Against her better judgement, Katy had put on the dress and shoes and done her hair and makeup. Tina had gushed over her appearance as she'd descended the stairs into the lower bar, self-consciously tugging on the hem of the dress, which stopped at the middle of her thighs. Batting her hands away, Tina pulled out her phone and snapped a couple of photos, much to the blonde's irritation.
"I still don't know about this, T."
"You look gorgeous."
"That's not my point. I don't know if I should be going."
"What's the worst that could happen?"
"Really?"
"OK, but you just need to stop thinking the worst about everything and everyone for two minutes and go and enjoy yourself."
There was no time for Katy to talk herself out of it any more as the door opened and Graham stood in the doorway, dressed in an obviously expensive suit. He looked Katy up and down, a grin on his face as he took in her outfit.
"You decided to wear it, then?"
"Didn't have much choice." She muttered.
"Go and have fun." Tina ordered, pushing her friend gently towards the door. "Don't do anything I wouldn't."
Katy glared at her as she was ushered into the back of a large, expensive car. Graham got in the other side and they started moving before Katy could really comprehend that she was being chauffer driven.
"Look… I dunno what the deal is, here, but this ain't some Pretty Woman thing." She announced, remembering Tina's take on the situation. "I ain't gonna sleep with you just because you can buy me some expensive dress and shoes." Graham laughed, irritating her as she assumed that he was dismissing her words. "I mean it."
"I understand." He agreed with a nod. "That's not what's going on here. I have no intention of sleeping with you."
"You don't?"
"Don't look so surprised. Have I ever given you that impression?"
"Uhhh… you said I was beautiful, you bought me the outfit and you're whisking me off to some fancy party in the West End."
"Right and that means that I must be intending to sleep with you."
Katy was genuinely confused. "Well… that's normally the intention. I mean, a bloke buys you one drink and that's normally the intention."
He chuckled. "Well, I can assure you that it's not my intention. I mean, you're probably the same age as my daughter."
"So… what is this about, then?" She asked him. "I mean… this must have cost a pretty penny and I don't see what you're getting in return?"
"Put plainly, I'm tired of going to these events on my own." Graham admitted. "When I came to your bar with Scott I immediately noticed that you were beautiful. Then, when I spoke to you and realised you owned the bar, it struck me that you had brains as well as beauty."
"Right…"
"Going to this dinner with you on my arm would make the entire thing bearable."
"That's it?"
He nodded. "That's it. Trust me, a £700 pair of shoes is a small price to pay."
"Fucking hell!" Katy looked down at her feet in astonishment. "£700?"
"As I said, it's a small price to pay."
The blonde considered what he'd said for a moment. "Is this gonna be one of them things with a load of old guys showing off their younger wives and girlfriends?"
"I prefer middle aged."
"Oh, sorry… no offence." She winced at her own tactlessness. "You know what I mean though."
"I do and yes, you're right."
"So… I pretend to be your girlfriend so you can show off to your mates and I get to take the piss out of their girlfriends?"
"Not to their faces, please."
"OK… I think I can work with that."
When they arrived at the venue, Katy had to work hard to hide how awestruck she was. She had never been anywhere quite so impressive and the way Graham didn't seem to have any of the same feelings about their current surroundings put her slightly on edge. As he placed his hand lightly on the small of her back and propelled her into the building, pausing to show his invitation to the bouncer at the door, Katy suddenly felt very unsure of herself.
They had only been in the room where the ceremony was taking place for long enough to get a drink when Graham was drawn into conversation with a couple of men who were obviously colleagues of his. Katy smiled weakly, sipping her drink and looking around uneasily.
"… haven't met before, have we?"
Graham nudged Katy surreptitiously in the ribs, signalling that she was being addressed personally. "Uhh… no." She shook her head, smiling quickly. "I don't think so."
"Robin Heaverman." He replied, holding out his hand.
Forcing herself not to react when he pressed a kiss to the back of hers instead of simply shaking it, Katy smiled. "Katy Mitchell."
"So, Katy, what is it you do?
