The Hating Game (27 page)

‘
Jesus Christ,’ Ram said as the basket swayed slightly in the wind. ‘I think I’m going to be sick.’

Mattie moved as far away from him as she could in the tight confines. ‘Just don’t do it on me.’ She glanced over at Adam, who was staring with a detached gaze across the misty countryside. Did he ever show emotion?

‘
Look, if you try focusing on your work, maybe you’ll forget you feel sick,’ Mattie said. She couldn’t cope with vomit right now. ‘Just start shooting the view or something.’

‘
It is beautiful, isn’t it?’ the posh balloon operator said, gunning the hot air so they rose even higher. The balloon swung over the green patches below them and Mattie could see the sprawl of London in the distance. Even squished as she was – with the threat of Ram’s stomach contents – it was nice floating over England like this. If only she could stay up here for good, away from the thought of bankruptcy, Jess’s betrayal . . . and Kyle.

‘
Cheer
s!’ The operator opened a bottle of champagne and topped up two glasses, handing one to Mattie and one to Adam. Mattie drained hers straight away. If nothing else, it might make her feel a bit warmer – and maybe help make yesterday fuzzy.

She grabbed the bottle and refilled her glass, trying not to burp as the bubbles hit the back of her throat.
Bloody poncy champagne – that’s why whisky was such a great drink. No burping, just burning. She noticed Ram focusing on her cleavage.

‘
Feeling better?’ she said sarcastically.

He laughed. ‘Much. Thanks.’ He zoomed in closer.

Mattie took another gulp of her drink, pulling
Adam’s jacket tighter around her shoulders.

‘
It is cold up here, isn’t it,’ Adam said, watching her do up a few of the buttons.

She nodded. God, he was as boring as ever.

‘
So, what have you been up to since secondary school?’ he asked.

‘
Oh, you know. This and that.’ No way was she going to give him a blow-by-blow account of her life in the past ten years.
Although he could read most of it courtesy of the
Daily News Online
if he wished. She drained her glass and held it out. ‘Top me up.’

Adam handed her his. ‘Just have mine. I don’t drink very often.’

What kind of loser didn’t drink? Still, if it meant more for her. She
needed all the alcohol she could get her hands on right now; yesterday was still too sharp in her memory. She took a few more big gulps from his glass.

They both watched in silence as hills and scattered houses flowed beneath them. The first rays of a weak sun were beginning to penetrate the clouds, forming patterns of dark and light patches on the land underneath. Mattie put her hands to her head, suddenly feeling dizzy. That champagne had more kick to it than she’d thought. Then again, she’d hardly eaten anything since yesterday.

‘
You okay
?’ Adam laid a hand on her shoulder. Mattie wanted to shrug it off but she couldn’t move. Suddenly the ground underneath them was swirling like a kaleidoscope and she sank onto the cushions at the bottom of the basket, desperate for something to anchor her. Adam sat down too, snaking an arm around her.

‘
You’ll be all right. Just breathe.’ He patted her back.

She tried to move away but even an inch made her dizzy. She breathed in, conscious now of Adam weaselling his way even closer. Before she knew it, he was right up against her and pulling her head down to his shoulder.

Mattie heard
the whir of Ram’s lens zooming in but she was beyond caring. The only thing her foggy brain could think of now was Kyle. She wanted – needed – to put something between him and his words last night, something that would close the door for good. Right now, that something was Adam.

She
lifted her numb lips in a smile for Ram. Everyone would see she was just fine after what had happened yesterday.

And she was.

Really
.

*

Jess clicked off the telly
and grabbed a cushion, hugging it tightly as she tried to absorb what she’d just seen. What the hell? Had Mattie really been snuggling with
Adam
?

She shook her head.
What was Mattie playing at? Jess would never believe Mattie had let Adam come within an arm’s length of her, let alone cuddle with her. Since when did Mattie
cuddle
, anyway?

And Adam!
She didn’t even recognize the chubby shy man in this new bold bloke who’d been brave enough to make a move on Mattie.

The whole thing
had looked so romantic: a hot-air balloon ride drifting over the English countryside, champagne . . . Jess had kept waiting for something horrible to happen, like it had with Charlie and Kyle, but the date went off without a hitch.

A strange feeling snaked into her as she pictured Mattie and Adam together. She knew there was no way they were
really
together, but it was just weird. She was the one who had listened to them when they needed her; cheered them up when they were down. But for the past few days – despite her endless phone calls – neither of them had bothered to ring her back. They’d cut her out of the loop; she was no longer needed.

She grabbed her mob
ile and tried to call Mattie. But yet again it went straight to voice mail. Jess sighed. She’d gone by last night and she
knew
Mattie was home – the lights were on – but Mattie had refused to answer the buzzer. And after tomorrow, Mattie would be gone for two weeks with whoever the audience chose.

Jess gulped as she pictured Mattie
and Adam together in a romantic tropical location, sipping cocktails and lounging on the beach. When they got back they’d have loads of inside jokes she wouldn’t understand . . . if they even managed to keep in touch with her.

Maybe it wouldn’t be Adam. It could still be
Kyle or even that Italian man. Anyway, it would be better for Adam if it
wasn’t
him – he needed to move on. She’d be the first to tell him everything was okay if he didn’t get chosen.

Stroking the furry pillow,
Jess reassured herself that it would all work out. Mattie might be out of the picture for the next two weeks. But Adam would still need her if things didn’t go how he wanted – now more than ever before.

