The Mentor by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli Read Free Book Online

to do that with my ex.”
    “To be honest, we still love each other, but . . .”
    He waited for her to finish, staring at her lips.
    Adele hesitated a little longer, apparently enjoying keeping him in suspense. “The problem is . . . he’s gay!” Then she laughed.
    It wasn’t much of a laugh. The divorce must have been an incredibly upsetting experience, although perhaps over time she’d gotten over it. Or maybe she was just really good at hiding her emotions. Even now that they were alone, with Eric’s defenses lowered thanks to alcohol, Adele appeared to keep up the walls that separated her from the rest of the world, preventing anyone from getting too close to her.
    She took out her cell phone for the umpteenth time. As soon as she touched the screen it lit up, casting a cold light onto her face. “You’re too drunk to take the tube,” she said, touching buttons on her screen. “I’m calling a cab.”
    Ten minutes later they were sitting in the backseat of a taxi. Eric intended to rest his head for a moment on the window, but he slipped into a deep sleep. Adele watched him, a little worried, while the car took off down Oxford Street. She was concerned he’d collapse from one moment to the next.
    When the taxi driver took a right turn into Portman Street a little too quickly, she put her arms around her boss to hold him upright. The last thing she needed was for him to knock his head on something. Then she would have to take him to the emergency room, and the news that the most famous squad leader in the scientific investigations department of Scotland Yard had wound up at the hospital, too drunk to function, would make its way around London in a heartbeat. It would deal quite a blow to his reputation, and Adele didn’t want to be the least bit responsible for that.
    The car came to a brusque stop. She realized they’d already reached Dorset Street, right outside the building where she lived. She tried to shake Eric gently.
    “Boss, this is my stop. Can you hear me?”
    He mumbled something incomprehensible in response.
    “I have to get out here. We have to tell the taxi driver where to take you, so that he can get you home,” she said, raising her voice a little.
    This time Eric didn’t even try to respond. He’d fallen asleep again.
    The taxi driver turned around and opened the little window that separated the front from the back of the car. “Hey, your buddy’s good and drunk, isn’t he?” There was a certain element of commiseration in his eyes. “I don’t think the evening’s gone quite as planned, has it?”
    The man seemed to have developed very clear ideas about the two passengers in the back. Maybe he thought they were a classic pair: the boss with his young secretary. He’d invited her out for drinks in the hope of taking her to bed, and she’d accepted in the hope of getting a raise or a promotion, but things had gotten out of hand, and now all they’d have left were hangovers and hazy memories. The driver’s laughter seemed to confirm that was his opinion of the events.
    “Listen,” said Adele, turning to face the taxi driver. “I’ll give you twenty quid on top of the fare if you’ll help me get him up to my place.”
    “Hmm,” said the man, and nothing more. Maybe he was thinking this request didn’t fit well with the story he’d imagined. Or maybe he just wanted to barter his way to a bigger bonus.
    “Have you gotten any tickets lately, by any chance?” Adele asked. Perhaps there was another way they could work out a deal.
    “What do you care?” replied the taxi driver, and not politely.
    At this point Adele pulled out her badge and showed it to him. The driver’s face turned serious, then melted into a timid smile. There was no doubt that if she checked the vehicle’s paperwork she’d find something out of order. She wasn’t a street cop, but this man didn’t know that.
    “Ah!” he exclaimed. “I don’t want a thing, miss. I’m happy to give you a