‘Oh. . . hello! No, no problem at all.’
‘Great, just wanted to give you a quick bell to let you know that I was very impressed with your interview.’
I feel my face contort in confusion. ‘You were? I mean, thanks. Thanks very much.’
‘The fact that you’ve experienced just how quickly circumstances can change is a quality I feel would be infinitely beneficial for this role. And if there is anything we believe in here, it’s second chances. So, I’d like to offer you the position.’
I slump down on my bed, stunned and apparently, mute. In what world was that interview a success?
‘You still there? Nick?’
‘Yes,’ I respond, clearing my throat. ‘Sorry, can you just repeat that?’
I hear him chuckle quietly. ‘Job’s yours, Nick, if you’re still interested. We’d be looking for you to start in a couple of weeks, if that’s feasible?’
‘I think so,’ I reply. ‘I’ll make it work.’
‘Excellent, you’ve made my morning. I’ll get all the paperwork sent over to GL Recruitment when Sigita is back on Monday. If you need help finding accommodation, she’ll be able to recommend some letting agencies.’
‘Sounds great,’ I respond. This whole conversation feels like a dream. If Matt wasn’t in the next room, I’d swear he was pranking me.
‘Very pleased to have you on board, Nick,’ he replies. ‘Speak to you soon. Have a great weekend.’
I hang up the call and return to the kitchen table. The look on Matt’s face tells me he already knows what I’m about to say.
‘You got it then?’
‘Two weeks,’ I tell him. ‘They want me to start in two weeks.’
He slices into his French toast. ‘Or. . . now hear me out. . . you could startneverand just stay here.’
‘Hmm, kind of ruins the whole “new start” thing I have planned.’
He nods and continues eating but I can tell his heart’s not in it. God, he looks so. . .sad. I sit back down at the table, pick up my fork and stare at my food.
‘I’ll leave the room empty for you. . . just in case you change your mind,’ he muses. ‘You might get there and hate it. I mean, it’s full of smug Oxford University students and fucking Harry Potter bullshit. You’ll go crazy.’
‘You like Harry Potter!’
‘I likeAlientoo. Doesn’t mean I want to live in space.’
I smile tentatively. ‘Come on, mate, you’re supposed to be happy for me.’
Matt nods. ‘I am, Nick. Truly. It’s just, well. . . the end of an era. I’ll miss this. . . I’ll miss you.’
‘I know, mate, and I’ll miss—’
As he pulls me in and hugs me tightly, there’s no need to finish my sentence. There’s nothing I can do or say that will make any of this any easier. All I can do is hug him back.
Chapter Thirty-Two
‘Can I have some quiet, please! Now, as you all know, I met Nick at university and we’ve been through a lot together. The good. . . the bad. . . the downright embarrassing and occasionally ugly – we’ve survived it all.’
I smile as Matt commands the attention of our flat, which is bursting at the seams with familiar faces: Greta, Noel, Harriet, Sarah, of course, plus Izzy and the guys I worked with last year at Kensington Fox – all tipsy, all happy and all here to wish me well for my new job in Oxford.
‘But, as he’s decided to fuck off and do legal aid at a bloody homeless charity, I thought it might be a good idea to have a little whip-round before he goes. We all know how much those poor sods earn.’
Everyone who is not a lawyer smiles politely while the lawyers laugh at Matt’s joke, including me. My salary isn’t exactly life-changing, but for someone, my job just might be.
