A Proper Charlie (33 page)

The man answering Charlie’s phone was obviously elevated on some kind of drug but had also implied that Ben was one of Charlie’s clients!

*

‘
The sooner, the better, baby doll,’ Melvin said, stopping at her door.

‘
I’ve never been the dumper before. I’m usually the dumped,’ she said, biting on her lower lip. She was going to tell Andy it was over, and Melvin had come along for moral support. ‘Look, maybe you shouldn’t come in after all. He hates you and I don’t want to seem to rub his nose in it – not if he really does love me.’

‘
I’ll wait here. If I hear anything I shouldn’t I’ll be straight in there in my
superhero
guise, OK?’ He stood in the Superman stance. ‘Do I have time to take my pants off and wear them over the top of my jeans?’

She smiled, but she was scared. She wasn’t scared of Andy, but of breaking his heart. With a final look at Melvin, she entered her flat.

She found Andy on the settee watching TV. ‘Hi, Lots,’ he said on a yawn without looking up from the television. He looked as if her entrance had woken him.

She strode over to the TV and turned it off, and ignoring his “hey!” said, ‘Andy, it isn’t working. I’m sorry but I don’t want you back –’

Andy, pathetically, held up a hand to her. ‘I ain’t well s’don’t be a bitch. C’mon and give your fella a cuddle t’make him feel better.’ He shuffled up, and patted the side of the settee where he still lay. ‘Think I’ve flu or summin’.’

‘
Have you been drinking?’ She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. ‘Or using?’ She went into the kitchen and saw that Andy had made himself lunch without clearing up. She eyed the tin foil on the kitchen counter suspiciously, knowing that it had been stored in its cupboard. It was used rarely, only in the sudden spurts of homeliness when Charlie cooked.

She grabbed it and marched into the lounge again. Andy was still lying on the settee.

‘
Got any Lemsip?’ he asked dolefully.

She brandished the kitchen foil like a weapon. ‘You’ve been using again, haven’t you?’

Andy made pretence of rising. ‘Sweetheart, no I swear.’

She came closer and peered into his flushed face, but that could be due to embarrassment at being caught out. But then, Andy didn’t get embarrassed; you had to care about things to feel that type of emotion

‘
Liar! How could you when you promised?’ She brought the tin foil down and smacked him on the back of the head with it. ‘But promises don’t mean anything to you, do they? Bastard!’

‘
Hey, Lots… ugh! Geddoff…’

Charlie, incensed, brought the kitchen foil down repeatedly on the cowering Andy. He crawled off the settee and sat huddled on the floor, with his hands protectively covering his head. ‘Lottie,’ he squawked. ‘My hair, my hair!’

‘
Nobody means anything to you except Andy bloody Chambers! Nobody!’

‘
It was only a bit of charlie, Charlie!’ His protest was muffled from the protection of his arms covering his face.

‘
Sel-fish ba-stard,’ she said, emphasising each syllable as she hit him over the head. Andy yelped, and tried harder to crawl away and protect his hair.

She raised the tinfoil once more but felt someone ease the tube from her fingers.

‘
He promised he’d stop using,’ she wailed to Melvin. ‘He promised!’ She almost stamped her foot. ‘Doesn’t he realise the waste of money involved?’

‘
Drug users don’t care about the cost,’ Melvin said softly, as Andy gingerly raised his head.

‘
I mean, that cost £1.70,’ she said tearfully nodding to the tube of foil.

‘
Well, if you’d only keep straws like normal people,’ Andy whined. ‘I wouldn’t have to use your precious foil!’

‘
Haven’t you a fiver? Roll it up and it works fine,’ Melvin said helpfully, and Charlie glared at him. ‘It’s stupid to use coke,’ he added quickly. ‘It’s too addictive, which in turn makes it too expensive.’

‘
Whadda you know?’ Andy sneered as he climbed to his feet. He quickly glanced in the small round mirror above the radiator to check on his hair. He turned back towards Charlie. ‘I might’ve known you’d have brought the poof home. Moving him in are you, I knew all along you were a lesbian!’

