, and your bonus and your car! I quit!”

  She turned back to the lift.

  “Lacey wait! Let me explain.”

  She turned around, and hurled the Iphone at him. He ducked just in time.

  “Lacey!”

  The lift doors closed, and she was gone.

  As Lacey made her way out of reception, she kept her head down, and hoped no one would see her crying. Her head was pounding, and the sound of the pneumatic drill from the roadworks didn't help.

  “Bastard! Bastard!” she repeated under her breath as she wandered aimlessly around the streets. She should have known it was all too good to be true. Great salary? Company car? Who had she been kidding? Of course it wasn't real. It had never been real. In her heart of hearts she'd known that, but she deluded herself into believing it. She was stupid—plain stupid. Rory Westgrove was a selfish, manipulative bastard, but she hadn't realised just how big a bastard he really was. This wouldn't just affect her—Suzy was going to lose her home too.

  She headed in the general direction of home. Home? That was a laugh. She didn't have a home or at least not for very long. What the hell was she going to do? Move in with Daggers? Oh please God—no.

  “Shit!” She stopped dead in her tracks. It only now occurred to her she no longer had a job of any kind. She'd resigned from Chipmunk Pizza, and Rory would no doubt make sure she couldn't get her job back. That was just peachy. No job. Nowhere to live. She might as well top herself now and have done with it. Better still, she could kill Rory Westgrove. You got three square meals a day in prison didn't you?

  “Lacey? Is that you?” Suzy called from her bedroom. “I've got good news!”

  Lacey really didn't feel up to listening to Suzy's good news. It would only rub salt in her own wounds.

  “What's happened?” Suzy was taken aback when she saw Lacey's makeup-smudged face.

  “Nothing,” Lacey sobbed.

  “It doesn't look like nothing. Come here.” Suzy put her arms around her friend, and waited until Lacey had finished sobbing on her shoulder.

  “I'm sorry,” Lacey said when she had eventually composed herself.

  “It's okay. What's happened? Are you all right.” />
  “I'm just great. Abso-fucking-lutely wonderful.”

  “Tell me.”

  “I should have known. I'm such an idiot.”

  “Known what?” Suzy sounded exasperated. “For fuck's sake, Lacey. Tell me what's wrong.”

  “Rory Westgrove. That's what's wrong. I wish I'd never met the bastard.”

  “But, he's just—”

  “He's a bastard. That's what he is. Do you know what he did? I'll tell you what he did. He got us chucked out of this flat—that's what he did. He got us chucked out so I'd have to go work for him. I saw him at Clemens' office. I saw him give Clemens a pile of cash.”

  “Lacey, you've got it all wrong.”

  “I told him what I thought of him and his job. And, I told him what he could do with his car.”

  “You didn't? Please tell me you didn't.”

  “You should have seen his face. He thinks he can treat everyone like shit.”

  “Lacey!” Suzy had to scream to get her flatmate's attention.

  “What?”

  “You've really fucked up this time,” Suzy said.

  “I don't need his job. I don't need him. It felt good to tell him what I think of him. I'm okay, honestly.”

  “No you're not. You're really not.”

  “What are you on about?”

  “Clemens was around here a few minutes ago. Just before you came back.”

  “You should have kicked him out.”

  “He came to tell us we can stay in the flat.”

  “Stay here?” Lacey said.

  Suzy nodded. “He said there had been a development. A change of plan.”

  “What kind of development? What does that mean?”

  “He didn't say, but just think about it.”

  Lacey tried to think, but her brain had turned to mush.

  “It's obvious,” Suzy said. “Your boss gives Clemens a pile of money, and the next thing, Clemens tells us we can stay.”

  Lacey stared at her flatmate. The cogs in Lacey's brain were slowly starting to turn again. “Oh shit!”