CHAPT
ER TWENTY

Ninety
per cent of people believe their partners aren’t completely truthful;

seventy-
five per cent admit to regularly lying to their husband or wife.

MA
TTIE AWOKE THE NEXT MORNING with a throbbing head and a queasy feeling in her stomach. Her mouth was like the Sahara, and as she slowly raised herself up on one elbow, the room swung around her.

‘
Oh God,’ she croaked, memories of yesterday’s balloon ride flooding back. She’d had all that champagne, and then Adam . . . she shuddered as she remembered him putting his pale arms around her and pulling her against him.
Jesus.

Strange that there’d been no drama, no conflict; just her and the robot, huddled together in the basket.
From Charlie to Kyle, every other date had included some sort of clash. Did the show
want
the audience to vote for Adam?

Maybe they’d edited in
a bit of excitement, somehow. She’d passed out as soon as she got home from the date and hadn’t watched it on her laptop. Well, however Tweedledee and Tweedledum had made her come across, at least the great British public would see she wasn’t scarred by Kyle – she had moved on. Even if it was with a zombie like Adam.

And Kyle would
know things were definitely over between them. Maybe he wouldn’t even turn up for the show tonight. He’d threatened to quit after their date; it was possible he’d pulled out. Relief mixed with the heaviness in the pit of her stomach when she thought about not seeing him again. It would be for the best, she told herself as she threw on old jeans and a tatty T-shirt sporting a faded logo of The Stones. They had nothing more to say to each other, anyway.

Might as well see what drivel was
in the
Daily News
today, she thought, heading out into the grey February morning. No way was she going to let herself be surprised like she had been in the past. Sighing, she forced herself to think positively. One more show tonight and then she could relax for two whole weeks. She couldn’t wait.

She grabbed a copy of the
Daily News
and some prawn cocktail crisps, nodding to the hairy-eared man behind the till who was blasting last night’s
Coronation Street
as usual.

Mattie flipped to
Entertainment. Some girl singer appeared to have gone onstage looking like a giant tampon . . . Seamus Leary had been found passed out on a bench in Hyde Park . . . Mattie smirked. Should be fun to see what state he was in tonight, then.

Ah, here was something, she thought
, spotting Deniz’s by-line. Her hand trembled as she held up the paper and quickly read the piece. Whew. Just a teaser for tonight’s live show and a lame shot from last night’s episode of her leaning against Adam’s chest with her eyes closed. Christ, she looked completely smashed. Unfortunately, there was nothing about Kyle leaving the show.

Mattie slammed back into her flat and started making an espresso. She’d need all the caffeine she could jam into her veins to fortify herself for whatever happened tonight.

Just keep going forward, moving ahead
, she told herself as she gulped the strong black sludge. That was the only way to get through.

*

Adam pivoted in front of the
large new mirror he’d bought, smiling at his reflection. Tonight was the night – the night when he would win the two weeks alone with Mattie, and the chance to show her what kind of man he really was. No more snivelling, overweight loser. No, he was a hard hero now, inside and out, the kind of bloke who never cracked; always in control no matter what. Exactly the sort of man Mattie wanted.

Surprisingly, h
e wasn’t even nervous. After the disaster dates of Charlie, Giovanni and Kyle, Adam reckoned he’d win hands down. A romantic balloon ride, champagne . . . and Mattie had let him put his arms around her! He could barely believe his luck when she hadn’t moved away, even leaning her head against his chest. All that effort in creating the new him was really paying off!

Just in case, though, Adam had
instructed each and every one of his employees to stop working on their next video-game release and dial around the clock, making sure to give him the highest Date Rate of any of the men. Plus he’d drafted in several lowly interns to make up the audience tonight, promising them all jobs if they made their support loud and clear. People were like sheep, and if those watching at home saw the majority in the audience supported Adam then they might just ring up and vote for him, too.

Adam stuck his newly
muscular chest out and curved his arm into an arc, picturing Mattie beside him. They’d make a great couple. Adam and Mattie, together forever.

He couldn’t wait.

*

‘
How you feelin’?’ Fabio asked as he tugged at Mattie’s extensions an hour or so before the live show. ‘It’s the big night. You gonna spend two weeks alone with one of them.’ He waved his hand in the general direction of the green room.

Mattie watched him untangle her red curls. They didn’t seem so strange any more – funny, she was getting kind of used to them.

‘
I’m fine,’
she said firmly. The week had been a whirlwind of emotions, from the disaster that was Charlie, the tabloid articles about her father and the bloody wedding dress . . . and, of course, Kyle. But she’d had all morning to get her feelings in order and everything was nailed in place now. She was ready to move on with her life.

‘
So who you want to be with?’ Fabio asked. ‘I been watchin’ each night down the pub. Everyone says Kyle’s the one that should win those two weeks.’

Mattie jerked her eyes away from her reflection to meet Fabio’s
. ‘
Kyle
? Are you insane?’ She shook her head. ‘Didn’t you see what happened? Some things are better left in the past,’ she mumbled to herself.

The hairdresser
wagged his finger. ‘Uh-uh. Not if they’re good things. Good things are worth fighting for. And that blonde bird?’ Fabio’s Liverpool accent crept in. ‘No way that was for real. Did you see the look on Kyle’s face?’

Mattie shrugged
. ‘Whatever, Fabio.’ She was done thinking about it. Chloe didn’t matter, either then or now. The only important thing was getting on with the game and saving her business.