Page 120 of People Skills

‘He didn’t cheat,’ she says. Then she pauses. ‘Well, not that I know of. Maybe he did. Hell. He probably has. I should get a private investigator to check.’

‘I’m sure he hasn’t,’ I say soothingly, although the idea of organising a private investigator is quite exciting.

‘That bastard,’ Hillary says, standing up. She looks at me. ‘Can you get me those painkillers?’

‘Right,’ I say.

I walk out and shut her office door behind me. Kat and Jamila have arrived and they’re talking to each other with an intensity that means either fun gossip or work catastrophe.

‘You heard the news?’ I say, going into the kitchenette and squatting down to the first-aid cabinet.

‘What news?’ Kat says.

‘Jessica Wayfarer has shingles and she’s out of the festival.’

‘No.’

‘Yes.’

‘God, Hillary will be panicking.’

‘She is.’ I find the tablets and get two and a glass of water. ‘What are you two talking about?’

‘Nothing exciting,’ Jamila says.

‘Jamila and Darius went on a date last night,’ Kat says, grinning.

‘Oh my god! Jamila! That is so exciting,’ I say. ‘Hang on, let me give this to Hillary and then you’re telling me everything.’

I rush the Panadol to Hillary, who is pacing now.

‘My head is pounding,’ she says. ‘I can’t think. We have until tomorrow morning to fill that slot.’

‘We will,’ I say. ‘Take this, and take fifteen minutes to let it kick in, and then we’ll brainstorm.’

‘I have fifty emails I need to respond to, I don’t have fifteen minutes for it to kick in,’ Hillary snaps.

‘I’ll go through the emails now, and reply to anything that I can reply to. Take five minutes,’ I say soothingly and I close her office door. She yanks her shades closed, and turns out the light and I suspect she’ll lie on the floor. She’s only reached lying-on-the-floor mood once before.

I hurry out, sit down on my chair and roll it over to Kat and Jamila. I calculate I can get away with taking two minutes to hear about Jamila’s night before I need to start on Hillary’s fifty dreaded emails.

‘Tell me everything,’ I say. ‘Really fast.’

‘Well. We went to a movie and then back to his place. Everything was great. Except…’

She pauses, frowns and chews on her lip.

‘Except?’ I say.

‘Except nothing,’ Jamila says, opening her laptop.

Kat and I exchange a look. She’s clearly hiding something.

‘Tell us,’ Kat says.

‘Okay. Well. To be honest, the sex was…not good.’

‘Oh,’ I say. ‘Okay. Well, that happens.’