One Last Chance by Paul J. Teague

Author:Paul J. Teague [Teague, Paul J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Clixeo Publishing
Published: 2019-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

October, Helix Fort

‘Welcome everybody!’ said Sebastian as he walked into the bar area and all heads turned. Victoria Winterton was with him. She looked stunning in a black dress and heels. She was wearing a shawl around her shoulders and a light but clearly expensive necklace. Gina and Phyllis dripped wealth, but on Victoria it sat subtly, a complement to her natural demeanour. She wore it well.

There was still no sign of Olaf. In fact, all the guests were there apart from him. That was fast becoming the norm. If they’d wheeled in a big cake and Olaf had burst out of it wearing a mankini, Matt wouldn’t have been surprised. He had to make it through until Sunday without killing the man.

Eddy was conspicuous by his absence too. But then he didn’t seem to be part of the proceedings. His role appeared to be as a facilitator.

‘Help yourself to drinks, everybody. We’ll move into the mess hall in five minutes.’

The chatter picked up once again and Sebastian made his way over to Matt and Clare.

‘You look absolutely stunning, Clare,’ he said, making her blush. She could tell he meant it and it made her feel more at ease among the other guests. Sebastian was almost a mirror image of Matt: smart trousers, open-neck shirt and a jacket. Nothing showy, not too scruffy. He breathed a sigh of relief. If the top man wasn’t in a lounge suit or dinner jacket, he’d made the right choice. Clare gave him a small smile.

‘I wanted to thank you for your time earlier, Matt. Remember what we discussed about confidentiality. I wanted to catch you before you-know-who arrives and to remind you to ignore anything he says to you. Carry on as we agreed.’

As if on cue, Olaf walked into the room. This time there was no fuss, no big entrance. And he was dressed appropriately too, even a little more formally than Matt. He steered clear of the other guests and ordered a drink at the bar, staying there for a few minutes and chatting to the barman.

Matt thought that he looked unusually tense.

‘I guess the stress must even get to Olaf Strauss sometimes!’

Sebastian smiled. ‘In the interests of fair play, I should give him the same pep talk as you. Remember to enjoy your evening. I want you to savour the whole experience this weekend. Have confidence – you’ve come this far!’

He headed over towards Olaf. Matt turned to Clare.

‘I told you an open-neck shirt would be fine. You can’t go far wrong if you follow the man in charge.’

‘Okay, okay, I admit it. You were right. Look, here’s Kylie. Do you mind if I go and chat to her? Jerry looks like he could do with a pal over there.’

Matt nodded and Clare headed over to Kylie, who’d already spotted her and was making a beeline for her new friend. The women were completely at ease with each other. Matt figured that the evening would go more smoothly if Clare got to sit with her friend.

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