Page 6 of Stuck

“Yeah, it wasn’t pleasant. It was Darcy who talked me off the ledge. Which is a polite way of saying he told me to pull my head out of my arse.”

“Well, that’s what friends are for, right?”

“Yes, but… You know, I really wish it wasn’t my new girlfriend’s sister I was admitting this to, but… I’m not the most successful person when it comes to relationships. Before Laura was Claudia. Everyone tried to warn me she was a serial gold digger—including Darcy—but I wouldn’t listen and… Well, no prizes for guessing who was right. It was Darcy who saw me through that breakup as well.”

“Two messy breakups is hardly a crime. I suppose he’s happily married with two point four children, is he?”

“No, he’s single, but his last relationship ended in a textbook amicable split. They were both just too busy being successful to commit. I’m not joking—the guy never puts a foot wrong. And he never lets his personal life interfere with business. Unlike me, who needed him to clean up my mess not once but twice. He pulled in a ton of favours to keep either of my breakups from damaging Hydro Crops.” He let out a strangled noise. “I thought I’d finally shown him I was past making dumb mistakes, but now I’ve lied to all our potential investors.”

I hummed quietly. “I don’t want to say I told you so but…”

“I know, I know! But he was never supposed to find out! Can you go along with it for now? Please?”

I had to give it to him; he did pathetic very well. I groaned and pushed to my feet. “Fine! But you ought to know, this is the dumbest thing anyone’s ever asked me to do, and I can’t believe I’m agreeing to it. As payment, I expect there to be a shot of something nice waiting for me when I get back from the loo.”

“But Jane said⁠—”

“Do you want my help or not?”

There was a shot of something sitting on the bar in front of Bingley when I got back. Before I got near enough to drink it, though, I caught a snippet of the conversation he was having with Darcy and stopped. Turning my back to them, I hovered next to a nearby table, toying nonchalantly with someone’s discarded drink as I earwigged.

“You didn’t mention you were seeing anyone,” Darcy was saying in a tone that no one could have described with any positive adjectives.

“Yes, well… it’s new,” Bingley replied.

“It must be, since you only broke up with Laura a few months ago.”

“You don’t need to worry, it won’t go the same way. Laura was only after my money.”

“And this one isn’t?”

“No. She isn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“I just know, all right? She’s different.”

Darcy gave a small, derisive grunt. “She’s sure as hell not your usual type. What’s with that appalling dress?”

I almost choked on my indignation.

“I think she looks lovely,” Bingley said. Such a keeper.

Darcy replied, but I didn’t catch what he said because a waiter had stopped to ask me whether I’d finished my drink. I handed over the glass, and he left, but it was too late; I’d missed the end of the conversation. Bingley was talking about the business now. A quick glance showed Darcy was watching him warily.

For the first time, I was glad I’d come instead of Jane, furious at the thought of Darcy being this rude about her. I pivoted away from the table and marched to the bar, where I snatched up the shot Bingley had bought me and downed it. Slamming the glass back down, I picked up a second—presumably his—and downed that, too, glaring at Darcy the whole time.

“Ready to take me home?” I said to Bingley. “I am so ready to get out of this dress.”

4

DARCY

I had my own office at Hydro Crops, despite having told Bingley innumerable times that it was unnecessary. Impressive though it was, with its floor-to-ceiling windows and view across the city, a dedicated workspace with its own meeting table was a waste of money when I was rarely on site for longer than a day or two at a time, weeks or even months apart. It had to be said, though, that this morning, I was glad of the privacy. I was jet-lagged, hung over, and pissed off.

I shouldn’t have gone to the reception last night. Bingley had it well in hand, and I’d hardly been in the best frame of mind for socialising—as had become evident the moment I met her.

I regretted being rude to Bingley’s girlfriend, but she’d taken me by surprise in all the worst ways. That she existed, for starters. I hadn’t known Bingley was seeing anyone, and that was strange because we talked, texted, or emailed most weeks—most days, at the moment. I’d felt mildly betrayed that he hadn’t mentioned her, and that in turn had made me feel ridiculous. He wasn’t required to keep me abreast of his love life.