Page 21 of Someone Like You

I also wish I knew how to express all that, but I’m not eloquent when it comes to this stuff. I can design a multi-layered, multi-faceted marketing campaign, right down to the press release, but expressingemotions? Somehow that chip in my brain never got activated.

I huff with frustration. ‘Well, quit it, okay?’ It’s lacking, but at least I’ve said something.

He looks across at me, amused. ‘Quit it? As in “go cold turkey”? I know that can work wonders for smokers but I’m not sure about self-deprecation. I’ll have to run that past my support group at the next meeting.’

I try my best to stifle my laughter. ‘I’m beingserious, Raff,’ I chide.

‘I can tell by the smirk and the way your torso is shaking.’

I release the snigger and backhand him in the chest. He canalways defuse a tense moment with a well-crafted quip, something I both admire and envy.

‘Dork,’ I say, shaking my head at him.

His reply is a self-satisfied grin, then we both go back to watching out the front window as we zip through inner London traffic towards the Shard.

6

POPPY

This morning, I’m presenting Raff’s case at the staff meeting for the first time.

Freya, who’s seated next to me, bounces in her chair with anticipation. She’s far more excited about Raff’s case than her own, matching a thrice-divorced woman with husband number four.

‘Poppy, are you ready to present your new case?’ asks Paloma, our head of client relations.

‘Yes,’ I reply. ‘Our client is Rafferty Delaney, but his friends and family call him Raff.’ Freya emits a high-pitched ‘eep’ and I send a silencing look in her direction.

‘Sorry,’ she whispers.

I press a button on a remote and Raff’s face appears on the screen at the far end of the conference room. I flick another look Freya’s way, but she stays quiet.

‘Wait, isn’t he the bloke who just wonBritain’s Best Bakers?’ asks fellow agent, George.

‘The one and the same.’

George swivels towards Freya. ‘And isn’t he also one of your closest friends?’

‘George, astute observations as always,’ says Paloma, ‘but perhaps you could allow Poppy to continue?’

‘Right, yes, sorry.’

‘So, with thanks to George for the spoilers…’ I say to my colleagues. As well as Freya, George, Saskia, and Paloma, there’s another agent, Nasrin, our senior agent, Ursula, and Mia, our tech expert.

‘…Raff is a referral from Freya and he was recently crownedBritain’s Best Baker. He is also a serial monogamist who genuinely wants to find his match – as long as he isn’t aware of our efforts. So, we’ll be needing your?—’

‘Sorry,’ says George, interrupting again. ‘What does that mean – him not being aware of our efforts?’

‘He says we’re allowed to match him, but he won’t go on any dates,’ Freya explains matter-of-factly.

Across the table, Nasrin barks out a laugh. ‘Good luck with that then. What are you suggesting? Swapping out his personal trainer for a potential match?’

‘He doesn’t have a personal trainer,’ Freya replies earnestly.

‘It was anexample, Freya,’ says Nasrin.

‘Ursula,’ I say, getting this discussion back on track, ‘you’re the most experienced here. You must have had cases that called for less conventional measures.’

Ursula has been a matchmaker for longer than many of us have been alive. Though the exact number of years is unknown – just like her true age. Let’s just say that her immobile face is a testament to her love of cosmetic surgery and the only clues to her age are that her husband is in his early seventies and she occasionally references matchmaking in the nineties when everything was analogue and she used an actual Rolodex.

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