Page 138 of He's the One

“What can I get you to drink?” a waiter asked.

“Water please,” Theo said.

“Same for me.”

“You could have wine,” Theo said. “We’re walking back.”

“I’m fine with water. Your father’s on his way over.”

Theo gave him a tentative smile when he reached the table. “Of all the joints in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine.”

“Yours?” his father asked. “Have you been here before?”

“No.”

“Why don’t you come and join us.”

Theo turned to Col and raised his eyebrows.

“Up to you,” Col said.

“Okay.”

Col ended up sitting next to James while Theo was by his father.

For a long moment, no one spoke, then Theo piped up, “Do you come here often?”

James smiled. “No. First time.”

“Do you ever get the chance to go away anywhere together?” Theo whispered.

“Choose what you want to eat,” his father said, giving him a look that told him to watch what he said.

“How’s the renovation of Theo’s place going?” James asked.

“Col is like Superman. He can do everything. Not fly though.” He turned to Col. “Don’t try it.”

“Remember when you thought you could fly?” his father said. “Piers caught you about to leap from the treehouse.”

“And he was the one who ended up with a broken wrist.” Theo winced. “I have a feeling that was when I started to be scared of heights. Every time I was high up, everyone was always telling me to be careful.”

“You did seem to be accident prone,” said his father.

“Theo’s right though,” Col said. “If you keep asking someone if they’re okay, they tend to get cautious and more nervous.”

“I went up on the roof before the scaffolding came down.”

James and Theo’s father looked at him in astonishment.

“Col made sure I was safe. It was when we found out that no additional work had been needed.”

“When Nyman was asked to explain that, he said Darnley had colluded with him to make sure he came in with the winning bid. Then blackmailed him into putting in that extra quote,” his father said. “The money will be coming back to us. What he doesn’t yet know is that the Inland Revenue will be taking a detailed look at his accounts. Darnley, his wife and daughter will undergo the same scrutiny. If I can’t get any of our money back from them, at least I’ll have had that satisfaction.”

“Do you know how much he took?” Col asked.

“Not yet. But I want to thank the pair of you for what you did. It might have gone on a lot longer before I actually realised. I don’t think I gave you a fair crack of the whip over suggestions to increase footfall, Theo. We’ll talk about them again.”

“We could do it now,” James suggested.

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