Page 101 of Take Two

‘Yeah.’

‘I spoke to your mother.’

Callie grinned. ‘Ooh, fun.’

Mae had to stop herself from laughing. She had to remind herself that this was serious. ‘You destroyed the footage.’

Callie rolled her eyes. ‘You make it sound like I burned a film reel. All I really did was toss an SD card into the pond.’

‘Ourpond?’ Mae asked.

Callie smiled. ‘Yeah.’

‘Hope a duck doesn’t eat it.’

‘Have you seen any floaters?’ Callie asked dryly.

‘No,’ Mae admitted.

‘Probably cool, then.’

‘And Neil found out?’

‘He watched me do it,’ Callie admitted.

‘You threw it even after he told you you’d lose? He did, right?’

‘Yes,’ Callie said again. ‘He did.’

Mae let out a little groan. ‘That’s a high cost.’

Callie shrugged and perched her bum on the vanity.

‘You didn’t win.’

Callie’s dark eyes danced. ‘I noticed.’

‘So the extra payment. The bonus. Your…’ Mae hesitated. ‘Your mum.’

‘She’s furious,’ she said casually. ‘She thinks this is your fault.’

Mae flinched at the memory. ‘She said. I didn’t understand that bit.’

‘She thinks you guilted me into it.’

Mae felt real horror. ‘Did I?’

‘No,’ Callie said with a shrug. ‘It was my call. Oh, by the way, my mum also said she’s gonna try to bill you for the marriage counselling she now has to go to, so look out for that in the post.’

Mae smiled. ‘Cool.’

Now she had the full story, the confirmation of all her suspicions. So, what would she do with it?

‘You must be wondering why I came all this way and talked myself into the studio audience?’ Mae asked.

Callie pushed off the vanity, took a step closer. ‘Perhaps a skosh.’

Mae tried to ignore the movement. ‘Because I needed you to hear it from you,’ Mae said.