Page 96 of Outlier
Not only was the buyer willing to pay a full twenty per cent above the asking price, but they also wanted the furniture… all of it, right down to my bed, and even the sofa that had seen better days.
Seeing as I would now be living in the small flat above my old workshop at Mum’s house, I didn’t actually need much stuff, so I thought that was fair enough—especially after I was told about the additional lump sum the buyer was willing to pay to keep the place furnished.
So, I wasn’t just getting enough to pay back Margot’s investment—I had over double that amount now. Enough to expand the business, enough for a new van, even enough to pay a delivery driver. It seemed that just as my personal life had fallenapart, my professional life was looking up. Not that it helped. Nothing helped.
I missed Vicky with a fierceness that was almost overwhelming.
So here I was, standing in my living room, with Pete helping me move out of the cabin I’d built with my own hands.
“Well, I hope you don’t regret giving up this place,” Pete said as he lugged the last of my boxes over the threshold.
“I know what I’m doing,” I told him.
“You poured your heart and soul into building this,” Pete argued, and I turned to face him.
“My heart and soul aren’t here,” I said, gesturing to the cabin. “They’re currently in London, with the most beautiful woman inside and out I’ve ever known, and I need to get them back.”
Chapter 31
You need someone strong
Vicky
The fog lifted slowly,but it did lift. By the time Margot and I had finished our tea, I was starting to feel more alive.
After numbing everything for nearly a month, it was almost painful to have all of those emotions back again, like when you’ve slept on your arm overnight, and you get those awful prickles as the sensation comes back.
I was feelingeverything. And I was missing Mike. I missed him so much, it was almost scary. I’d been alone and afraid way too much already. I decided it was time for me to be brave.
“I have to go,” I said, putting my teacup down on the saucer with a clatter and jumping to my feet.
“I thought you might say that,” she said through a smile.
Then, as my car drove out of the Manor, I saw Mike’s van parked outside the cottage on the estate that Claire used as her country home. Next to it, was a low-slung sports car. Maybe Ollie was there too?
Focused on my mission, I asked my driver to pull up outside the driveway and jogged towards the house. All I could think wasthat Mike was there, and after what Margot told me, Ihadto see him.
But I froze in the entryway when I heard Blake’s voice.
What was he doing here?
“This is my bloody home.” Blake was shouting. He sounded absolutely furious. “I’m not being thrown out by some fucking employee. Bugger off, Mayweather.”
“I’mnotan employee,” Mike said. “And youaregetting thrown out. This is still Claire and Florrie’s home, even if they live at Buckingham House now. Claire had to ask me to come and chuck you out when she heard you were here, because I was closest, and she doesn’t want her sixty-five-year-old mum to have to act as a bouncer for her. Although, I’ve gotta say man, I think Margot could take you.”
“Fuck off, you smug git,” spat Blake. “You think you’re sorted just because you’ve got a sweet gig as that blonde freak’s carer with benefits?” Blake laughed as ice trickled down my spine.
Carer with benefits?
“That’s if the frigid weirdo lets you fuck her—I’m guessing unlikely when she can’t even shake hands without losing her shit. Well, good luck with that, and I hope they’re paying you enough.”
There was a scuffle then. I heard a chair being turned over and shouting, but the ringing in my ears meant I couldn’t quite make out the words. All I seemed to be able to focus on was Blake’s voice on repeat, sayingcarer with benefits.
The shame I’d felt when I’d heard almost exactly the same comment at Rebecca’s wedding from a member of my own family came flooding back.
I knew Blake was a horrible human being, but was what he said actually that inaccurate?
All my quirks, all the restrictions on what I could do, and what I could tolerate. That time in The Badger’s Sett when Icouldn’t even look his friends in the eye or greet them like a normal person.
