Page 22 of (Not So) Mad About You

“No, no, of course not.” Bea was paler now and Alli almost felt sorry for her.

“Right, so if you don’t want me going to your boss and telling him what happened earlier today, then you have to do something for me. You know I could get my hands on the surveillance tapes from the petrol station…” Probably. She really couldn’t be bothered to try, though.

“Fine,” Bea said hurriedly. “Fine. Better room, get your cell phone, got it.”

Alli grinned and jumped to her feet. This really was the first good thing that had happened all day. She held out her hand. “Deal then.”

There was a long second when nothing happened. Then Bea held out a warm, long-fingered hand and Alli grasped it, a flood of heat surging up her arm so that she immediately broke contact.

“Good,” she croaked, then cleared her throat. “Good.” She grinned at Bea. “This is going to be fun.”

Chapter Ten

Against all expectations, Bea had the best night of sleep she’d had in months. She woke up chirpier than she had the right to be, considering she was now being blackmailed. There was a lot to be said for not listening to your ex-boyfriend having sex with his new girlfriend.

As for Alli, well, she’d just have to figure things out, wouldn’t she? It wasn’t like she was asking the impossible. And maybe she was right, maybe she didn’t belong in the program and it was all a big mistake.

In the shower, Bea wondered if that could be true. She’d seen Alli lose her temper with her own eyes. But then, wouldn’t most people get angry after damaging their car? Even Bea herself had been a bit cross.

Mind you, if she hadn’t stood up for herself, if she’d meekly apologized and done what she normally would have done, she’d be worry-free right about now.

She sighed as she toweled herself off. Okay, yes, she was being blackmailed. But it could be worse, couldn’t it? And obviously this was all just a lesson from the universe about not breaking character. She wouldn’t be standing up for herself again anytime soon.

Dressed in yoga pants, sports bra and t-shirt, she went downstairs. She had plenty of time before her first class and was on her way to breakfast when she noticed that Luke’s office doorwas open. Deep breath, alright, better to take the bull by the horns.

“Ah, yes, Bea, you’ll be wanting to fill out your employment paperwork,” Luke said when she tapped on the door.

“Right, yes,” she said, having forgotten all about it despite Josh mentioning it the night before. Being caught up in criminal endeavors didn’t really focus the mind. Was this a criminal endeavor? Blackmail was a crime, wasn’t it? All Alli wanted was a better room and her own cell phone back though, was that such a big deal?

“Here we go,” Luke said, pulling out a sheaf of paperwork from a file. “Fill out here and here, sign at the bottom, bank info on the next page and you’ll be done.”

Bea sat down at his desk and took the pen he offered. “So, this is a pretty new program,” she said as she started writing.

“And?” snapped Luke. “That doesn’t make it any less effective.”

Bea looked up. She’d just been making conversation. “Of course not,” she said with a smile. “I just meant that it was nice to see someone starting up a program like this.”

Luke grunted. “Right, yeah.”

“Thinking about the community, thinking about rehabilitation rather than punishment for those with anger issues,” she said, signing her name.

“Yeah, well,” Luke said with a sniff. “We’re really trying to move into the relaxation sphere, to be honest.”

“Oh?” She turned the page, scanning the information there.

“More money, better clientele,” Luke said.

“Sorry,” said Bea. “Sorry, but there must be some kind of mistake here?”

“Where?”

“Um, here, the uh, the payment section?”

Luke took the paper from her, looked at it, then handed it back. “No, no mistake.”

For a second, Bea thought about saying more, but she clamped her mouth shut. No. She’d learned her lesson. No arguing. No standing up for herself. She added her bank info and passed thepapers back to Luke with a weak smile.

“Good, all done then,” said Luke.

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