This is a welcome distraction, and I smile back at her. ‘I am aware of a potential vacancy that might be a good fit. I just need to test the waters and arrange an initial interview.’
‘I think we’ve all learned a lot this holiday,’ she observes after a moment. ‘It’s certainly been eventful.’
‘Who the fuck does this Harvey guy think he is?’ Priya asks in outrage when I’ve told her and Rosie about the events at the airport yesterday. I’m sitting in the hotel bar, waiting for the carthat’s going to take me to the concert, and, in the absence of Dutch courage, I badly needed to see and hear my two dearest friends. I’ve been flip-flopping about whether to go to this thing all day. Part of me feels like I shouldn’t go, as a punishment for the way I feel I’ve been treated, but then how can Gabriel redeem himself if I’m not there? Despite having dressed up for it, I’m still undecided, and hoping that Priya and Rosie will know what I should do.
‘What she said,’ Rosie adds. ‘It sounds like someone needs to take him down a peg or two.’
‘Which is what Gabriel should have done,’ I agree. ‘But he just caved.’
‘He did stop Harvey from bundling you into a cab,’ Rosie observes. ‘He deserves some credit for that.’
‘Only because they were passing the hotel anyway,’ Priya counters. ‘So that cancels the credit, Rosie.Nul pointsfor Gabriel. I don’t get it though, because he seemed really genuine.’
‘Another style over substance guy to add to my collection,’ I tell them bitterly. ‘You would have thought I’d learn by now. Fuck it. I’m not going to go to this concert.’
‘Umm,’ Rosie says tentatively.
‘What?’ I ask her.
‘Look, obviously it’s up to you and everything, but something just doesn’t add up here. Normally, I’d be the first to agree that you’ve selected yet another useless loser, but his actions to date don’t support that theory. He really seemed to care for you.’
‘What’s your point?’ Priya asks.
‘I guess I just wonder whether this was an unfortunate blip and you should give him another chance. If he’s still being a dick and letting Harvey call the shots, then you know you’re well off out of it. If you don’t go, you’ll always have that doubt.’
‘I don’t know,’ I sigh. ‘Right now, changing back into my shorts and going to Raphael’s with Robert, Dan and Lily feelsmore appealing than trekking halfway across the island to be treated like something Harvey stepped in.’
‘What about Robert?’ Priya asks suddenly.
‘What?’
‘Well, he’s a good guy, isn’t he? Now that you’ve house trained him and everything. Maybe switch horses?’
‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Rosie agrees. ‘You’ve certainly been getting along well with him.’
‘He’s grown on me, and I like to think we’re good friends now,’ I tell them. ‘But we don’t have a sexual spark.’
‘That’s because you haven’t allowed yourself to think of him like that,’ Priya counters. ‘Think about it now.’
I try to imagine kissing Robert, undressing him, having sex with him, but it feels icky.
‘Nope,’ I tell them. ‘It would be like kissing my brother.’
‘Then I’m with Rosie,’ Priya says firmly. ‘Whatever you think of Gabriel right now, you definitely had a spark with him. Give him this one chance to redeem himself.’
I sigh. ‘Fine. I’ll go.’
29
OK, this is not what I was expecting. At first, I assumed the sleek black limousine must be for someone else, and did a double take when the receptionist indicated me to the driver.
‘Miss Tori?’ the driver asks. He’s dressed immaculately, in a dark suit, with a shirt so white I wonder for a moment whether he makes laundry detergent adverts in his spare time. Even his shoes are perfectly polished.
‘That’s me,’ I tell him, getting to my feet. I’m wearing Gabriel’s favourite dress again, mainly because it’s the only one that’s vaguely suitable for a concert, but I feel definitely underdressed compared to this man.
‘I’m Berkley, and I’ll be driving you this evening,’ he says, smiling warmly. ‘Would you follow me, please?’
Although the car itself is enormous, the rear door is surprisingly small and, despite Berkley holding it open for me, my entry is more awkward than sophisticated, which only adds to my sense of being out of place. At least my dress is long enough to prevent me flashing my knickers as I clamber in, although Berkley strikes me as the kind of person who would modestly avert his eyes in that instance.
