Read Online No Ordinary Bloke by Mary Whitney - Free Book Online

unwelcome pat on the back, and his American accent became even more pronounced and grating. “I told Allison that when a guy like you gambles, you know what you’re doing. In the kind of neighborhood you’re from, you were probably gambling before you ever rode a bike.”
    And that was when I knew that he understood exactly what I had been up to with his girlfriend. You see, no one from a bad neighborhood ever needs or wants to be told how rotten their neighborhood is. It’s fine for you or your friends from the place to go on about it, but you don’t want to hear one word about it from a wanker toff like Trey. The man was jerking my chain.
    I wasn’t going to bloody well confirm for him that I did indeed learn how to play dice before I learned to ride a bike. That said, there was power to be had in playing into someone’s prejudices about you. I turned on the cockney. “Ah, me old man had me playing cards when I was still in short pants.”
    “See! That’s what I said.” He was gleeful and patted my back again. “Really though. Thanks for showing her around. I appreciate it. All this travel is new for her.”
    “She was fine without me, but it was nice to meet her.” I left it at that. There was business to be done, but I also was going to use the time to figure out my next move. I checked my watch and said, “So shall we get started?”
    “Absolutely,” said Trey. Glancing around the rest of the staff who were still shaking hands, he raised his voice. “Welcome, everyone. How about we take a seat and get to work?”
    The meeting went on without another hitch. We made great progress on the parameters of merging two flailing manufacturing companies. They were both dogs, but put together they might have a chance. After we set up the roadmap for the merger, Trey went off on some new project of his to raise private funds for a dam somewhere in the American desert. The project seemed riddled with financial and environmental risk, so I zoned out.
    It was a good time for me to make my plans about Allison. I decided if the cat was out of the bag, then I had no choice but to try to steal her away from Trey under his nose. In fact, I wanted to have his permission to do so.
    Two and a half hours later, our meeting wound down. Helen, the poor thing, hurried out, most likely to go eat at her desk while she worked. Blake invited Declan out to an Irish pub, and Declan was such a good guy he didn’t even say no. I had to wait a moment before I could ask my question of Trey because he and Melanie were in a whispering match. I cleared my throat. “Pardon me, Trey, I know you’re busy.”
    “So sorry,” he said, turning away from Melanie. “What can I help you with?”
    “Is Allison in today?”
    “Yes, as far as I know.”
    “Would it be all right with you if I took her out for lunch? She actually saved me from a big mistake when we played blackjack. I owe her one.”
    There was no trace of malice or concern on Trey’s face. Old Trey was a pro. He was on to me, but he didn’t care. Either it was because he thought he was smarter than me and could outwit me or he trusted Allison so completely he knew I’d fail. Whatever the reason, he immediately reacted. “Sure! Go ahead. She’d love it.” He nodded to Melanie. “I’m actually taking Melanie out for her birthday today.”
    “Happy birthday, Melanie,” I said with a smile.
    “Thanks,” she said before she beamed at Trey and then went back to her speed typing on her laptop.
    “Melanie, we really should get going,” Trey said, standing up. It sent Melanie into a scurry as she hastily put away files and her computer. He turned to me. “I’m taking Melanie to Lark as a treat. I’d suggest you take Allison there—she loves it, but I can’t imagine you can get in this late. You’d have to be the prime minister to finagle that.”
    I kept my smile frozen because Trey was being a complete arsehole. Yes, Lark was a nice restaurant where reservations were