On that note, what do people think Els meant when she said something along the lines of she and McNab have fundamentally different opinions on some things? Was it just a hint at McNab being gay?
I looked up where this is from, since I didn't really remember this part. So Els says this during the conversation where the MC asks her why he's so important to her and is her best friend, instead of someone she's known longer than him:
e "Alistair is my oldest friend, certainly. But not my best."
e "We adore each other, no doubt. And he's always been in my corner, but he and I have some fundamental differences of opinion."
e "And Reenie is a phenomenal attorney, with a heart of gold and a brain like a steel trap. But that doesn't put her at the top."
e "It's you. Since the day we met, I've just clicked with you."
The most straightforward interpretation here would be that she and the MC both have a love of violence, while McNab seemingly doesn't. We don't know too much about Alistair as readers yet in this regard, but describing him as having a more "calm demeanor" fits with the way he treats people like the shady "I Hate This Fucking Guy" promoter without being openly hostile toward him, unlike the MC who is ready to punch his lights out. I think this is the most likely interpretation because whatever trait Els is thinking about in this moment would be something that's a deciding factor between the MC and others as to her friendship.
I doubt it is a reference to the likely fact that McNab is gay. In a very real sense an attraction to men would be something McNab and Els share. And a possible attraction to the MC would be doubly-so bonding for them.
It might instead be related to Els's suspicious nature and her intelligence gathering on her friends. It seems to me that McNab is more of a "let people have their private lives" kind of person, and he and Els would definitely clash in that regard, given the way she pries and doesn't respect the personal boundaries of the MC. Els's Dad did remark that McNab is a "private" person ("Kid's pretty private."). The MC
appears to be a bit more open about having his personal life made public, but that character trait is difficult to pin down at the moment.
Another possibility is that it has something to do with Els's family, or specifically her brother. McNab could hold some different opinion about someone in her family, since he knows them decently well (Els's Dad remarked that Alistair stopped by their house a lot, and Els's Mom would often stuff him full with her cooking). The biggest point of contention here could be that he thinks differently than Els does about her brother. Or perhaps he simply doesn't understand why she has become half-estranged from her family (Els's complicated familial relationships are hard to sum up in one word). This seems a bit less likely to me though because the MC doesn't really hold an opinion about the members of Els's family, so there is nothing for her to contrast with McNab and use to put the MC ahead in the "we just click" best friend category.
Perhaps it's a combination of a lot of things. She did say "
some differences of opinion" after all, which could mean "opinions" plural.
