‘Hey.’ His eyes lit up. ‘I meant to tell you. A guy walked into the gym today and asked about personal training. He had all the gear on and he was jingling car keys with a Mercedes key fob; I could tell he was loaded. I gave him my number and told him I could do a bespoke programme. And I said if he came directly to me, it’d be cheaper than paying the gym for sessions. He seemed really keen.’

‘Great!’ I sat down next to him and smiled. It occurred to me that Harvey’s methods might not go down too well at the gym, but seeing as I’d had my knuckles rapped today for not following the rules in my own job, who was I to criticize? ‘Fingers crossed for you.’

Harvey shovelled his stir-fry in and swallowed it down. ‘This could be my lucky break, Lottie. I only need a couple of regulars and I’ll be earning enough for both of us. I’d really like it if you didn’t work for a bit, stay at home, maybe do some leafleting again for me. I hate you leaving before me in the mornings. And I don’t like you travelling on your own on the tube. I want you to be here where I can look after you.’

‘Oh Harvey,’ I said weakly.

‘That’s settled, then,’ he said, mistaking my tone for happiness. He leaned forward to kiss me. ‘I love you, blossom.’

I didn’t want to tell him about my promotion tonight. I’d do it tomorrow.

Chapter 3

The next night after work, Harvey came home in a bad mood. The man with the Mercedes had been back in to book some sessions directly with Harvey. Unfortunately, he’d arrived before the start of Harvey’s shift and had been served by the boss instead. When she found out that her new instructor had proposed cutting Muscle Works out of the deal, she’d bawled Harvey out in front of two other members of staff and given him a formal warning for effectively stealing from her.

‘The idiot!’ he spat, pacing up and down the flat, more like a caged animal than ever. ‘I told him to phone me first, not just turn up. What was he thinking?’

I smiled sympathetically from my perch on the window sill, knowing he didn’t want me to actually speak.

‘And that bitch, humiliating me like that. Who does she think she is?’

Your employer? I thought.

‘Now she’s watching me like a hawk; daring to say I can’t be trusted. She should be grateful I didn’t walk out; I’m the only one with two brain cells to rub together in that place.’

Maybe this was my opening. If he did walk out, he’d have to accept that I needed to increase my earnings to compensate.