CHARLOTTE nods, writes a note. RUPERT looks to AIDAN.

RUPERT. Although. I mean. What’s your girlfriend look like?

SAM laughs.

SAM. Well, this is really funny actually because I always say she reminds / me of –

RUPERT. You got a picture?

SAM. Oh. Yeah.

SAM whips out his phone, finds a picture on it, gives the phone to RUPERT. Turns back to AIDAN as RUPERT examines the picture.

It’s not that I’m not very grateful for the opportunity.

RUPERT makes a face and behind SAM’s back mimes the words ‘big girl’ to AIDAN. SAM turns, RUPERT cuts the mime and hands the phone back to him.

RUPERT. Beautiful. Bet you wouldn’t like her when she’s angry though.

SAM. What?

AIDAN. You came to me, Sam, you sat in that chair during interview and claimed you wanted to be a journalist, on this publication –

SAM. I did, I do –

AIDAN. And I was very clear about / what that entailed, we’re –

SAM. I know –

AIDAN. – interested in your life, we need to know, / about your life –

SAM. Yeah, no I will, just –

AIDAN. What?

SAM. Just not about this one thing.

AIDAN. Why not?

SAM. Because –

AIDAN. I’m not trying to bully you, I just don’t / understand the problem here –

SAM. Because it doesn’t just belong to me, it belongs to her as well.

RUPERT. Stop talking about your herpes, Sam!

CHARLOTTE. Have you actually got an STD?

RUPERT. Fuck off.

CHARLOTTE. Just you go on about them all the time.

RUPERT. Actually, Charlotte, yeah, I think I’ve got like, AIDS, really really badly, cos I feel really tired and it stings when I wee. Actually I did get thrush in my mouth once from this girl so God knows what else she was harbouring. It worked in a Budgens.

CHARLOTTE. So not Pippa then.

RUPERT. No, not Pippa, God, I think her name was… I want to say Francesca? I mean, fuck, I hope not Pippa because I was hacking bareback that summer, if you catch my –

AIDAN sharply shushes RUPERT.

Rude.

AIDAN. Sam?

SAM. No I just feel. This is a, it’s a private thing. For me and her. And it’s, I mean I hope it’s something that will only ever happen once to us. Which is. You can’t say that about a lot of things. Can you, so I don’t want anyone else to…

I mean, it’s none of their business.

The public.

,

AIDAN regards SAM for some moments.

I’m really sorry. I could write a sort of general piece on –

AIDAN. I was really looking for a personal angle. Just that’s our house style.

SAM. Okay, well… thank you, anyway. / For asking –

AIDAN stands behind his desk, starts glancing through the layouts left there for his approval.