See You at the Show (27 page)

He held her loosely round the waist, pulling her closer and she finally unfolded her arms, holding onto him.
 
“We’ll work that out when we need to, ok?
 
Trust me.”

She couldn’t help smiling.
 
“Isn’t that what all politician’s say?”

“I mean it, Stevie.
 
Please, trust me.”

She reached out and touched his cheek, kissing him gently.
 
“Ok.
 
I’ll trust you.
 
But you don’t know what you’re getting into here, mister.
 
I’m hard work y’know.
 
You’ve not done rock ‘n’ roll, you have no idea.”

He pushed the shirt slowly back off her shoulders, pulling her closer against him.
 
“I can learn.”

“You’re gonna have to.
 
Starting...”
 
She kissed him long and deep, shrugging the shirt off so it fell to the floor, “...right now.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Hello, Stevie.
 
I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Stevie turned round and looked at Ava, Billy’s now not-so-pregnant wife.
 
She was certainly back to her slim and almost perfect self, holding onto what Stevie assumed was baby Fox.

“Is that him then?”
 

Ava smiled.
 
A smile that never reached the eyes but then it never had as far as Stevie was concerned.
 
She wasn’t quite sure what Ava’s problem was with her but Stevie assumed it was something to do with Ava not trusting her.
 
Her problem then.
 
It never had been Stevie’s.

“This is Alfie, yes.”

Stevie threw another quick look over in the direction of the baby but made no attempt to move any closer.
 
“Well, cute as he undoubtedly is, I don’t do babies.”

“Have you never thought about starting a family?”

This was one conversation Stevie didn’t want to get into, especially with Ava.
 
But it had hit a nerve.
 
It always did.
 
“Never.
 
Now, if you’ll excuse me...”

“Not even with Mark?”

Stevie turned back round, fixing Ava with a look that said she really wasn’t in the mood for this.
 
“Especially not with Mark.”

“How
are
you and Mark?”

Stevie just turned and walked away – the safest option - bumping straight into Jack, who was right in Keith Richards mode with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth, his dirty blonde hair all over the place and the smell of alcohol emanating from him.
 
If anyone could look more like a rock star than Jack Warner then Stevie wanted to meet them.

“Hey there, sugar, how you doing?”

She looked at him.
 
“What the hell are you on?
 
Do you know how ridiculous you sound?
 
You’re from Edinburgh, Jack, not fucking
L.A.
”

“Whose bed did
you
get out the wrong side of then?”

“My own.
 
You seen Mark?”

“He’s over there.”
 
He indicated back over his shoulder.
 
“You got a light?”

 
She threw her lighter at him as she walked off, only to be diverted by Dave, which caused her to sigh heavily, sticking her hands in the pockets of her jeans.
 
“What?”

“A word.”

She looked around.
 
“Sorry...am I suddenly back in school or something?”

“Five minutes, that’s all.”

Sighing again she followed him outside.
 
“Problem, Dave?”

“Yes, I’ve got a problem.
 
You.”

She laughed, pulling a cigarette from out of her pocket, rummaging around for another lighter.
 
“Yeah.
 
I’d heard.”

“I can make this easy or I can make it hard for you, Stevie, it’s your choice.”

She leaned back against the wall, taking a deep draw on her cigarette, blowing smoke into the air.
 
“Whatever.”
 
She looked at him.
 
“But you keep Daniel out of it, alright?
 
You say nothing about me and him to anyone, do you hear?
 
It’s not fair on him and he doesn’t deserve it.”

“Things moving along are they?”

“Fuck off, Dave.”

“How does Mark feel?”

“About what?”

“About the fact his girlfriend’s now sleeping with the man who’s got every chance of becoming the next British Prime Minister?”

She looked at him again, blowing smoke directly in his face.
 
“First of all, I’m not Mark’s girlfriend, ok?
 
And if you hadn’t dragged me out here I was about to find
out
how he felt.
 
Not that it would matter anyway.”
 
She threw her cigarette on the ground, stubbing it out with the heel of her biker boot.
 
“Look, I know what you want, Dave, and you might just get it, but let me tell you one thing, ok?
 
I’m doing what I’m about to do because
I
want to do it, not because you’ve given me some pathetic ultimatum.
 
So just keep your mouth shut and everything could work out for you.
 
But say one word to anyone about me and Daniel and it’ll come back to hit you in the face like you wouldn’t believe.”

She started to walk away.
 

“I didn’t think you’d be his type.”

She turned round.
 
“Oh, you’d be surprised what these politician’s get up to behind closed doors.”

“Really.”

She walked over to him, looking him right in the eye.
 
“And don’t you wish you’d had just one tiny taste of what he gets.
 
Now leave me alone.
 
I’m done with you.
 
Concentrate on your own life, ok?
 
And keep the fuck out of mine.”

***

“So, how do you want to play this then?” Angus asked, pouring them both a glass of wine as they had lunch in the House of Commons.
 

Daniel had spent the morning doing the rounds of TV and radio interviews on Breakfast television and talk radio stations as the build up to the Election continued, and he was beyond tired.
 
