Sinead marched up the pavement, deftly weaving her way through the crowd. When the girls noticed her approaching they broke apart and pretended to look busy.
‘What’s all this gossiping? You finished your break at half two,’ said Sinead. The girls, both in their late teens, looked at each other to see who would answer first.
Dina, a six-foot blonde Croatian, who had taken the job because she was convinced a modelling scout would discover her on the streets, narrowed her eyes and pouted. ‘We are not having break. Maisie ask to borrow my phone.’
‘Yeah sorry, my battery died,’ said Maisie, a petite gap-year Trustafarian.
‘If you’re not on a break, then you shouldn’t be making phone calls,’ Sinead said. ‘Don’t roll your eyes, Dina. This is the third time I’ve had to come and speak to you. You’ve only got three sign-ups and Maisie, you’ve got two. You’ve got to try harder than this, guys.’
‘Sorry Sinead,’ said Maisie. ‘I nearly had that man with the beard, remember? But then his wife called and he said he had to rush off–’
‘Never mind the excuses. That’s what happens. You move on to the next one, right? We need to get forty signatures by six o’clock, and you two aren’t pulling your weight. And believe me, forty’s not even a high target, so if you can’t handle this–’
‘It is high target. This is the first day for us. It is not easy,’ said Dina.
‘I know it’s not easy. It’s hard for everyone when you start out. See Dylan down there?’ Sinead pointed to him as the yummy mummy was handing back his clipboard. ‘His figures were terrible when he joined; he nearly quit at the end of his first week. Now he’s a superstar.’
Maisie looked at the ground, but Dina kept eyeballing Sinead.
‘I don’t want to see you two chatting again. Okay? Dylan and me are down there talking to every person who walks by. We’re not standing around chatting to each other. Maisie, you need to go back to your original position. You’ve got ninety minutes until your final break. I want three more sign-ups from each of you before then. Okay?’
Sinead walked back to her spot, wondering if she could have handled that differently. Tiredness made her impatient, and she probably came across as a bit of a bitch. Playing bad cop wasn’t something she enjoyed, but it had to be done with the younger ones. Those two probably wouldn’t last more than a month, but she would have to keep on at them or else management would put her in the firing line. Mostly Sinead enjoyed being a team leader – the extra fifty pence an hour and a few perks – but keeping lazy new chuggers in line definitely sucked.
11
Sinead’s entrance took him by surprise. He had anticipated she’d be returning home at sevenish, but must have lost track of time while busy preparing the meal. Pieces of chicken sizzled loudly in the wok and the extractor fan whirred noisily. He was preoccupied with chopping green beans when she spoke.
‘Something smells good.’
He spun round, knife in hand. Sinead was leaning in the doorway.
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.’
He relaxed when he saw it was her. ‘No, no. My fault. I didn’t hear the door.’
Sinead pointed down at her sock-covered feet. ‘Lovely soft carpets. Good for creeping up on people.’
‘Perhaps you should wear a bell.’
Sinead laughed politely and edged into the room. He tossed vegetables into the wok.
‘How was your trip?’ she asked.
‘Not bad. My flight from Frankfurt was delayed by two hours so I got in rather late. Hope I didn’t disturb you.’
‘No, you didn’t… I was out like a light.’
He picked up the wine bottle and poured her a glass. ‘So… How are you then? Good day at work?’
‘Yeah, busy. Glad to be home.’ She took the glass from him. ‘Thanks. You read my mind.’ She sipped the wine. ‘Ooh… this is nice. What is it?’
‘Gewürztraminer. From the Alsace region. One of my personal favourites.’ Elliot poured another glass. ‘In my experience, this particular variety makes the perfect partner for a green curry. I hope you’re partial to Thai cuisine?’
‘I am, yes. Extremely partial.’
‘You know, I really should’ve checked first – you’re not a vegetarian, are you?’
‘No, no I eat meat. For my sins.’
‘Good. Good. So I made the right choice. It’ll be ready in twenty minutes.’ He picked up his wine glass and raised it in a toast. ‘I trust you’ll be very happy living here, Sinead. Cheers.’
‘I’m sure I will. Cheers.’
They clinked glasses. He fixed Sinead with his eyes, but she was looking off to the side.
‘You know it’s bad luck to avert your eyes while toasting.’
‘Is it?’ said Sinead. ‘We don’t want that, do we? Let’s try again.’ She touched her glass to his and this time they held each other’s gaze for two seconds.
***
The meal could be considered a success overall. The chicken was not at all dry so he was glad he’d opted for free-range. Conversation flowed reasonably well, with only the odd moment of silence, and thankfully she didn’t talk with her mouth full. He had only drunk a glass and a half of the Gewürztraminer; wine had little effect on him and he was still feeling alert. But he had topped up Sinead’s glass three times and now she was half-cut. All was going to plan. He poured the last drops into her glass, then placed the empty bottle onto the table. Sinead finished eating.
He twisted the bottleneck, swivelling its base on the table cloth, and looked directly at her. ‘I have a confession to make. When you came here for the viewing, I wasn’t entirely honest with you.’
‘O-kay. That sounds ominous.’
‘I said I didn’t know you. But in actual fact, when I first saw you, you did look familiar. It took me a while, and the other day I was finally able to place you.’
Sinead blinked. She stared at him, open-mouthed. ‘No! Have I stopped you on the street?’
He grinned. ‘Tottenham Court Road. Sometime last year.’
‘Oh God!’ Sinead was looking at him aghast. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘What for?’
‘Just, you know – when I’m in work mode, I’m probably quite annoying.’
‘Quite the opposite. You were charming. You tried to guess my name.’
‘Ah… yeah. That’s one of my favourite tricks. Did I get it right?’
He nodded. ‘That’s why I remembered you.’ In actual fact, she had been way off, but her playful guesses had entertained him.
‘Wow. Small world, eh? So did I sign you up or–’
‘No. We barely spoke for half a minute. I made my excuses and that was that. You caught me on a bad day.’
‘That’s what happens, nine times out of ten. I must stop a hundred people every day, but their faces just blur together. That’s so weird. I’m just glad you let me move in anyway, after I’d given you the hard sell.’
‘I thought I’d probably be safe with a charity worker.’ He picked an errant grain of rice from the tablecloth and deposited it onto his plate. ‘But apart from your job, I really don’t know much about you. Tell me more.’