The Consultant - NaNoWriMo2021

Chapter 26

Despite just a moment ago resolving not to drink anymore, I take a gulp of my wine as he walks through the door, almost choking on it, resulting in a coughing fit that refuses to subside and leaves me bent double until I finally look up to find Sebastian patting me hard on the back, and offering my a tissue.

'Thank you. I'm sorry about that. It was the shock of seeing Felix. Felix what the hell are you doing here?'

I'm still recovering from my bout of self-inflicted asphyxiation but I can tell that Felix looks a bit out-of-it; he's wandering in the kitchen and staring at me with his puppy eyes and when I company, that is most unlike him. I repeat my question.

'Felix. What the hell are you doing here?'

'He's here to see you of course.' Sebastian has finished patting me on the back and has now retired to the other side of the kitchen, standing next to Felix and smiling at me. 'I thought this would be a great opportunity to get the two estranged lovebirds together, and see if you can't overcome your differences.'

Mindful of my father's admonition to play for time, I am trying not to reference the fact that for some as-yet unknown reason, Sebastian has a file on me in his briefcase, but honestly, seeing Felix here has completely thrown me and I struggle to regain my cool.

'I don't understand Sebastian. How did you even get him to come, and why? I mean it's not like there is any chance for us, he's,' I shoot Felix a venomous glance but he seems oblivious and just grins at me, 'made his feelings perfectly clear. He was being pleasured by a student at the time.'

Sebastian grins and picks up his glass.

'You are right of course dear Fin. But this evening, we shall get the truth. Felix kindly accepted a flask of merlot when I picked him up this afternoon. Thanks to Chinless Pete, your dealer, and a thoroughly nice chap as it turns out and one who is not averse to selling to your friends either, I dosed him with sodium pentothal and it is nicely circulating his bloodstream as we speak. I think if we ask him some questions about how he really feels about you, we should get some real honest answers. Doesn't that appeal to you Fin; to know the truth, however good or bad it is? Not spending the rest of your life never knowing why he betrayed you, or if he truly had feelings for you? Wondering if your radar really was that far out of kilter?'

I sit in silence, absorbing the fact that he has drugged Felix and basically kidnapped him against his will.

'How did you persuade him to come here?'

'Oh that part was easy. I simply told him that you wanted to reconcile and he was therefore invited here for the weekend to do just that. I drugged him and he slept all the way here, then I stashed him in the garage with the help of a few zip ties and a rag in his mouth. He slept the whole time it took me to come and pick you up, and then just now, I popped into the village to find out where Clive is, and then collected Felix from the garage now that he has woken up. Don't worry, the truth serum will last for a couple more hours if Chinless Pete got the weights right.'

'Sebastian. You can't just drug people and kidnap them. People will be looking for him.'

'Don't worry, I didn't hurt him and he won't remember anything. I dumped his phone and once he has given you the answers that you need, this will be over and I can drop him off near his house. He will be totally fine, and you will know the truth.'

I shake my head, bewildered and confused at all of this, but I have to confess, I would like to know what went wrong and if it is the case that I am just naïve and gullible, or if Felix never cared for me at all. Plus, I guess it passes the time until the cavalry arrives, assuming we need a cavalry.

'Shall we begin? Okay. Felix, tell us how you feel about Fin here. Tell us how you really feel.'

Felix swings his head around from Sebastian to me, his eyes fixed on mine. He seems drowsy but lucid and his voice is normal, though his words are a little slurred.

'Fin? I love Fin. She is the love of my life.'

'Then why did you cheat on her Felix?'

'It was a mistake. Habit. It was stupid. I was weak, and it cost me Fin.'

Felix is still staring at me, and now I feel Sebastian's gaze on me too. I'm drawn in to this game, whether I like it or not.

'Felix, how many times did you cheat on me?'

'Once, only the once, and it was a terrible mistake. I was angry and hung over. It was self-pity; I thought it would make me feel better but it didn't, and then I ruined everything.'

'So you didn't cheat before?'

'Never, well never on you. There were lots of girls, but when I met you, I knew it was different. You were special, and I wanted it to be forever. I even had divorce papers drawn up. I was ready to be with you once I had ended my marriage with Aubrey.'

'You were ready to leave your wife?'

'Yes,' mutters Felix. He looks miserable, like he wants to cry. He looks wretched. I am astonished to be honest, I never realised he felt that way about me. I had hoped it of course, but after the girl, it seemed I was just one in a procession of women. 'I was ready to leave her, and I still am, if you'll have me after what I did.'

Fuck, now what do I do. He wants to be together again, but that is so complicated. Aside from the fact that he is currently drugged and won't remember this, and that Sebastian essentially kidnapped him to get him here, Felix has no idea what I do for a living, and no idea that I don't remember any of our sex life. Is that the basis for a relationship? With a soon to be divorced man and a woman half his age? This is very complicated indeed, and yet I can't deny how I feel.

Just at that point, Felix staggers a little, holding on to the work surface to steady himself.

'Sacre Bleur,' mutters Sebastian as he shoots out an arm to support him. 'I think maybe that is enough for Felix. I will settle him in the sitting room and he can sleep off the effects. I will take him home tomorrow, unless of course you decide that he can stay?' He shoots me a lascivious look that makes me blush and turn away. Apparently I am more of a prude than I thought. Sebastian walks Felix through to the sitting room and I hear muffled sounds as he puts him to bed on the sofa. I have no idea what is going on here, but it seems that it's not as nefarious as I thought. Should I just confront Sebastian about the file? I'm still thinking when he walks back into the kitchen, shooting his cuffs and adjusting his waistcoat as he strides over to check on the food.

'Finally its ready. Now all we need is Clive.'

'Yes,' I say, 'where is he?' The large dark kitchen window is suddenly lit from outside like a stage coming to life for a performance, and Felix snorts.

'He's here, it seems.'