‘I’ll get everything sorted out this week’ he says. ‘In terms of the money, that might have to wait a couple of weeks. I’m in the middle of changing banks at the moment and waiting for a big bonus from work. Ten grand, though, so that’ll sort everything out. Is that alright?’

I force a smile. ‘Sure,’ I say. ‘No problem.’

18

Saturday 28 December

Tom’s started moving some of his things in over the past couple of days, and everything should be out of his boss’s flat by New Year.

‘I spoke to him earlier, actually. I meant to say,’ Tom tells me. ‘He’s going to check the rental contract, but there’s a good chance I might have to pay up until the end of January as I officially need to give a month’s notice.’

‘That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? I mean, he’s supposed to be helping you out. I’m pretty sure he’d be able to find someone else to take the flat on before then.’

Tom shrugs. ‘Yeah, I know. Like I say, he’s happy to help me out with it, but I suppose it’s only fair to want what it’s worth. If I wasn’t renting it, someone else would. It’s not right that he has to lose money over it.’

‘No, but still.’

‘I’m sure we can sort something out if he finds a new tenant sooner. I’ll talk to him about it. Just letting you know, just in case.’

‘Does that mean you might not be able to contribute to the mortgage until the end of next month?’ I ask.

‘I hope that won’t be the case. Like I say, I’m sure we can sort something out long before then. Just didn’t want to spring it on you at the last minute if it doesn’t quite work out how we want it. Anyway, it’s only temporary. We’re due to complete on that project in China mid-January, and we’ll be getting pretty hefty bonuses once that goes through so I can settle everything up then. You won’t be out of pocket. I could probably even pay for a couple of extra months in advance.’

‘So work’s going well, then?’ I ask, trying to change the subject to something a little more positive.

Tom takes a deep breath. ‘Sort of, yeah.’

‘Sort of?’

‘Well, I was trying to find a way to tell you, but we think we’re going to have to let some people go from the China contract. Some of the engineers and techies, I mean. They’re not pulling their weight.’

‘Oh. That’s a shame,’ I say.

‘Yeah. Problem is, these guys have got no chance of finding another job around there. There’s nothing like this at all. Not for a British company, earning that sort of money. It’s the sort of thing that sets someone up for life over there. Foreign money. Puts kids through university, the lot. There are going to be some really unhappy people. Organised crime and corruption’s rife, too, so we’ve got to be really careful.’