Not appreciating the patronising tone he had adopted or the way he was looking her up and down, she arched an eyebrow. "I run R&R in Walford. It's–"
"Ah, you're a barmaid." The man chuckled, cutting her off and winking at Graham.
"No, actually, I own the bar." She informed him irritably. "I've worked bloody hard to get where I am and I don't need you looking down your nose at me. Don't even bother with the condescending congratulations, either."
"Did you say you were from Walford?" He asked, glancing at Graham, as though for confirmation. "Oh… you're a Mitchell."
"Said so, didn't I?" Katy muttered.
There was a pause, before Robin leant in and said something in a low voice to Graham, before turning and striding away though the crowd. With a chuckle, the man turned to meet Katy's gaze, smiling at the unimpressed expression on her face. As Katy's eyebrow rose slowly, daring him to make a comment he motioned towards a passing waiter to hand them fresh glasses of Prosecco.
"What did he say to you?" Katy demanded.
"He asked if I knew what I was doing." Graham told her simply.
To his immense surprise, the young woman simply shrugged. "He's got a point. Do you know what you're doing?"
"I'm pretty sure I understand our arrangement quite well."
"That's alright, then."
Furrowing her eyebrows as Ronnie appeared in the kitchen, sweaty and dishevelled from her run, Katy moved out of the way of the fridge, allowing her mother to grab a chilled bottle of water. The older blonde watched her for a moment, wondering whether her next question would be met with irritation.
"So… where were you last night?"
"I told you, I had to go and check out a DJ for the bar."
"Mmmhmmm…"
"What?" Katy muttered, dropping her gaze to her coffee mug.
"No, nothing." Ronnie shook her head. "It's just that Tina mentioned something about an awards ceremony?"
"Huh?" Her daughter screwed up her nose. "What?"
"I mean… if R&R was up for an award you'd obviously tell me, right?"
"Right." Katy assured her with a firm nod. Seeing the sceptical expression on her face, the younger blonde rolled her eyes. "Mum, of course I would. If R&R ever got put up for an award I wouldn't want anyone else there with me. OK?"
"So… were you with Isaac?"
"Mum!"
"What? I thought it was an actual thing now? Mum said that Kathy told her that everyone's discussing it in the caf."
"Wonderful." Katy rolled her eyes irritably. "But no, it's not a thing. Whatever it was… it's over."
Ronnie exhaled sharply. "Baby…"
"You tired of being Dad's guilty little secret yet?"
"Katy."
"What, Mum?" Her daughter sighed tiredly. "You don't want me questioning things in your life, that's fine. I'll stay out of your life if you stay out of mine."
"You know that's not what I want."
"Well it's what I want, OK?"
"Katy–"
"Just drop it." Katy ordered, standing up and stalking away.
Ronnie stared after her as she closed their shared bedroom door with a thump. Rubbing the back of her neck thoughtfully, she took another long gulp from her water bottle before heading to the bathroom for a shower.
Rushing through getting ready, she was out of the flat and making her way towards R&R before Katy had opened the bedroom door. Tina looked up from restocking the fridges and smiled at her boss' mother.
"Oh, hey… Katy's not in yet."
"No, I know." Ronnie agreed. "She's at home in a foul mood."
"What? Why? Did last night not go well?"
"That," the blonde leant her elbows on the bar and smiled, "is what I was hoping you could tell me."
"I dunno what you mean?" Tina furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"I think you do, Tina. I think you know exactly where my daughter was last night who she was with. There's something she's not telling me and where Katy's concerned that is never a good thing."
"This time I think maybe it is?"
Ronnie smirked triumphantly. "So there is something and you know what it is."
"I… uhh…"
"Come on, Tina, you might as well tell me because I'm going to find out one way or another."
A/N: Hi guys! I hope everyone is staying well and as upbeat as possible during these strange times.
Thank you for your patience with me - being on lockdown should mean more time to write but I'm a teacher and teaching from home apparently takes up even more time than normal!
I'm doing my best to write and update as much as I can. Thank you for your lovely comments - I really enjoy reading your thoughts and predictions about what might be coming!
Stay safe,
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