I lick my lips nervously. ‘I had a client in the bag today. A model who wanted to climb the ladder. She invited me to her flat, and I didn’t have to do much except show her my tats and work her up with some sexy talk. You know the stuff...’
Diablo nods sagely. ‘I know, go on.’
‘Well, we started making out on her bed, and I got her down to her underwear. She was so up for it she didn’t even protest when I ripped off her Victoria’s Secret panties and bra. She was moaning for me to fuck her, and I ... I couldn’t do it. So I apologised, said it was definitely me, not her, then zipped up my trousers and came straight here.’
I gulp a mouthful of whisky with a shaking hand.
Diablo blinks. ‘Were you hard?’
‘A semi maybe. But I really wasn’t interested.’
‘So she wasn’t hot then?’
I groan. ‘She was gorgeous. I couldn’t fuck her because I wanted Jade.’
Diablo lets out a stream of sulphur-laced breath. ‘And Jade is the client from yesterday?’
I nod. ‘I sent her to the 1980s, and I checked in on her this morning to see how she was doing, and we had a little naked chat in the shower.’
A smile breaks on my lips as I remember her threatening to shampoo my eyes out. And how sweet she looked when she asked if she could see me tonight.
Diablo punches my shoulder. Hard. ‘Snap out of it, man. You know you can’t get attached. That’s the kiss of death. You’re already demoted to the lowest rung of the ladder.’
I rub my shoulder. ‘Well, what do you suggest I do?’
‘Have you fucked this Jade woman?’
‘No, we just ... fooled around. I gave her a partial experience in return for a massage.’
‘Well, that’s your problem right there. It’s unfinished business. Fuck her pronto and get her out of your system.’
‘She’s a virgin, though. She said she’s saving herself.’
‘“Saving herself”, what a load of bullshit,’ Diablo scoffs. ‘What is this, the Regency period?’
He’s got a point: it does sound a little sus.
‘She’s playing you, brother. You need to take charge of the situation before you do something really stupid, like fall in love with her. If that happens, you’re fucked.’ He chuckles and clinks his tequila shot against mine; we down them in one.
Diablo’s right. I need to stop this, whatever it is, in its tracks before it goes any further. I need to show Jade who’s the boss.
12
JADE
Idiscovereda‘Hey,you’re hired’ letter in the top drawer of my nightstand. It was addressed to Jade Jameson. So I know this flat is in Camden, which is, like, nowhere near my flat in the future. It gave me the address of thePopTraxoffice too, so I’m going to have to catch the Tube to Soho.
There was also a purse labelled ‘For Emergencies’ with a £50 note in it, which I wasn’t amused by. Sebastian thinks he’s funny, but he’s not. He has a cruel sense of humour.
Out on the street, I have to keep stopping people to ask directions to the Tube, which is making me crave my phone. Apart from the untethered feeling of not having Google Maps at hand, I miss having social media to look at when I’m waiting at the station and then when I’m on the train. Honestly, what did people do before the internet? Talk to each other?
Judging from the stern faces of the booted and suited men and the grim expressions of the women with shoulder pads and big hair, it would appear not. The commuter crowd seems wired, edgy, and determined to get to work and earn those pounds. I’mpushed out of the way as everyone races for the escalators at Tottenham Court Road like a bunch of eager beavers.
I follow at a much more leisurely pace.
I’m in no rush to get to a job that I’m probably going to hate anyway. Work and I don’t mix. If my father hadn’t squandered most of his money on drugs and alcohol, I wouldn’t even need to work. If I do run into him, we’re going to have a long serious talk about the advantages of setting up atrust fundfor his future daughter, one that he can’t get his grubby hands on.
When I enter thePopTraxoffice, I almost turn around and walk back down the stairs. It’s like walking into a humming hive of chaos. The space is higgledy-piggledy, crammed with desks and filing cabinets. Sitting atop are stacks of paper and leaning towers of cassette tapes.