Page 107 of Joker in the Pack

“You’ve got a dirty mind.”

“Would you want me any other way?”

I wanted him any way I could get him. After my talk with Maddie, I realised I had to take a chance, even if I risked heartache.

This time, we weren’t in the car for long before we drove into another underground car park, this one beneath a fancy office building in King’s Cross. Nye punched the button for the second floor, and our first stop was the kitchen.

“Do you want a sandwich? Or fruit?” He rummaged deeper in the fridge. “There might be some chocolate at the back.”

“Are you allowed to help yourself like that? What if that’s somebody’s dinner?”

“Nah, it’s all communal. People spend a lot of time here, and the bosses like to keep us happy. That means fully stocked kitchens, a gym, and decent rest areas. If people burn out, productivity goes down. Why don’t you stay here and eat something while I shoot over to the tech team with these?” He held up the bag with the computers.

An egg-and-mayonnaise sandwich had never looked so appealing—at least it helped to take the lingering taste of the liver mousse away. I kept to myself in one corner, and while I attracted curious glances, nobody spoke until a petite black girl took the seat opposite me.

“Are you new?” she asked.

“Oh, I don’t work here. I’m just visiting with Nye Holmes.”

“Nye? He’s here?” She looked around.

“I think he headed over to the tech department.”

“I need to catch up with him before he leaves.” She pulled out her phone and fired off a message. “Forgive my manners. I’m Janelle, his PA.”

She leaned over and shook my hand. Nye had a PA? That seemed so…civilised.

“Olivia Porter.”

Her eyes went big, and she let out a squeal. “Ooh! I thought your face looked familiar. I’ve only seen it on video, and it was a bit blurry. We’ve all been dying to meet you.”

“Video? What video?”

“On Facebook? With the stripper? You’re something else, girl!”

Oh, hell. She saw that video? How high up were we? If I jumped out the window, would I be sure of dying?

“You’ve gone all white,” Janelle said. “Should I call Nye?”

“No! I mean, please don’t.” I had a worse thought. “Did Nye see the film?”

“Of course. He was the one who showed it to us, up on the big screen. What a hoot! The whole room was in stitches.”

He’d been laughing at me? Was that all I was to him? A joke? And maybe a quick shag while he was stuck out in the countryside?

I felt sick again, and not from Maddie’s cooking this time. How could he have done that? Showed everyone my most embarrassing moment?

My vision went fuzzy as tears gathered, and I abandoned my half-eaten sandwich and ran out of the room. I managed to find a lift before the first sobs came, and I stabbed at the button until the doors opened.

“Is everything okay?” the girl on reception called as I ran through the expensively decorated lobby.

No, nothing was okay. Perhaps it never would be again.

Once my feet hit the pavement, I carried on going, away from Nye, away from everything.

CHAPTER 31

EVEN IF I hadn’t been crying, I’d have had no idea where I was going. I just kept sprinting until I ran out of steam, which was quicker than I’d have liked seeing as I’d cancelled my gym membership, then settled for walking quickly.

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