‘Ah! Here you are. Heya, Dan, my favourite man!’

Patrix was all smiles as he entered the study uninvited. More bad manners. What was it with people barging into my room without even knocking first? I needed a better class of dinner guest. Keeping my expression neutral, I sat back, ready to deflect whatever bullshit Patrix thought he might fling in my direction. This evening was already getting on my nerves and the first course hadn’t even been served yet. Still, there was a point and a purpose to all this, and the end result would be worth it. I forced myself to be civil.

‘Hello, Patrix. How’s life treating you?’

As if I didn’t already know. I took in his denim jeans and his spotless, long-sleeved white polo shirt at a glance. All three buttons of the shirt were undone. How long had he stood in front of the mirror, deciding how much chest to put on show?

Patrix’s gaze swept over my desk. His head tilted as he noted the framed photo just beside my laptop. He started round my desk for a closer look, but immediately I slammed the picture face down and waved him back.

‘D’you mind?’ I snapped. Rhetorical question. What the hell did he think he was doing? If I wanted to show the photo to anyone who came into the room, it would be facing towards the door rather than me. Patrix took a step back, placating hands palms out, his fixed smile unwavering.

‘What can I do for you, Patrix?’ I said, still peeved.

‘Well, since you asked, I was wondering if I might borrow another cheeky little one hundred thousand,’ said Patrix in a rush, though his faux-bonhomie smile never wavered. ‘Just until the end of the year.’

One hundred thousand was cheeky now, was it? Maybe in the cloud cuckoo land where Patrix obviously resided. Meanwhile, down here on earth, that was a shit-ton of money.

‘What happened to the cheeky little fifty thousand you borrowed from me three months ago?’

Patrix shrugged, unable to quite look me in the eye. ‘I’ve had a run of bad luck, but I know that’s about to change.’

‘You already owe me a great deal of money, Pat. Why on earth would I throw good money after bad by lending you more?’

His smile faded. ‘Look, my friend, I know I owe you some money—’

Close to seven digits was not just some money.

‘But you know I’m good for it, right? I’ve just had some bad luck at the roulette wheels recently—’

And the card tables and the horse-racing fixtures and with online gambling. Particularly with online gambling. Did he really think I wouldn’t find out?

‘Dan, don’t look at me like that. We’re mates. Like I said, my luck is about to change – I can feel it,’ said Patrix.

‘How’s your law practice?’ I asked.