Three Way Read Free

know it hurts now but one day it won’t.’ I don’t really want to talk about it but I genuinely thought Svetla was the girl I would marry. Intelligent, beautiful and always the epitome of calm. I know it’s been six months since we split but it still hurts. The thing is…oh, there’s the cameraman Phil, loitering outside the bank. Better say hi. I’ll tell you about Svetla properly later.
    ‘Hey,’ I say.
    ‘Hi, this it?’ Phil replies. I detect a grumble in his tone.
    ‘I believe so, yes. Want a hand with the gear?’
    ‘Great, thanks.’ I grab the tripod and we walk inside. I glance upwards as we head towards the reception desk. Behind us, above the entrance, are huge letters that read ‘United Bank.’ This place is enormous. Security guards stand in front of three large double glass doors. I quickly get my phone out, I’ve already forgotten who I’m supposed to be interviewing. The smartly dressed reception girl finishes her phone call and looks up at me.
    ‘Hello, how can I help you?’ I check the briefing email.
    ‘Uh hi, we’re from TBN, we’re here to interview uhh…’ I scroll down the email, where’s the name…‘Lauren Bates.’
    ‘Okay sir, if I could just get you to sign in here, I’ll call up now.’ She shows me a security I.D. form.
    ‘Sure.’ I grab the pen and start filling in the boxes. ‘I’ll do yours,’ I offer to Phil.
    ‘Thanks,’ he replies. I suddenly realise I can’t remember Phil’s second name. Shit. My pen is poised over the name. Have I ever known what it was? Doesn’t matter now, dipshit. I opt for ‘Phil – TBN cameraman.’
    ‘Hello it’s main reception here, I have an Ollie Hayward and Phil…the cameraman here from TBN,’ the receptionist says, reading off the I.D.’s. Now I feel like a douche. I glance at Phil who clearly isn’t impressed. I smile awkwardly. ‘Okay, thank you. Someone will be down shortly, if you’d like to take a seat.’ She indicates a seating area. We walk over and plonk ourselves down.
    ‘First job of the day?’ I ask Phil, a crude attempt at small talk.
    ‘Yeah, parking was a nightmare.’
    ‘Really?’
    ‘Yeah, I had to park in the NCP fucking miles away.’
    ‘Oh. Well I can give you a hand after we’re done here.’
    ‘Yeah I’ll need it, impossible to carry all this crap with no help. We used to have sound recordists but now it’s just me lugging shit around all day.’
    ‘Not good.’
    ‘No.’ We wait in silence. I elect not to ask Phil anymore questions, he’s obviously pissed off.
    ‘Ollie Hayward?’ I turn to see a man approaching in a very shiny navy suit. He extends his hand. I shake it.
    ‘Hello I’m James Kennedy, let me show you up.’
    ‘Great,’ I reply. I grab the tripod, Phil takes everything else. I glance at James’ suit and I swear I can see my reflection. He looks like a walking Blu Ray disc. I decide telling James my thoughts on his attire would probably not be the best way to start things off so I keep schtum. There’s a word more difficult to read than to say, eh? Anyway, the double glass doors open and we walk past the security guard into the lift.
    ‘Did you find the place okay?’ James asks.
    ‘Yeah, thanks (shiny man). Very easy.’
    ‘Normally Lauren’s assistant would come and show you round but she asked me so…’
    ‘Oh, okay.’ Who the fuck cares? I nod politely. He hits thirty-seven and the lift launches skywards. Jesus this thing moves fast, I start to feel sick.
    ‘So you guys got a busy day ahead?’ James asks, a smile lacking in sincerity crawling across his face.
    ‘Yeah,’ I say. I want to improve on my initial answer but I can’t find the words so it comes off as a bit of a ‘fuck you’ to our polished friend. The lift slows and the doors open.
    ‘This way,’ James says. I glance at Phil who rolls his eyes. I smile and follow our guide. We walk out onto a bustling trading floor. Computer screens and monitors are everywhere showing all the