Page 90 of Cover Story

‘Undercover? All right, Spy cop.’

‘Indeed … and Connor barges right into the middle of it by pure chance. I had no time to warn him, so I tell the person I’m with that he’s my boyfriend. In saying this, I simultaneously alert him to the fact I am up to something. It worked like a dream in the few moments I used it, and then obviously we have to see it through. He’s been having to play-act our being a couple at evenings and weekends ever since. So his helping me out at the awards, which was unrelated– it didn’t come from a standing start. I haven’t told you about the undercover thing because as you know, I’m not supposed to tell you what I’m working on until I’m actually typing it. Toby knows all about it. He signed off Connor having to come on board.’

‘And Connor’s alsocome on board?’ Aaron waxed an imaginary moustache.

Bel shook her head at him. ‘I should warn you that, thanks to Ant, I have dramatically low tolerance for men thinking they have licence to attack me over nothing right now.’

Aaron swung on his chair and twirled his pen.

‘Who were you “play-acting” to when you left early together?’ Aaron said.

‘No one, I was antsy and so Connor saw me home. Via the pub.’

‘So, in other words, you were racing off for a late drinks date, for no reason?’

‘No! … Well, yes, but …’

‘Thing is,’ Aaron said, ‘I have a couple of points to make. The first is, office romances hit different in our line of work. How many times did we sit here and rip it out of that guy …’he nodded towards the stairs that Connor had departed down: ‘All the while I’m thinking you’re on my side, I’m on your side, we’re speaking in private …’

‘We were! We are!’

‘Hang on, I haven’t finished. As you said, “who knows what” is power in this business. If I don’t know you and that guy are banging, then I’m going to conduct myself differently. It’s not fair to let me think one thing, treat you one way, and then you two be pillow talking. You can tell me you don’t pass things on, and I’d believe you, cos I know you’re one of the good ones. But I still want to make my choices knowing if there’s a “bcc” on my email, if you know what I mean?’

‘Fair enough. But you’re referring to me and Connor being romantically involved, which, once again,we are not.Luckily your surveillance doesn’t extend to my bedroom, but in absence of that, you’ll have to take my word for it.’ Bel paused. ‘Also, if we were, why would I not just say so? As you said the other day, we’re all free and single.’

Aaron made a ‘not for me to say’ shrug.

‘Because he’s a right arse and you don’t like to admit you’re shallow enough to go for a fit arse?’

Bel laughed.

‘You know, being forced to get to know Connor much more than I would’ve have chosen to otherwise, sorry to say I have some feedback notes for us.’

‘Oh yeah?’

‘Yes. He knows he wasn’t friendly on day one but we were somewhat “you can’t sit with us” mean kids, and we outnumbered him. Therefore his defences went up even more. We’ve got to make interns feel welcome in future.’

‘That leads me to my second point. Remember our take on Cicely? What would you think of me if you later found out I’d been slipping her a length? Wouldn’t it make you think I wasn’t exactly who I said I was?’

‘Maybe it would, but mainly because she was twenty-three.’ Bel paused. ‘I don’t think an office where you’re running someone down, gossiping and mocking them, and then getting off with them in secret is the sort of office I want to be founder of, either. That’s not what this is. But in your position, I’d have thought what you thought, because the truth is bizarre. Instead of falling out over it, why don’t we treat this as a chance to write our Constitution? Today’s law says: inter-office relationships with colleagues are OK if they’re consensual, non-exploitative, age-appropriate and not manipulatively covert. However, all interns will be treated with welcome and respect and not as potential conquests. Both of us will disclose to the other if we’re seeing someone working here. In return …’ Bel felt this clause was vital: ‘Neither of us get to complain if all the conditions listed have been met.’

‘All right, agreed,’ Aaron said. ‘You know– you’re all right, you are.’

He smiled a smile that Bel hadn’t seen before. Aaron might be experiencing a newfound sense of responsibility and respect for female agency. Or he might be delighted about the imminent change of intern since he’d found out she was a twenty-five-year-old ex-gymnast called Lexi whose nickname was Flexi Lexi. Hard to say.

‘Isabel’s filled me in,’ Aaron said to Connor, as he reappeared with a tray of cups. ‘I retract my accusations regards your knocking boots.’

‘Good, thanks,’ Connor said, putting a cup down in the mess on Aaron’s desk. ‘One bejazzled Americano.’

‘So, this pretending to be a Mr and Mrs?’ Aaron continued.

‘Yes …?’ Bel said.

‘Who do they think you are– your marks, I mean? You can’t be journalists?’

‘They think I have my best mate’s job, textile designer, and Connor’s still in finance. Luckily he never got round to changing his LinkedIn.’

‘How does it work that yer boy’s all over the awards gallery, then?’

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