judge her, never snicker, never betray and ridicule her. These were
her
kind of people. This was a safe haven, where you were assessed only on your brainpower. Only your essays got marked. Not your circumference, or your income, or your cool, or your clothes.
‘Meeting go well? Eager to get stuck straight into exploring Dora?’
‘Patrick, I’ve had a complete nightmare,’ she said, trying not to sound wobbly, and not entirely succeeding.
‘Are you OK?’ he said, instantly concerned, hand on her arm.
Anna glanced over at Jan the receptionist. She had ears the size of cabbage leaves for scandal.
‘Time for a quick coffee? Walk in Russell Square?’
Patrick checked his wristwatch. ‘For you. Any time.’
‘Thank you so much,’ Anna said, and Patrick looked gratified at the extravagant emotion over a latte. ‘I don’t mean to sound dramatic.’
Once they were settled on a park bench with takeout coffees, Anna began. ‘You know I said I had a bad time at school? Guess who the lead from the digital company working on the Theodora show is? Only a thundering anus who bullied me.’
‘He
bullied
you?’ Patrick fiddled with his sugar packet.
‘Yes. I saw him at the reunion. It was worse … he was worse to me than I explained. In the past, I mean.’
‘Oh dear, Anna. Did he …? Were you …?’ Patrick avoided her eyes. Anna realised he might’ve misconstrued what she was going to reveal.
‘Oh no, I left that school when I was sixteen, I wasn’t … I was a …’
Anna felt herself colour and Patrick nodded, relieved, and put his hand on her arm.
‘I was different at school,’ she said, taking a deep breath. ‘I was … a lot bigger.’
Patrick’s face was one set in extreme concern. She’d forgotten his hugely protective streak. A streak in the same way the M1 had a middle lane streak.
‘This man was particularly cruel to me. He tricked me into appearing on stage with him and then half the school pelted me with sweets and called me names.’
‘Good grief,’ Patrick said.
‘He didn’t recognise me at the reunion. But now he knows my surname. Patrick, I’m dreading having to see him again. He’s going to bring it up and I’m going to end up crying. And work’s always been a safe place where I didn’t have to deal with that stuff, you know. I don’t want to be too dramatic about having a new identity, but … I do feel like someone in witness protection who’s had the mobsters show up.’
‘This is awful.’ Patrick paused. ‘And terribly odd timing. Do you think it’s got anything to do with you going to the reunion?’
‘Oh, no. It’s complete coincidence. Imagine. What a one-two punch. Not had to see this idiot for sixteen years and then twice in two weeks.’
Anna made a ‘huh’ noise and sipped coffee.
‘Part of me thinks I should resign from the Theodora show. But I so want to be part of it, and I can’t think of a plausible excuse.’
‘Oh you
must
work on it, Anna. You told me it was the greatest moment of your career so far. You can’t let this dickhead ruin it for you. And, like we said. It’s potentially going to do you a lot of good round here.’
A pause.
‘Why not get him moved off it?’ Patrick asked.
‘How? I can hardly go to John Herbert and say: “He was nasty to me at school.”’
‘What if he was nasty to you now?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘You think he might say something when you next meet?’
‘Yes. I think he’s snide by nature and I’ve not helped myself by annoying him in this meeting.’
‘Then encourage it. Get him to goad you. Then take it to John and say you can’t work with him for these personal reasons, and someone else from that agency should take over.’
‘Oh. Wow. Yes, I
suppose
that could work … depending on what he said.’
‘Look on it as insurance. If he says nothing too dreadful, then you can cope. If he taunts you, he’s sealing his own fate.’
Anna thought about this. The idea of taking the
her
kind of people. This was a safe haven, where you were assessed only on your brainpower. Only your essays got marked. Not your circumference, or your income, or your cool, or your clothes.
‘Meeting go well? Eager to get stuck straight into exploring Dora?’
‘Patrick, I’ve had a complete nightmare,’ she said, trying not to sound wobbly, and not entirely succeeding.
‘Are you OK?’ he said, instantly concerned, hand on her arm.
Anna glanced over at Jan the receptionist. She had ears the size of cabbage leaves for scandal.
‘Time for a quick coffee? Walk in Russell Square?’
Patrick checked his wristwatch. ‘For you. Any time.’
‘Thank you so much,’ Anna said, and Patrick looked gratified at the extravagant emotion over a latte. ‘I don’t mean to sound dramatic.’
Once they were settled on a park bench with takeout coffees, Anna began. ‘You know I said I had a bad time at school? Guess who the lead from the digital company working on the Theodora show is? Only a thundering anus who bullied me.’
‘He
bullied
you?’ Patrick fiddled with his sugar packet.
‘Yes. I saw him at the reunion. It was worse … he was worse to me than I explained. In the past, I mean.’
‘Oh dear, Anna. Did he …? Were you …?’ Patrick avoided her eyes. Anna realised he might’ve misconstrued what she was going to reveal.
‘Oh no, I left that school when I was sixteen, I wasn’t … I was a …’
Anna felt herself colour and Patrick nodded, relieved, and put his hand on her arm.
‘I was different at school,’ she said, taking a deep breath. ‘I was … a lot bigger.’
Patrick’s face was one set in extreme concern. She’d forgotten his hugely protective streak. A streak in the same way the M1 had a middle lane streak.
‘This man was particularly cruel to me. He tricked me into appearing on stage with him and then half the school pelted me with sweets and called me names.’
‘Good grief,’ Patrick said.
‘He didn’t recognise me at the reunion. But now he knows my surname. Patrick, I’m dreading having to see him again. He’s going to bring it up and I’m going to end up crying. And work’s always been a safe place where I didn’t have to deal with that stuff, you know. I don’t want to be too dramatic about having a new identity, but … I do feel like someone in witness protection who’s had the mobsters show up.’
‘This is awful.’ Patrick paused. ‘And terribly odd timing. Do you think it’s got anything to do with you going to the reunion?’
‘Oh, no. It’s complete coincidence. Imagine. What a one-two punch. Not had to see this idiot for sixteen years and then twice in two weeks.’
Anna made a ‘huh’ noise and sipped coffee.
‘Part of me thinks I should resign from the Theodora show. But I so want to be part of it, and I can’t think of a plausible excuse.’
‘Oh you
must
work on it, Anna. You told me it was the greatest moment of your career so far. You can’t let this dickhead ruin it for you. And, like we said. It’s potentially going to do you a lot of good round here.’
A pause.
‘Why not get him moved off it?’ Patrick asked.
‘How? I can hardly go to John Herbert and say: “He was nasty to me at school.”’
‘What if he was nasty to you now?’
‘How do you mean?’
‘You think he might say something when you next meet?’
‘Yes. I think he’s snide by nature and I’ve not helped myself by annoying him in this meeting.’
‘Then encourage it. Get him to goad you. Then take it to John and say you can’t work with him for these personal reasons, and someone else from that agency should take over.’
‘Oh. Wow. Yes, I
suppose
that could work … depending on what he said.’
‘Look on it as insurance. If he says nothing too dreadful, then you can cope. If he taunts you, he’s sealing his own fate.’
Anna thought about this. The idea of taking the
Similar Books
