Foursome by Jane Fallon Read Free Book Online Page A

the table and even collect glasses, which, I think, says very firmly that dinner is over. No one makes an effort to move so I give Dan a look that he can’t fail to ignore.
    ‘Right,’ he says, standing up. ‘I’ve got an early start in the morning so I’m going to throw you out now.’
    Before they have a chance to protest he busies himself getting coats and opening the front door, practically herding them outside. Lorna gives me a hug, which unnerves me, and says thank you so much for dinner and I’ll see you at work tomorrow.
    Alex smirks and says, ‘Maybe we could all go out at the weekend?’ and I want to punch him.
    ‘He’s just doing it to piss me off,’ I say to Dan as he closes the front door.
    ‘Why would he do that?’ Dan says, bemused, and of course I can’t tell him why so I just shrug my shoulders. ‘He obviously likes her,’ he adds.
    ‘It won’t last,’ is the only parting shot I can muster as I stomp off to bed.

6
    It’s Spotlight time for our actor clients, which means that I am having to ring them all to hassle them for a head shot to go into the casting directors’ bible. That way, if anyone is looking for a young leading man or an older character actor, they will see our boys lined up side by side with the great and good, and they might actually think about auditioning them. Some of them are too tight to shell out for a new photo each year so they stay looking forever twenty-seven when, in actuality, they are coming up for forty. Others favour a montage of pictures of themselves wearing a variety of hats as if this shows their versatility. And a few are guaranteed to straight out refuse to pay for the service so it’s my job to try and persuade them that it’s in their interests. Usually this involves offering to pay the cost for them up front and telling them they can reimburse Mortimer and Sheedy when they have some money coming in. Which for some of them will be never.
    It’s a time-consuming task and so I decided to come in early today to make lists and try to get ahead of the game. It’s easy to lose track of who I’ve spoken to and who I’ve just left messages for, let alone what they are intending to do. So I’m letting myself in the front door, tall skinny wet latte in one hand and a Danish in the other when this is what I hear coming from Melanie’s office:
    ‘… and then she couldn’t get up because she was laughing so much, and, of course, she was really drunk. Isn’t that hilarious? I mean, I always thought Rebecca was so prim and proper.’
    Laugh, laugh from Melanie. Melanie has a snorty laugh that I could pick out of a line-up if I had to, although I’m struggling to imagine a scenario in which that might be required.
    ‘Me too.’
    ‘And Alex said that in the end it took him and Daniel and the taxi driver to get her into the taxi…’
    Enough. Humiliated, I back out of the front door and then open it again noisily, rattling my keys and coughing like I’ve spent my life down the pit. Lorna emerges from Melanie’s office, big innocent smile on her face.
    ‘Oh hi. We were just talking about you.’
    ‘Right.’ Hardly genius, but I don’t know what else to say.
    ‘That was a great night, last night. I had a really good time.’
    ‘Good.’
    ‘Wasn’t that funny when…’
    I interrupt her. ‘I have to concentrate, sorry,’ I say, sitting at my desk and staring intently at whatever is lying there. A list of what I had intended to buy from M&S on the way home the previous evening, I think it is. I stare at it for way too long, to make my point. Eventually she sits down and turns her computer on and I figure it’s safe to look up again.
    I’m finding it hard to shake off my irritation, though, and stupidly I open up the whole channel of communication again.
    ‘Lorna,’ I say, trying not to sound as irritated as I am, ‘I’d rather you didn’t discuss my personal stuff with Melanie or Joshua. They don’t need to know about me getting drunk