‘You know,’ Alex said, drumming his fingers on the table. ‘I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Lucia.’
‘A bit? Alex,’ Nate laughed, ‘you drooled over her every time you saw her when we were together.’ He didn’t mention that Alex had tried it on with Lucia as soon as they’d broken up and she had turned him down hard and fast.
‘No, I didn’t. Whatever, Nate.’ Alex looked out the window. ‘God, this really is a one-horse town.’
‘I don’t know, I quite like it,’ Nate said, following his gaze. It was the homeliness, the couple of cottages that still had their thatch, the slightly ramshackle shops, the little church in the middle of town, the farm, the site.
‘Hmm,’ Alex pondered.
‘Do you speak to Paul at all?’ Nate inquired.
Alex shook his head.
‘Not really, he’s in Spain or something isn’t he? France?’
‘France,’ Nate confirmed.
‘I speak to Lucia all the time, we’re meeting up before Jess and Owen’s barbeque, you know, see how things go with the two of us,’ he said nonchalantly.
Ah, so that’s why he brought her up, an attempt to rub Nate’s face in the fact that he’ll be spending time with Lucia. Well, crack on, pal.
‘That’s great, Alex. Really good,’ Nate said genuinely. ‘If that’s what you want, I hope it works out for you.’
‘Well, just keeping it casual, you know?’ Alex said, ‘No pressure, no labels, keeping it loose.’ Which meant that Lucia probably had no idea about his plans for them.
‘Sounds great, Alex,’ Nate said. ‘Look man, I’ve got an early morning start, I’m going to see if the taxi is free to take me back to the farm. Dinner has been great.’
Alex looked at him like he’d grown two extra heads. ‘You’re not coming to the pub? It’s still an hour before closing?’
‘Nah, don’t fancy it.’ Nate stood, sliding his chair under the table. He placed some notes on the table to cover his half. ‘I don’t expect I’ll see you tomorrow. You’re not scheduled to come to the farm are you?’
It wasn’t really a question.
Alex eyed the notes warily. Nate had always paid for both of their meals when they’d been out the previous few times, and Alex was probably expecting a free ride again tonight. Nate had stopped at the little Sainsbury’s cash point to ensure he had enough cash to make a quick getaway if he needed to.
‘No, I’m not,’ Alex said, eyebrows raised at Nate, obviously waiting for an invite.
‘Alright, so I’ll hear from you about the funding recommendations, probably in a week or so?’ Nate asked, pointedly.
‘Oh that.’ Alex waved his hand dismissively. ‘I don’t know if I’ll have had enough time by then to go through everything.’
Nate raised one eyebrow.
‘I’m sure you will have. I mean, the society are going to want to know what happened today, aren’t they?’
Nate let that statement hang in the air. Even in Alex’s inebriated state, he should realise what Nate was getting at. If he was going to drag things out and make it difficult for Nate’s dig, then his unprofessional behaviour would be brought up. Christ, was he really blackmailing one of his oldest friends? No, just reminding him to do his job.
Alex’s face hardened. ‘Yeah, they’re going to want to know that one of their employees was physically assaulted.’
Nate considered his friend. God, he wasn’t very smart sometimes, was he? Nate leaned on the back of the chair.
‘They’re probably going to want to know the context of that as well. They’re going to want to know about the professionalism of their staff, their objectivity, their ability to do their job.’
‘Are you seriously choosing that girl over me? Do you seriously think I’m unprofessional? That I lack objectivity and am unable to do my job? All because of a couple of little comments, just banter between friends?’ Alex drained his glass.
‘I told you I didn’t want to hear it.’
‘You’re pathetic, you know that? You’ve gotten old, you’re flagging, you’re sinking into obscurity.’ Alex’s words slurred together.
