Together Apart Read Free Page B

student tenants were mostly from Russia and the Middle and Far East, tenants whose parents paid for their rent annually, and he’d never received any complaints about them. Telling Nicholas that would probably be reassuring enough, but then if he let the apartment today, he’d have to do all the paperwork to go with it.
    ‘On second thought, it doesn’t matter. I want to be closer to the West End.’
    Adam nodded, although, seeing as they were on Great Portland Street, it wasn’t possible to get much closer to the West End. Clearly, his hesitation had put Nicholas off. He shook his hand before leading him out of the block. He’d had the opportunity to get the penthouse let, but he’d allowed it to slip through his fingers, and what was worse was that he didn’t care. For the first time in his career, he had no drive. He seemed incapable of doing anything other than asking questions about why Sarah wanted to end their relationship, and they were questions he didn’t have answers to. It was a miracle he’d even managed to get this far into the working day at all.
    As he sat back at his desk, he clicked through to his calendar and scowled. He’d arranged another viewing for that afternoon, but it was the last thing he wanted to do. He would cancel and rearrange it for next week, when, hopefully, he’d have more enthusiasm. It was better than conducting a half-arsed viewing. The last thing he needed was to get sacked.

    7 September, 7.45 p.m.
     
    Why do I do this job? Sometimes it just seems like it’s all for nothing. Today, I went to visit Becky, and after weeks of parenting classes and counselling, she’s started seeing her ex again. Apparently, things have changed. He’s like a different man, and they’re trying to make things work – she didn’t need my help. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve heard those words before. I saw how she winced when she sat down, and even though I could see the fear in her eyes, I knew she wouldn’t admit the truth because she knows full well what would happen if she did. I looked at Kyle as he played with his toy car in the corner of the room, and my heart just sank. I can’t see this heading anywhere other than a public law case. Kyle will be just another child in the system, and in a few years, a file with his name on it will probably land on my desk, just like the ones that did this morning. Abuse, drug use, neglect. It’s always the same – a never-ending trail of shattered hopes and dreams.
    At least it’s not just me who feels like this. I had lunch with Ruth today, and she’s not doing any better with her cases either. Out of everyone here, she’s the only one I’d call a friend. It’s nice to have someone to talk to without worrying about coming across as too soft to do my bloody job properly. Of course, she asked how Santorini was, and of course I didn’t tell her the truth because if I did, I would have had to explain why I said no to Adam. It would all get too messy.
    I suppose work has taken my mind off things, though. I’m just wondering how long I can avoid going home. I finished writing up my reports an hour ago – all I’m doing now is killing time. I even called Claire, like an idiot. Even as I left her a voicemail, I asked myself why I was doing it. It’s not like she can do anything to help, and even if she could, it wouldn’t be fair to dump my problems on her. I promised myself I wouldn’t do that again. Anyway, she’s probably living it up in Hong Kong or Dubai, or somewhere equally glamorous.
    I can’t stop thinking what if ? What if I’d said yes? What if I’d opened up to him? What if he’d understood and still wanted me anyway? What if he’d never proposed at all? I don’t even know why I’m thinking like this; it’s irrelevant and I can’t let Adam see my doubts. I need him to think I’m just being heartless; otherwise, it’ll just make things so much harder. It’s better that way, for both of us.
    If I’m