Page 86 of He's the One

“The hut isn’t…cosy.”

Dastardly gave a scornful laugh. “Cosy? It doesn’t need to be cosy.”

“But if you provide the right sort of environment for employees, doesn’t that lead to them working harder for you? When you’ve been outside in the cold, it’s nice to have a warm, dry place for your break.”

“If they have a nice warm hut and it’s a cold day, I can guess where they’ll want to spend most of their time. Anyway, it’s a cost-benefit assessment. Do you understand what that means?”

Fuck you.“Yes. Like lots of sex with different people might be fun but the more sex you have, the more likelihood of catching something nasty.”

“My God.”

Theo silently sniggered.

Dastardly hissed when he splashed the bottom of his trousers in a puddle, which was another reason for Theo’s glee.

Col was inside the hut drinking coffee with Luis, James and Ambrose. Theo tried not to look at Col but when his willpower failed and he shot him a glance, Col smiled and Theo melted.

“You can see the puddle.” James pointed to a pool on the floor.

That would be me. Melted by a smile.

“It’s not a minor leak,” James said.

Theo knew the roof was leaking, but it was an occasional drip. Not enough to cause this amount of water.Thank you, kettle?

“Get it repaired,” Dastardly said.

James huffed. “There’s no point throwing good money after bad. The place is old and the wind whistles through the gaps in the boards. We need something smarter, more in keeping with Asquith, more comfortable…” James kept talking and Theo pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at it.

“Excuse me. My father wants me.” He backed out of the hut. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Then he ran.

He took the shortest route to the office, which was through the main entrance, left his umbrella in a holder crammed with visitors’ umbrellas and toed off his shoes. Ignoring the startled looks from the public, he raced down the corridor and leapt over the rope barrier. When he reached the locked door that led to the private wing, he tucked his shoes under his arm and tapped in his code. It wasn’t far from there to the office.

Theo was relieved when the safe opened. His heart was going so fast, he felt a bit sick. The petty cash box was locked. The documents were licenses, insurance paperwork, tenancy agreements… Nothing other than the sort of important document he’d expect to see in there, which was disappointing.

The key to the cash box was in Dastardly’s desk but Theo had the feeling he was running out of time. He locked the safe again, made sure the dials were back to the original position, and ran up to where he hoped to find his parents. An ear at the door told him they were in there. He stuffed his feet into his shoes and knocked before he walked in.

His parents turned to look at him.

“I’m here,” Theo said and smiled.

Two blank faces.

“I thought you wanted to see me?”

“No,” his mother said.

Do you ever want to see me?“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have made a mistake. I beg your pardon.”

Theo left the room and checked his phone. He’d been going to contact James but there was already a message from him.On his way.Sent four minutes ago. Theo took his time going down and as he’d hoped, he saw Dastardly coming the other way along the corridor.

“Oh, have you finished?” Theo asked. “Is everything okay with James?”

“Yes, I’ve asked him to look at the cost of a replacement hut against repair of the one they have.”

Theo nodded and followed him into the office.

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