Page 70 of The Actor and His Secret

‘Because I’m broke.’ Or near enough as of this morning, when I wired away the majority of my bank account to pay off my father. To keep him silent about my attack yesterday, to stop him sharing scandalous images that would ruin Oli’s life - but most of all, to stop him from bringing to light the case of my mother’s tragic demise.

‘Because we’re broke,’ Selina corrects. ‘If you don’t work, it’s the end of the line. Especially if Mr. Grey Suit over there presses charges that a drunk and careless Nikos Ridge assaulted him during a flight. We can sugarcoat some secrets, but not all of them.’

I roll my head over to face Selina, my neck aching at a strange angle. ‘The more I work, the more money I get, the more my past will haunt me. Being broke makes me boring. I don’t want the money, I don’t want the fame - if it means I get… I get…’

Get what? Peace, quiet… the list is both short and endless.

‘What do you want, Nikos? Tell me and I’ll make it happen.’

I close my eyes again, giving into the quiet rush of alcohol induced silence. I have no control over my mouth in this state, which could lead me to more trouble than it’s worth. But I hear my voice, broken and pained, reply through the roaring in my mind.

‘I want Honey.’ Tears roll down my cheeks. ‘I want Oli.’

27

OLI

It must be the panic, because I do something I never would have done in my normal life. Instead of letting the janitor bolt like I clearly should, I grab the phone out of his hand and run towards the back of the office.

Good thing most of my colleagues are wearing noise-cancelling headphones, and even better that they’re used to Megan and I screaming and getting up to God knows what on a daily basis. Otherwise, they might find it very suspicious that I ran into our janitor, started squealing, and then ran back through the office with him chasing me.

Megan is standing outside her office door, staring at me, and to her immense credit when I shriek ‘get him!’ she doesn’t even hesitate to run after us, her heels clacking on the tile floor. I barrel into one of the spare recording booths at the back of the office - which, it isn’t lost on me, is an honest-to-God converted janitor’s closet - and Nikos’ dad is right on my heels, grabbing for the phone that I’ve got clutched to my chest. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck and smell the alcohol. How did we never notice that our janitor was a blackmailing drunk asshole?

The door slams, and Megan screams ‘got you!’ I turn just as she tackles the guy to the ground, which is doubly impressive considering her six-inch heels and perfectly fitted trousers.

The janitor falls to the ground with a thud, his breath whooshing out of him, and I look around the small space. There’s a chair in front of the recording setup, and a pile of cables sitting on top of it. Blessedly, there’s also a pack of zip ties, like someone was in the middle of doing cable organisation and just gave up.

Actually, that was me, two weeks ago. I thank myself for my foresight and kneel down next to Megan, who has the guy in a very impressive headlock. Her lip is split and bleeding - he must have gotten in an elbow to her face, which makes me ill just thinking about.

If I have anything to say about it, this guy is done hurting the people I love.

‘How do you know how to do this?’ I pant as she wrenches his arms behind his back for me to zip tie. I do up his wrists as tight as I can without cutting off the circulation, then make the ties just a little bit more snug. The fucker deserves to suffer for everything he’s done to us.

‘Judo.’ She grins, and for a minute I’m just a tiny bit terrified of my best friend. ‘My ex did it, and she had thighs that could crush your head, and watching her throw people on the mat was so hot - '

‘Now’s not the time!’ I squeak as she gets off Nikos’ dad’s chest and hauls the guy to his feet. Together we drag him to the chair, wrists bound, and shove him down. He’s snarling at us, but Megan holds him in place while I zip tie his kicking feet.

Once he realises that he’s good and stuck, the fight goes out of him - or his body, at least. He turns to me, grimacing.

‘Who the fuck do you think you are?’ he growls. His accent is a thicker version of Nikos’.

‘Someone who cares a fuck-ton more about your son than you do,’ I snap. I hold the phone up in front of him, dangling it before his face. This is the phone he must have all his blackmail on - and I’m sick thinking of how long this has been going on.

Megan straightens her hair, tucking a strand that’s flown loose into her bun. ‘What do we do with him now?

I eye the recording setup, and a plan starts to come to mind. I’ve read so many dark romances that I practically have a PhD in blackmail.

‘We’re going to fuck him up.’ I say, pushing my hair out of my eyes and heading to the camera. ‘So badly that he’s never going to hurt anyone again.’

‘Oh please.’ The guy rolls his eyes. ‘What on earth could the two of you possibly do to me? I have so much dirt on you, Oliver Cane, that I can ruin your life with the push of a button.’

‘I know exactly what to do,’ I say as I turn the camera on and hit record.

‘Ah.’ I can tell the moment Megan gets it because a smile spreads across her face. With the blood from her split lip, it’s terrifying. ‘Classic.’

‘What are you talking about?’ Nikos’ dad has gone from dismissive to just a tiny bit intimidated. I don’t blame him - Megan looks like she’s ready to crack some skulls.

‘Don’t mess with bitches who read,’ I snarl. ‘We know every trick in the book.’

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