“Come on, I’m sure most would. You can’t turn your back on your parents, can you?”
Leo raised an eyebrow at that. He refocused on the road and several minutes passed before he turned back to her again. “So, you been looking forward to this weekend, Cher?”
“No, not at first. I was annoyed at Maggie for landing it on me. I could use a grand though, so I hope we win. You ever done one of these things before, Leo?”
He shook his head. “I watched a few clips on YouTube. They look a good laugh.”
“What made John book it? Seems random.”
“Don’t ask me. He isn’t exactly an imaginative guy, so it surprised me too. Maybe an ad popped up while he was watching porn.”
Cheryl let out a snort, then covered her nose in embarrassment. “Aren’t you and John, like, best mates?”
“No way, Pedro! John’s twice my age. I think he gets a kick out of hanging out with me down the pub and convincing himself he’s still young. Look, I like the guy, don’t get me wrong, but we’re not as close as people think. Doesn’t hurt getting along with the boss though, you know what I mean? When I started at Alscon, I was a warehouse worker. Now I’m head of purchasing. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
“Tell me about it! It’s so cliquey at work. You, Maggie, and all the sales guys speak your own language. I swear I catch you laughing at me sometimes.”
“What? You’re paranoid, Cher.” He gave her a warm smile to back up his claim, drilling into her with those deep brown eyes again. “No one laughs at you.”
She frowned, wondering if it was true. Was she paranoid? It had certainly been a while since she’d trusted anyone. Losing her dad so suddenly had made the thought of relying on anyone too much to bear. “Really? It’s in my head?”
“Absolutely. You’re right though, it is cliquey at work. You can thank Maggie for that. I don’t think she ever means it, but she can be a real bitch.”
Cheryl laughed again, and this time didn’t stop herself. “She’s like the office mean girl — all smiles to your face and frowns at the back of your head. She kind of intimidates me.”
Leo looked away from the road again, and it appeared he was weighing up whether to say something. “You know she and John were a thing for a while, right? He even paid for those fun bags of hers. ‘Christmas Bonus’, he put it down as.”
“I’ve heard rumours they used to be an item, but I try not to involve myself in that type of talk.”
At least when it involves my boss.
“Yeah, me too, usually, but when it comes to people getting their rocks off, I like to know all the gory details. With diagrams if possible.”
Cheryl grimaced, but ended up chuckling. “You’re such a perv.”
Leo kept talking. “Apparently, John came on a little strong, so Maggie broke it off. That’s what she told me, anyway.”
Cheryl folded her hands in her lap and tried to resist getting drawn into gossip, but she feared that if she didn’t, the conversation would turn awkward again. “Aren’t they both married?”
Leo beeped his horn as somebody, who must have been going a hundred miles an hour, cut in front of them from the right-hand lane. The conversation fizzled as Leo was forced to concentrate on the road so Cheryl listened to the radio for a while. The DJ was running a call-in about football, which instantly made her think about her dad again. They had held twin season tickets each year, and gone to support their team at every home game. Back then, she would’ve described herself as an avid football fan, but now she realised it had been the time spent with him that she had loved. Her interest in football had died with him.
Another twenty minutes passed, and then Leo turned off the main highway and entered a narrow access road that rapidly turned from tarmac to gravel. They followed that for ten minutes until they spotted a group of ramshackle farm buildings.
Cheryl leaned forward in her seat, trying to get a better view through the windshield. “D’you think this is the place?”
Leo tapped his slender fingers on top of the steering wheel and peered out of his side window as they trundled along the gravel road. “According to the Sat Nav, it is. I was expecting something a little more… less of a farm.”
“Yeah, me too. Then again, lots of farms have petting zoos and stuff attached nowadays, don’t they?Maybe there’s not enough money in just being a farm anymore. It’s sad.”
“Blame the supermarkets for putting the squeeze on agricultural profits.”
“Seriously, is that the reason?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. Did it make me sound smart?”
“Um, not anymore…”
Leo pulled the car into a muddy patch outside a steel shack full of hay, and they both spotted the bonnet of John Alscon’s silver Bentley peeking out from the other side of the bales. Each morning, when Cheryl passed the luxury motor parked outside the office, she thought it was boxy and ugly — not something she would spend money on even if she had it — but she supposed the main thing was the badge on the bonnet.
Leo brought his car to a stop and yanked the handbrake which made a loud kwunk! Then he switched off the engine and gurned at Cheryl. “Time to get this party started, Cher-bear!”
She couldn’t help but loose a smile. He was taking this so seriously, like he planned on making it the best weekend ever. “Just behave yourself,” she told him. “Or we’ll leave you behind in the escape room.”
“You’ll be begging to stay with me by tonight, I promise.”
“Keep dreaming.”
Both chuckling, they exited the car and stepped into the mud. Cheryl wished she’d worn boots instead of the gleaming white trainers she’d chosen in anticipation of being indoors. The last thing she needed was an embarrassing slip in front of her colleagues. As her mother had warned, it was chilly, and she had to pull her denim jacket tightly around herself to keep warm. She let out an obligatory, Brrr!
John emerged from behind his Bentley, dressed in a Burberry jacket and matching flat cap. He waved to greet them, but then stopped and frowned. “Cheryl? What are you doing here?”
She cleared her throat and fidgeted with the buttons on her denim cuff. “Um, didn’t Maggie tell you? She couldn’t make it.”
John’s frown lingered a moment more before he glanced to the side. “But Maggie’s right here.”
Maggie stepped out from behind the Bentley, dressed in purple furry boots, purple furry coat, and purple furry hat. She appeared embarrassed, chuckling like an idiot. “OMG,” she said, putting her mittened hands against her cheeks. “I totally forgot, Cher! I’m such an idiot. Wow, I can’t even…”
Leo moved away from Cheryl as if a rotten smell had suddenly emanated from her. She had a feeling she was about to hear something she wouldn’t much appreciate. “What the hell, Maggie? You said you couldn’t make it. Theatre tickets?”
Maggie shook her head, making the tassels on her woollen hat swing back and forth like pendulums. “The tickets Steve bought are for next weekend, can you believe it? I’m such a scatterbrain. I can’t believe I forgot to tell you, Cher.”