‘Look, love, I wouldn’t trust Victoria Crabtree as far as I can throw her. She’s useful in her way, but if she’s going to start using us for her own devious little purposes, then forget it. Typical cocaine behaviour. Did you see her eyes? Pinpricks! ’

‘But what’s she trying to do? Piss off Rivelli? Doesn’t she work for him?’

‘There’s more to this than meets the eye, Princess. Don’t worry about it. Look. We’re here.’

They stopped outside the studio.

‘Coming in?’

‘No,’ said Will, pecking her on the cheek. ‘I’m going on. See you in the morning.’

‘It’s morning already . . .’

He waved from the window of the moving cab as Isabelle put her key in the lock.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

‘He’s just a solicitor, Joel, for God’s sake. He’s been briefing me for years. That’s all.’

‘But I want to see you tonight.’

‘Well I’m sorry, but you can’t.’

‘Why does it have to be dinner? Can’t you see him in normal working hours?’

‘Because that’s the way the world works. You train clients in the evening, don’t you?’

‘Yes, but that’s . . .’

‘And sometimes I have to work late as well. We can meet afterwards, if you like.’

Joel sat on the edge of the bed, naked, the early morning sun hitting his broad, smooth shoulders. His black hair was a mess. Later, when he had his shower, he would spend several minutes with product and hairdryer restoring it to a more artful version of this exact mess.

‘Oh, I see. You’ll fit me in when you’ve finished with someone who’s more important that I am. Right. I get it.’

‘Or we can go for dinner tomorrow night.’

‘Yeah, but tomorrow night isn’t tonight.’

‘And what is so special about tonight?’ Christine put a hand on the top of his back, let the fingertips slide down the smooth, taut skin towards the wings tattooed above his arse.

‘You’ve obviously forgotten, so it can’t mean much to you. It’s our three-month anniversary.’