Charlie screwed up her face in irritation. ‘Having gay friends wouldn’t make me a lesbian, you moron!’ She tried to snatch the tube of foil from Melvin to smack him over the head again, but Melvin held on tight to it.

‘
Leave,’ Melvin said to Andy.

‘
You talking to me, poof?’ sneered Andy taking a step towards Melvin.

‘
Yeah, I’m talking to you,’ Melvin replied, also stepping forward.

Andy swore at Melvin. He stepped up close and the two men eyeballed one another. Charlie groaned, this is what she wanted to avoid.

‘
Come on then,’ Andy said, opening his hands out and motioning with his fingers.

‘
Come on!’ Melvin began dancing from one foot to the other like a very bad boxer. He bunched his fists and held them in front of his face.

‘
Go on, then, hit me, shirt-lifter!’ Andy taunted.

‘
You hit me first, smack-head,’ Melvin shouted back.

Charlie picked the tube of foil up from the settee where Melvin tossed it, and was almost tempted to hit the pair of them with it. Instead, she walked into the kitchen, replaced it in the cupboard and made herself a cup of coffee.

FORTY FOUR

B
en paused at the doorway and looked up and down the seemingly chaotic office, which Charlie should be occupying. After the dreadful telephone call to her home yesterday Ben had decided to speak to Charlie to see how she felt about him, she’ll probably be mortified at his declaration of love, but at least it would be all in the open. He’d mention the man’s strange accusations on the phone yesterday, too. Jealousy was a painful emotion in his gut as he thought of Charlie in someone else’s arms other than his own.

Ben saw Melvin glance up, and instead of waving camply at him like he usually did, he fixed Ben with such a glare it made him feel uncomfortable. The gay man sported a nasty black eye, and generally looked like someone you would cross the road to avoid. His black T-shirt,
Do I look like your effing therapist?
suited him this morning.

The ‘ping’ of the lift made Ben turn. His breath caught in his throat as the opening doors revealed Charlie. She didn’t notice him straight away because she was chatting to Leo. Leo was normally so shy he wouldn’t talk to anybody, but would scuttle away and hide himself behind his computer station, but Charlie had him laughing and his young spotty face was animated as he gazed at her. Ben recognised the expression on the young man’s face. Charlie held such warmth and generous character it was hard not to like her, and he couldn’t blame Leo for his open admiration. He even felt proud. Her face was bare of makeup; her freckles visible. She looked better without cosmetics, Ben thought.

Charlie stepped out of the lift, leaving its doors to close on the adoring Leo, her skirt swinging around her shapely legs.

She wore an odd assortment of clothes that clashed. He was no fashion expert, but even he knew she dressed without regard for style. And that’s what he liked about her. She was an individual. So what if the stranger on the phone was right and she was actually a prostitute – he would see to it that she would never feel the need to offer her body to strangers again.

Charlie, her eyes lowered, began to move away from the lift. She raised one hand to brush her glorious red hair away from her face, shifting an oversized handbag from one arm to the other. Her lips were still held in a smile after her exchange with Leo, but as soon as she saw Ben, they froze, before breaking into a breathtakingly beautiful beam. A piece of heaven.

‘
Hi,’ he said. ‘How are you?’

‘
I’m good, thanks,’ she said, walking towards him. ‘You?’

Ben made a conscious effort to keep still in case he tripped over his feet or something.

‘
I’m fine, and you?’ he asked, before he realised he had already asked. She laughed, then asked,

‘
How is Camilla?’

‘
Good,’ he said and concentrated on making small talk. He would get round to asking her out in a moment. ‘Cam and Father are circling one another like nervous animals. I’m beginning to believe they’re as bad as each other.’

‘
That’s good. That they’re back on speaking terms, I mean,’ she said.

