Page 44 of Someone Like You

‘Oh, thatisa bugger.’

While it’s reasonably common to have to move down the list – only around a third of our clients are matched with the first potential – it’s still disappointing, especially as the happenstance meeting with Jane seemed ideal – on paper anyway.

‘So, who’s number two?’ George asks.

I regard him closely. He doesn’t usually show this much interest in the minutiae of my cases, but this case is special – it’s Freya’s close friend and there’s an unspoken added layer of pressure that Raff gets his HEA.

It won’t hurt to get George’s take on things – he’s really good at brainstorming – so I tell him about Ava, who’s a veterinarian.

‘Hmm,’ he says, ‘too bad your client doesn’t have a dog or a cat.’

I chuckle and prop my chin on my hand.Typically, he’s good at brainstorming.

‘And how would that help us, exactly? I mean, we’regood…’ I say, alluding to how often we successfully deploy our vast network of connections. ‘But his pet would need to see a vet, his existing vet would have to be unavailable,andwe’d have to somehow steer him towards Ava’s practice.’

‘Yes, yes, I see your point.’

We fall quiet – both of us noodling – and I lean back in my chair and stare at the peace lily on my desk. I’ve come up with some of my best ideas gazing into its waxy, deep-green leaves.

George leans closer and I look up at him. ‘Why don’t you ask Freya?’ he suggests quietly. ‘She might have something.’

I look over at Freya, who’s seated at her desk with her back tome. She’s been cool towards me since our conversation about Gaby and Raff, our exchanges limited to overly polite hellos and goodbyes. I recognise there was a little tension between us when we spoke that day, but is she waiting for anapology? If so, I’m not sure what I have to apologise for.

Maybe she’s just busy with her divorcée case. It sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

‘I’ll think about it,’ I say noncommittally.

George straightens up and with a squeeze of my shoulder, goes back to his desk.

I’m about to check emails when my phone rings. It’s Gaby again.

‘Hey, Gaby,’ I say, ‘what’s up?’

‘I’ve been thinking about Jane.’

‘Yeah, me too. Do you reckon Raff would buy bumping into her again at some random location?’

She chuckles. ‘Yeah, I doubt that would fly. He’s smart – he’d know something was up.’

‘I figured.’

‘But,’ she continues, ‘something occurred to me. Raff’s always been terrible at recognising when someone’s flirting with him – girls, guys, one of our non-binary colleagues – it doesn’t matter. He’s oblivious. Someone could strip naked in front of him and say, “Take me, Raff,” and he’d reply, “Where do you want to go?”’

This makes me laugh out loud.

‘So, you’re saying that even if Jane had solid flirtation skills – which we don’t know for sure – they would have been lost on Raff?’

‘Exactly.’

I pause for a moment, considering the implications, then say, ‘We need a new plan,’ right as Gaby says the same thing.

We both laugh.

‘I’m glad we’re on the same page,’ she says.

‘Me too.’ I glance over and catch Freya looking my way. She must have heard I’m on a call with Gaby. ‘You available to meet after work?’ I ask Gaby.

‘Um, hang on…’ There’s a pause – presumably, she’s checking her diary. ‘No client events tonight, so free as a bird.’

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