Page 109 of Kicks

At least I can finishThe Sopranos.

He made a beeline for the do not disturb zone of the office. Eddie had no appetite for a relentless grilling from Kat or pitying stares from everyone else.

As he set his laptop up, he caught sight of the letter in his bag. How had it come to this?

Refusing to answer the many instant messages from the team, Eddie buried himself in emails for a couple of hours.

In a lull, he opened the folder that contained all his communication with Billy. They were mostly business but the flirtation was unmistakeable. Eddie’s heart ached. The whole job nightmare may have been a distraction, yet the dull pain of missing Billy never really left him.

It was the fact that it had all been for nothing that hurt the most.

Just as he had psyched himself up to do a covert coffee run to the canteen, an email appeared in his inbox. It was from James.

Can you join us in meeting room three, please?

Eddie shut his laptop and grabbed his bag. If they walked him out, he wanted to be ready.

He strode across the office, exuding a false confidence. Despite his best efforts, he glanced over to where he knew the team would be sitting. Kat held her crossed fingers up.

Bless her. She was positive still.

His heart sank when he saw Brad already at the table. It wouldn’t have hurt James to tell them individually.

Eddie refused to meet Brad’s gaze as he took a seat across from him. James sat facing them.

“I know you’ll be pissed off that you’re both in here at once,” James said. “Sorry. I wanted to say something before I told you who has the job.”

Eddie fought a powerful urge to roll his eyes.

“I’ve been here since day one and I’m gutted to be going. But the time has come and I’ll ease my pain on the beach somewhere.”

“I felt sorry for you for a minute there,” Brad chipped in before cackling at his own joke.

Eddie remained stoney-faced.

“I don’t need a heckler, Brad,” James said, firmly. “The hardest thing about leaving has been choosing who to replace me and it isn’t something I take lightly. I set that competition because I wanted you to show me parts of you that I’ve not seen before.”

Unfortunately for me, that’s a loser.

“You did that in bucketloads,” James continued. “I thought I knew the pair of you. Anyway, what I saw made it an easy decision.”

Eddie swallowed and braced for impact.

“Congratulations, Eddie.”

“What did you say?” Brad spluttered.

“I’m sorry, Brad. I know how disappointed you’ll be.”

Brad leapt to his feet. “That job is mine. I beat him.”

James held his hands out. “And there you have it.”

Eddie was still speechless. It was as though he were watching the events play out on television. Unfortunately, Brad had not suffered the same effect.

“What is that supposed to mean? He’s a fucking loser.”

Now James stood. “That’s enough. I’ll ignore your behaviour once.”