‘
Have you just come back from a coffee-break?’ he asked, as an uncomfortable silence began to grow between them. She seemed as awkward as he felt. Oh God, maybe she was embarrassed about Monday night when they… when they…

‘
Er, no. Actually I’m late.’

Ah, she was embarrassed about being caught creeping into work late. He checked his watch before he could stop himself. And she noticed!

‘
Actually, make that very late,’ she said.

‘
Let that be our secret, then.’ Oh, God now he sounded like a pervert.

She cleared her throat, and said with an embarrassed giggle, ‘I overslept.’

‘
Did you have a heavy weekend?’ he asked, hoping he sounded more like those in the office. But he blushed because it came out all wrong, like he was criticising her.

‘
A bit,’ she said. ‘Melvin and me were celebrating last night, and well, we stayed up later than we should have.’

‘
Celebrating? He has a black eye!’ he blurted, and mentally kicked himself. He held the smile in check on his face. ‘I… er… I mean, it looks like you should have been commiserating instead.’

‘
Melvin had an, er, unfortunate accident. We were celebrating the departure of a, er, an unwanted visitor last night.’

She didn’t elaborate, but paid particular interest in her shoes. He urged himself to ask her out there and then, but thinking about putting it into words made him more nervous.

‘
Well,’ she said as silence stretched longer than the Dartford tunnel. ‘Thanks for, er, letting me know how your sister is. I hope it works out for you.’

‘
Havesexwithmetonight?’ Ben’s eyes widened in horror. Floor, he thought, open now. Please. Open up and swallow me whole.

‘
Pardon?’ She was looking up at him quizzically.

Ben felt his face colour up to his hairline. ‘I mean…’ he gave an embarrassed laugh, ‘nothing. I, er, maybe I’ll see you in the canteen, you know, for a coffee? I’d like to buy you a coffee, I mean.’

‘
That’d be nice,’ she said.

He nodded then walked towards the lifts, feeling her eyes on his back. He only looked around when he stepped into the lift and was forced to turn in order press the buttons. He nodded to her as the doors closed. Then grinned madly to himself.

She hadn’t said no!

‘
Hi, Ben. I’ve placed some letters on your desk for signature,’ his PA said as he entered the office. He felt like he was walking on air! ‘Oh, and your lunch appointment rang and said he’ll be delayed by half an hour.’

Ben couldn’t care less.

‘
Thank you, Clair,’ he said, and walked into his private office and closed the door behind him. But what had she said yes to? A coffee in the canteen
sometime
.

He groaned.

*

Charlie pounced on Melvin and virtually imprisoned him on his office chair as she clutched his shoulders and relayed to him what was said in the corridor.

‘
I’ve a maybe date,’ she said. ‘A. Maybe. Date. How cool is that!’

Melvin’s face didn’t radiate her happiness as she’d hoped.

‘
Sounds uncool to me, babes,’ he said, batting her hands away as she jabbered incoherently.

‘
Mel, you don’t understand. He’s asked me out!’

‘
Sounds to me like he’s offered to buy you a coffee the next time he sees you in the canteen. Hardly a date, doll.’

She grinned stupidly at him. ‘This is it, you know, Melly. He’s the one.’

Melvin groaned. ‘Babes,’ he said rising and placing his hands on her shoulders. ‘I do not want to encourage this crush you have with Middleton. He’s drop-dead gorge, of course, but he’s out of our league, baby doll. He’ll only want to bounce his tennis balls in your lady garden, and then he’ll be off!’

‘
Mel!’

‘
It’s the truth. If he loves you so much, where is he? Why hasn’t he showed his face in here and been seen with you?’

‘
He doesn’t mind being seen with me. We spent an entire morning together in the canteen, remember!’

‘
Big deal. Charlie, men like him won’t want to be associated with women like you.’ He closed his eyes on his words, and closed the distance between them and hugged her. ‘Sorry, doll, I didn’t mean it to come out like that. But we’re a different class. To men like him we’re nothing but plebs. You’re setting yourself up for heartache.’