do anything,’ Penny whined. God she irritated him when she used that tone of voice.
‘I didn’t do anything?’ he mimicked. ‘You only said that you were going to talk to sodding Leo Harris and tell her all about our lives. Are you surprised that I got mad? Huh? It’s not fucking rocket science, is it? Have you read the stuff she writes on her blog? Somebody needs to sort the silly bitch out, but there’s no way you’re talking to her. I hope you’ve got that.’
He advanced on the bed and grabbed a handful of Penny’s hair to drag her face out of the pillows. At the look of fear in her face, he gave a grunt of disgust, and abruptly let go.
‘You don’t tell her anything. Are you listening? Now stop snivelling, get yourself up and dressed, and I’ll see you later. I’m dropping the girls off and coming straight home for the Porsche. I’ve got to take it back today - it was supposed to be a three day loan, but I’ve already had it for four. Something else to worry about, as if I haven’t got enough.’
He stood looking down at his wife, clenched fists hanging at his side. He was sick of her, if truth be told. Three women in the house was at least two too many. Three, if the third one was Penny.
‘Remember what I said, Penny. If that bloody Leo comes spooking round… ‘
‘Hello? You there, Gary?’ The shout was coming from the hallway below. Bugger. He shouldn’t have left the front door open. He hoped he hadn’t been heard. He gave Penny a last furious glance, and headed out onto the landing, plastering a smile on his face.
‘Sean! What brings you here this morning? Got something for me, have you?’
Gary made his way downstairs to where Sean was standing.
‘Penny okay, is she? I saw the girls in the car, and they said she’s not been too good.’
Gary indicated that they should move outside to talk, out of Penny’s earshot.
‘She’s a bit under the weather. Women’s problems, you know how they get. Anyway, I’m taking the girls to my mother’s. Told them she’s got something infectious.’ Gary sneered. ‘You’d think it was terminal, they way they bloody go on, wouldn’t you. What about you?’
Sean’s expression was bleak for a few seconds, in complete contrast to his usual twinkling smile - the one the women in the village drooled over.
‘Ah, you know how it is. Life’s not great at home. If I had the money, I’d start again. Me and the kids, you know.’
‘I keep trying to convince Penny of that. Except in her case, she could keep the kids.’ Gary laughed. ‘Anyway, you can’t become single because part of your attraction to the female population of the village is the fact that you appear as some kind of hero in their eyes. You get the sympathy vote as well as points for the rugged charm, so I’m reliably informed.’
‘Penny say that, did she?’ Sean asked.
‘Penny? You must be joking. Penny doesn’t recognise anybody’s charms but mine, buddy. I wish she would. Let me off the hook a bit, if you know what I mean.
Gary glanced around him, to make sure that nobody was around.
‘Anyway, enough of the idle chit chat - how are we doing with the deal? I could do with the cash, because then I might not have to take this baby back.’ He patted the Porsche on its bonnet. ‘With a bit of luck and a following wind, I’ll be buying one just like it in a month or two.’
‘The deal’s going to plan. The money’s been transferred to me, but it’s not cleared yet. Hopefully tomorrow. That’s what I came to tell you. I’ve spoken to the bank, and I can go in for the cash. I had to be interrogated for about an hour, mind you, before they agreed to release it. Anyway, I said I needed it for materials, and they were okay with that in the end. I’ll drop it round tomorrow, unless you want to meet somewhere else?’
Gary paused for a moment. It might be better to meet away from the house.
‘I’ll give you a call on that one. When’s it all going to be made public then? When’s your private investor going to make himself known?’
‘Saturday’s the plan. He was getting cold feet, but I worked on him and got things pushed through quickly. He’s around all week, though, so he can sign the