Just Friends (The Agency Book 1) by Elizabeth Grey

Author:Elizabeth Grey [Grey, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Snowflake Publishing
Published: 2017-09-14T16:00:00+00:00

15

MAX SLEEPS FOR THE REST of the morning. I try to work, but I’ve taken several trips to Facebook, Amazon and a fan page for Robert Downey Jr. instead. What can I say? When I’m on a downer, I seek solace in Iron Man.

Today my brain decides, for the first time in its life, that Ethan bears a passing resemblance to Tony Stark, so I flick over to my YouTube playlist to take my mind off him. But this makes everything worse. First up on my playlist is Coldplay’s “The Scientist” . . . or rather the cover version Ethan and Rory did a couple of years ago. My insides spin as his strong voice draws me in and I imagine he’s singing about me. Oh my god, why? I’ve listened to their songs on YouTube dozens of times, but I’ve never felt like this before.

I switch it off and decide to punish myself with Candy Crush, but I’m rewarded at precisely 12.54 p.m. when I finally achieve the unachievable – the completion of Level 374. This means I’m king of the world and I need to celebrate with food.

I take a trip to Max’s fridge, which is in much better shape than mine. Fruit, vegetables, raw ingredients to make stuff. Wow, I’m in awe. I consider cooking something for all of ten seconds, before immersing myself in the creation of a celebratory sandwich instead. Bread, spread, Polish cold meats and some suspicious-looking smoked cheese with black skin. Clearly Max is still convenience-shopping at the Happy Shopper next to Brixton Tube.

After lunch, a text message from the office brings good news.

Zoe visited Carly in hospital yesterday. Carly said she was taking coke with “a mystery man” at the party, and her parents are threatening to book her into rehab. Carly didn’t mention Ridley at all. Rory has the night off so he can watch Max from three. See you back at the office.”

***

Rory Fraser’s timekeeping is as bad as his brother’s, so I’m still here when Max wakes up at three thirty and stumbles into the sitting room like a zombie searching for a limb to chew on. He grabs some cold meat from his fridge and eats it straight from the packet.

“I have some good news to tell you,” I say when he takes a seat next to me on his Kermit-green sofa. “Zoe says Carly is on the mend. Apparently, she was with a guy when she passed out. They were drinking and taking cocaine. Carly’s parents have booked her into rehab once she’s better. See, I told you this wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault.”

I watch with pleasure as the relief slowly washes over him – ripples at first, then his muscles relax, and finally I see his spark return. I put my arm around him and give him a peck on the cheek. He responds with a smile so big it overtakes his face in a gigantic crescent moon. “Oh, shit. You’re serious, aren’t you?” He laughs and pulls me into a hug.

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