Black Girls and Bad Boys: Changing his Tune Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t like to see her upset. Too
bloody chivalrous for his own good.
    He filled the kettle and put the mugs in place, carefully avoiding
eye-contact as he did so. She was probably getting ready to spin him some sob-story
about all the debt she’d run up when she was still drinking. Whatever it was,
he was pretty sure John didn’t know any of it.
    The kettle came to the boil and he made the drinks. Actually, now
he’d thought about it some more, it might not make sense to get her fired. John
would only get someone else in to take her place. At least she understood what
he was going through.
    And if the worst came to the worst, he’d have some very valuable
secrets to hold over her.
    Sitting at the table with a warm mug of tea in her hands, Angelique
found herself not knowing where to start. She’d never told anyone the whole
story – even Eleanor only knew parts of it. But she didn’t know what to tell
him and what to leave out.
    “What do you need the money for?”
    That was an easy question, but it was hard to let the answer pass
her lips. She took a drink of tea and almost scalded her tongue. “To fight for
custody of my son. Joint custody – I wouldn’t get sole custody. Not with my
history.”
    It went very quiet for a long few seconds.
    “What happened?”
    “Short version? My husband left me and I turned to the bottle.” She
shook her head, angry with herself. “I know. I’m a shit mother.” Tears welled
up behind her eyelids but she wouldn’t let them fall. She kissed her teeth in
frustration. Getting tearful wasn’t like her at all. “I’m weak and I don’t
deserve to get Lewis back.”
    “That’s not true and you know it. You wouldn’t want to fight for
custody if you believed that.”
    “Perhaps I’m just being selfish. He’s probably better off without
me.”
    “Have you stopped drinking?”
    She nodded.
    “Do you love him?”
    “Of course I do.” How could he even ask that?
    “So how would he be better off without you?”
    Because he wouldn’t have to deal with her shit. “He must hate me. I
would in his place.”
    “How old is he?”
    “Nine.”
    “Trust me, he doesn’t hate you.”
    That last comment had the ring of something learned from experience.
After the bullshit he’d pulled with her that day, he was the last person she’d
expected to comfort her. She wanted to take his hand and squeeze it for saying
those things, but it was too hard to try.
    “What happened with his dad? Doesn’t he realise you’ve sorted
yourself out now?”
    “He doesn’t care. When he got custody, I’d given him enough
ammunition to keep me out of Lewis’s life for good. There was no point fighting
it, even when I cleaned myself up. Not with the kind of lawyers I could afford,
anyway.”
    “Oh.”
    The rest of the story bubbled up at the back of her throat, but she
held back – there wasn’t anything else he needed to know. He was being nice
now, but she had to be careful. The other stuff could stay buried. “That’s why
I need this job – so I can fight for him.” She could feel him watching her,
thinking about what she’d said.
    “Do you think you can help me?”
    “I do. And I’m not just saying that because I want to stay.”
    “Then I won’t tell John—”
    “Thank you, thank you—”
    “So, did you sort things out with your sponsor.” He fixed her with a
serious look.
    “Sort of. Don’t worry, I’m not going to have a drink.” She still
felt wretched, but the need for alcohol had shrunk back to something she could
ignore.
    “There’s nothing here anyway.” His attention wandered and he gazed
out of the window at the garden for a moment before turning back to her. “Why
did you freak out when I touched you?”
    She looked down at the table. “I... I don’t want to talk about that.”
If she could spare herself from the way he would look at her if he knew... He
didn’t need to hear that story.
    He watched her for so long she had to look away. “Okay.