“I suppose I should tell Samantha the truth.”

Angus raised his eyebrows.
 
“Suppose?”

Daniel sighed.
 
“I’m going back to
Berkshire
tonight.
 
I’m going to tell her I’m leaving her.”

“And then the shit hits the fan.
 
Your timing is way off the mark, Daniel.”

“What am I supposed to do, Angus?
 
Pretend this isn’t happening and live a lie for the rest of my life?”

Angus leaned forward, his hands clasped together in front of him.
 
“You should have thought this through.
 
For all you know this could just be some fling because you fancied something from the other side of the tracks.”

“Don’t talk about Stevie like that, do you hear me?”

Angus sat back, holding his hands up in surrender.
 

Daniel took a drink of wine and pushed a hand through his hair.
 
“It isn’t like that, Angus.
 
She
isn’t like that.”

“What
is
it like then?”

Daniel looked at him.
 
“It’s like a window’s been opened on a whole new world.”

Angus leaned forward again.
 
“All your life you’ve worked towards the exact spot you’ve reached now.
 
One step away from Number Ten, Daniel.
 
One small bloody step.
 
You stormed that Leadership Election, and you know as well as I do that confidence in the current Government is waning by the day whereas
your
popularity is soaring, people love you.
 
But you suddenly announcing you’re leaving your wife and shacking up with some woman who works with a rock band, well, who knows how that’s going to be received?
 
Samantha, she is the perfect politician’s wife.
 
Text book perfect.”

“So, what do you want me to do?
 
Stay with her just to win the Election?”

Angus looked directly at him.
 
“Is that such a bad idea?”

Daniel couldn’t help laughing. “It’s a bloody ridiculous idea and it’s not going to happen.”
 
He leaned farther forward.
 
“And if you talk about Stevie in a derogatory manner one more time I will get up and walk out of here, leaving you with a hell of a lot more problems than you think you already have, believe me.”
 
He reached inside his jacket and took out a photograph, throwing it at Angus.
 
“That’s her.”

Angus picked it up and looked at it.
 
Staring back at him was a woman who could only be described as stunning.
 
She had on very little make-up, her short hair was tousled and messed up and all she was wearing was a shirt Angus assumed was one of Daniels, and very little else.
 
She was laughing as she lay on the sofa in what looked like Daniel’s flat, staring directly into the camera with the most incredible blue eyes he’d ever seen.
 
It was a very intimate photograph, one that Daniel had obviously taken himself.
 
Angus handed it back to him.
 
“She’s very beautiful.”

Daniel slipped the photo back inside his jacket pocket.
 
“She’s Swedish.”

Angus said nothing.
 
He let Daniel carry on, part of him intrigued to find out more about this girl who’d got so close to his Party Leader.

“She’s ten years younger than me, and she makes me feel twenty-five again, Angus.
 
She’s covered in tattoos, she speaks her mind and doesn’t care who knows.
 
She is everything that is wrong for me but I love her like I can’t explain.”

“I’m assuming, from the way you’re talking, that you’ve slept with her?”

Daniel looked at him but said nothing.

“I’ll take that as a yes then.
 
Could that not be clouding your judgement, Daniel?
 
She’s obviously very...different.
 
And we all like a change now and again, of course we do, but couldn’t you just keep it discreet and pay for it like a few people around here I could mention?
 
Get it out of your system and get back to normality?”

Daniel laughed again, sitting back in his chair.
 
“It isn’t just about sex, Angus.”

“Isn’t it?
 
She’s a stunning woman; I’m sure any man would give anything to...”

“Don’t, Angus.”

Angus sat back too, taking a drink of his wine.
 
“Do you know what you’re putting at risk here, Daniel?”

“I’m well aware of the situation.”
 

“Ok,” Angus sighed.
 
“Listen to me.
 
This is all going to have to be handled extremely carefully...”

“This is my life we’re talking about here.”

Angus sat forward again.
 
“Yes, and I’m trying to make sure you don’t wreck it completely.
 
I’m trying to make sure that you don’t jeopardise everything you and everyone else around you has worked so hard for.
 
So if you’re really serious about this girl, if you’re really going to leave Samantha then go ahead, do it.”

“I don’t need your permission.”

“You need me to keep this whole bloody mess under control, Daniel, so listen to me.
 
You’ve given me no choice, and I don’t agree with this at all, but we can deal with it, if we have to.”

He looked at Daniel again, hoping in vain that this talented, ambitious and usually level-headed man would see some last minute sense and back down from this ridiculous situation.
 
But Daniel said nothing, just fixed Angus with a look of steely resolve that said more than any words could and Angus gave another heavy sigh.
 
A sigh of resignation.
 

“We can deal with you leaving your wife, even if the timing
is
worse than bad.
 
But we can deal with it.
 
What we can’t deal with straightaway is you going public with a new relationship - whoever she is - almost immediately after the split.
 
It’s too close to the Election.
 
Do you understand how damaging that could be?”

Daniel remained silent.
 
Angus sat back again, refilling his glass with more wine.
 
He indicated to Daniel’s glass but he shook his head.
 
He needed to keep focused.