Page 46 of Cover Story

‘From my experience of life so far, I think everyone thinks they have reasons to do what they do. Bad people are always other people. Even serial killers think they’re misunderstood shock tactic campaigners.’

Bel walked back to her apartment arm in arm with Shilpa, making a mental note that if they were seen, she’d need to say they resolved Cancun.

They decided on large mugs of builder’s tea and a comfort watch ofClueless, taking up horizontal positions on the couches, legs hooked over arm rests.

‘Paul Rudd completely takes the curse off the whole “is her ex-stepbrother thing”, doesn’t he?’ Shilpa sighed. ‘I would totally inbreed with him.’

‘Perhaps I should’ve gone that route with Connor’s “sister” on his phone.’

‘Wait! You don’t think that was why he kicked off; he has a dead sister?!’ Shilpa said.

‘I very much hope not,’ Bel grimaced, ‘But even if he does, he could’ve said so?’

What made her fearful this was right, was that there was something about the heat of Connor’s reaction, his sense of injury, that she was missing. It could simply be protectiveness of his girlfriend?

During Cher’s date with Christian, the doorbell rang. They exchanged a worried look. No deliveries on a Sunday afternoon.

‘Oh, if that’s Anthony, I am going to DEAL,’ Shilpa said, sitting up like a meerkat.

‘He doesn’t have my address,’ Bel said in a hush, though as she said it, she wondered. She paused the film, stood up and patted Shilpa’s leg to indicate: ‘stay there’.

The sitting room area couldn’t be seen from the doorway, the kitchen island was in the way.

‘Lie low. Only intervene if it is Anthony and he maces me or something.’

She crossed the apartment and looked through the spyhole.

‘Oh, seriously. I don’t need any more of your crap,’ Bel said, after wrenching the door open to him, as much in tense embarrassment and edginess as aggression.

27

Connor removed his spendy-looking sunglasses. He was in a burgundy jacket and it was a shame he was odious, given he looked pleasant. God had stuck a nice face on a turd. A Colin The Caterpillar white chocolate smile on a log.

‘I totally understand why you don’t want more of last night. Can I come in for a minute?’ he said.

Bel frowned and yet stood aside to let him enter. She could see why he hadn’t simply called her, no way would she have answered.

‘I want to offer you an unreserved apology,’ he said.

Bel said nothing. Probably an image-saving ploy from a man so obsessed with his career advancement.Don’t tell management, we can work something out.

‘I was completely out of order. To give you some background, which isn’t an excuse, I’ve not been open about my circumstances. Jen and I broke up last weekend.’

‘Oh,’ Bel said, in genuine surprise.

‘I found out she’s having an affair via her sending me a nude meant for the other guy, which arrived as her train was pulling into Piccadilly.’

‘Wow!’ Bel was authentically taken aback now. She thought of Connor as a man with his pick, never a man being mistreated. For a brief second it occurred to her they were both guilty of operating on insufficient information about the other.

‘Yep. Add to the fact I thought I could cold turkey my Citalopram prescription six weeks ago, and the fact I’d had a skinful. You saw where it ended up. You were quite right, you did nothing other than try to cover for my howling fuck-up. I hit some sort of psychological rock bottom aided by Italian lager. Then took it out on you.’

‘So,’ Bel paused, ‘your basis for having a go at me was, “how can my girlfriend visit me now?” and you already knew she wouldn’t be visiting you?’

‘Yep,’ Connor said. ‘I was fighting about it in principle. I was being a bellend.’

‘I see the bellend but not the principle.’

‘I woke up this morning and replayed what I’d said and was pretty appalled at myself. After a gym session and a lot of self-recrimination, I thought I’d at least drag my self-loathing arse out and apologise for being obnoxious.’

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