“The surf’s high.” Jonty stared out of the window. “Think we can make time to go out there this weekend if it’s not snowing?”
“Is it forecast to snow?” Devan gaped at him.
“No, but isn’t it better when it snows?”
“Er…no. We’ll definitely go out if it’s not snowing.”
Jonty’s hand slid onto his knee. “I love you.”
Devan glanced at him. “I adore you, even though you missed your target.”
“Oh God! You have a one-track mind. And I definitely didn’t miss last night, I’ll have you know. I heard no complaints on that score. I could find it if I was blindfolded. Maybe we should try that. Though I might freak out. Oh, you distracted me. What was I saying?”
“You distracted yourself. I’d just told you that I adore you. I might rethink that if you get confused between me and a pickle.”
Jonty shuddered. “Don’t ever put a pickle in my mouth. Now I’m distracted again. I said I love you, you said you adore me… I know—I regard you with the utmost esteem. What could be better than that?”
Devan laughed. “Which translates into me being the boss of you, right? So, situation report: are you ready to tell me about the prep for the Halloween event?”
By the time Devan was parking in front of The Dunes, Jonty had filled him in. The non-stop chatter had been at machine-gun speed, and with no logical order, but Devan was used to that and despite the rambling delivery, he was impressed.
“You’ve done well,” Devan said.
“Really? You’re not just saying that so I don’t sob on your suit? And did I detect a note of surprise in your voice?”
“I only ever tell you the truth. You’ve never handled anything like this before and it seems to me that you have it all under control. I’m impressed. Seriously. There aren’t many people who could tackle this when they’d never done anything like it before and maybe I was a little worried, but I shouldn’t have been. You really do have all under control.”
“Noooooo. I don’t feel in control.”
“Show me what damage you’ve inflicted on your corporate card and we’ll chat about it, and then I’ll have a word with Marcus and Bartosz. First of all, I want to look at Bruce’s computer.”
They left the dogs with Andrew and went into Bruce’s office.
“How did you uncover the password?” Devan asked as he booted up the computer.
“Someone told me. I don’t want to say who it is, so if you’re asked, just say I’m a brilliant hacker.”
“Who told you?”
“You can use thumbscrews, waterboard me, put my cock in a cage, but you’ll never make me tell you.”
“Two words: Flake stash.”
“You play dirty. It was Andrew. But I don’t want him to get in trouble. He was only trying to help.”
“Right.”
Devan took a flash drive from his laptop bag and downloaded files from Bruce’s computer.
“If Bruce comes back, don’t say anything,” Devan whispered. “I don’t want him aware that we’ve accessed anything. I’m using a master log-in so he shouldn’t know.”
“What about when I looked?”
“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it.”
“Okay.” Jonty opened up his own laptop on the other side of the desk.
A few minutes later, Devan removed the flash drive and switched off Bruce’s computer.
“Come round this side and show me what you’ve done,” he told Jonty.
Jonty pulled his chair round and put his laptop next to Devan’s. “These are the spreadsheets.”
He fidgeted as Devan looked at them. “Did I go over the top?”
“Animated cocoon corpse, 14-foot hanging ghosts, fake body parts, and a zombie head-and-arms resin statue that looks as if it’s coming out of the ground? Why would I think you’d gone over the top?”
“So I can add the full-sized inflatable dragon decoration to put on the tower?”
“No.”
“But it sort of wraps around it.”
“No.”
Jonty sighed. “I invited Matvey and Katerina and Alexei. I don’t suppose they’ll come but I thought it would be nice to ask them.”
“They’d need a visa and I don’t think they’d have enough time to get one. I’m also pretty sure Russians don’t do Halloween.”
Jonty gulped. “Do you think I’ve offended them? Let me check WhatsApp.” He pulled them up. “Oh, they’ve both replied. Matvey can’t come. He’s at a conference at a Black Sea resort. He says he’ll keep an eye out for sea glass.” He clicked on the next. “Wow, Katerina and Alexei are coming! They need a room on the Friday and Saturday. I wonder how they got a visa.”
“What are you doing in my office, on my computer?”
Jonty jolted. Devan looked up to see Bruce standing in the doorway.
“We’re not on your computer,” Devan said.
“You’re in my office.”
“That you walked out of.” Devan pushed to his feet.
“Walked out? To go to a meeting. If you call that walking out.”
“But—”
Devan nudged Jonty’s foot to get him to shut up.
“If I could have my desk back?” Bruce hung up his jacket.
Jonty stood and picked up his laptop.
“Are you both going to be around for the next ten days?” Bruce dropped into his chair.
Devan nodded. “I understand you didn’t want to be involved in the event. So yes, we’ll be around.”
“Don’t get under my feet. I have a hotel to run.”
“I beg your pardon?” Devan kept his voice quiet, but knew Bruce had registered his tone.
“I was talking to Jonty,” Bruce blustered.
“You have no right to talk to him like that. You didn’t mention a meeting to him yesterday. You used the word holiday.”
“No, I didn’t. Well, I did use the word holiday but not in relation to where I was going. He must have…misunderstood.”
Devan stared at him for a moment, then nodded to Jonty and they left the room.
“Let me just go and make sure there’s a room for our friends,” Jonty said.
Devan caught his arm. “I believe you. Do I need to even tell you that?”
Jonty smiled. “I’ll be in the lounge.”
“Okay.”
Devan chose a table in the corner by the window and plugged in his laptop. Bruce was hiding something. Why be so belligerent? Devan was senior to him in the organisation. He’d have expected Bruce to have been more obliging. Politer. Plus, he’d more or less accused Jonty of lying and Jonty didn’t lie. Not about things like that.
A waitress came over to the table. “What can I get you?”
“An Americano and an espresso, please.”
She nodded and walked away. Devan didn’t recognise her. But staff changed all the time. Jonty came in with Charlotte and Winnie and the dogs settled at their feet.
“I’ve booked Katerina and Alexei into Wave.” Jonty brushed a crumb off the table. “I’d have said they could stay with us, but we’ve got Cato and Vigge staying. I can’t believe they’re coming.”