Chapter Four
Anna saw a shadow move across the page of her book, blocking out the late summer sun. The long drawn out evenings were already something she had come to love about the place.
"No thanks, I'm happy here by myself," she said without looking up.
The shadow remained.
Annoyed by the unwanted attention, she looked up crossly and saw Alec looking down at her.
"Oh, it's you." she said, her features softening. She put the bookmark in her book and placed it on the table. Alec read the title: Tess of the d'Urbervilles.
"Sorry, I don't mean to bother you." he replied, a little flustered, suddenly regretting his plan to come outside.
"No, it's just…" Anna looked across the garden at a table of men. "I just wanted a quiet drink by myself but I seem to be getting a lot of attention from that table over there."
"Are they bothering you?" asked Alec, swinging around towards the table, brows furrowed, hands on hips. The recent Trish Winterman case still present in his mind.
"No, no, it's fine. I'm about to leave anyway."
Anna stood up.
Alec could feel his chance begin to slip through his fingers. He was never confident in his ability to chat up women.
"Would you, maybe, like to walk me home?" offered Anna, throwing him a lifeline and a flirty smile. Was it a flirty smile or was she just being friendly?
Alec cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah. Yes. After you," he motioned to the door and followed behind Anna as they left through the pub and out onto the street.
From across the room, Ellie saw the two of them leave.
"Bloody hell," she muttered in disbelief.
She wasn't the only one at the table to notice the boss leaving with a woman. A few wolf whistles and sly laughs erupted.
Old Shitface had finally scored!