Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
NOAH
I raced up all five floors from the gym to my apartment without giving my legs a rest. I’d cut short my training by ten minutes. But that gave me five minutes to make a cup of coffee before I tuned into my new guilty pleasure.
Grabbing my coffee cup, I settled into the armchair in the window and scrolled through my phone.
A dozen texts from Lara, with more offers for interviews, podcasts, TV appearances and my least favourite type of offer – to escort an up-and-coming young actress to a black-tie shindig across the city. My currency had never been so high.
My lip curled as a couple of headlines popped into my news feed. How the tide had turned. All those papers that hadn’t had a good word to say about me were now desperate for the inside story into my new-found success.
I checked my watch and then opened up TikTok.
‘Welcome to You’ve been Scammed,’ came the familiar voice.
I caught the inside of my cheek with my teeth at the sight of Evie, looking earnest and confident.
‘This week we’re going to be looking at one of the latest scams doing the rounds.
Tell your friends, your family, the guys next door.
The more people who know what to look for, the less chance they’ll be scammed.
‘And remember, there is no shame in being scammed. Even the most financial savvy of us fall foul to these people. They’re skilled at what they do and it’s important we share knowledge to stay one step ahead of the game.
‘As always, if you have a story you want to share, please DM me. Today, I’m talking to Tracy, who booked a flight to Thailand through a reputable travel company. Unfortunately, that’s just the start of this story.
‘Hi, Tracy. Would you like to tell us what happened to start with?’
I listened to Evie’s warm voice encouraging the young woman to share her story. She had a deft way of handling her interviewees, never judging them, stopping to let them cry and empathising with them. I’d heard her say, ‘You just feel so stupid, don’t you?’ at least once in every episode.
Tracy began her unhappy tale, where it transpired that the website was a counterfeit that looked virtually the same as the legit site and that once she’d passed on her bank details, the scammers phoned her and convinced her to give them remote access to her phone.
‘They w-were so c-convincing,’ sobbed Tracy.
‘I know,’ said Evie. ‘Bastards.’
Tracy gave a sniffly giggle before relaying that once they got access to her phone, they then got access to her bank card and used it to spend thousands before she even knew what had happened.
‘I can’t believe I was so stupid.’
‘Hey,’ said Evie. ‘These people use every psychological trick in the book. You have to remember, they’re experts at what they do. Thankfully your bank picked up on the fraud.’
‘Yes. They’ve been good and refunded all the money that was spent. Bloody galling that they bought a Gucci handbag. I’ve been wanting one for years.’
‘Even bigger bastards,’ said Evie, making Tracy laugh again.
I smiled because she really was great at this.
Evie was building a steady following on TikTok.
She put out three of these short pieces each week, but also had a linked website where she relayed more detailed information about the current scams, how to avoid them and what to do if you have been scammed.
The girl had done good. Really good and I was proud of her, even though I was sad that I’d never got the chance to tell her how much she’d changed my life.
Every time I was interviewed, I tried to get the message across in case she ever got to hear or see me on TV.
I wanted her to know that I was sorry about the things I’d said to her on that last day.
Sorry that I’d left without saying goodbye.
When I didn’t hear from her, not even an acknowledgement of the gift I’d left for her, I gave into temptation and called her, only to find that I’d been blocked. It told me all I needed to know.
The video finished with Evie giving her trademark wave. ‘Stay safe, folks. And if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Until next time.’
She was an absolute natural at this and I noticed she’d already been on breakfast TV again this month. That’s where I’d first heard about her new channel.
I put my phone down to jump in the shower and head into the West End for a meeting with Lara. A potential sponsor wanted to meet me, and the deal was incumbent on this meeting. Did I really need any more men’s grooming products?
* * *
‘So, Noah, what do you do when you’re not playing football?’ purred Denise Moulden, Marketing Director of Golden Tresses, who were launching a new men’s shampoo range.
‘I like playing chess,’ I said, and Lara shot me a startled glance.
‘And I love potholing. And, don’t tell anyone,’ I lowered my voice and whispered, ‘also trainspotting. There’s nothing like seeing the “Evening Star”, a locomotive nine two, two thirty.
They only ever made ten of them before the nine two thirty-one came in.
’ I winked at her, I had to admire the way Denise managed to keep her composure.
‘Fascinating,’ she said, retracting her hand from my thigh.
‘Yeah, I think so. I know it’s not for most people, standing on a train platform for hours in the pouring rain but…’ I shook my head, thinking of Evie and channelling her natural mischief. She’d love this conversation. ‘It’s great. You should come along some time.’
‘Mmm,’ said Denise. ‘Unfortunately, I have a very busy schedule. Talking of which, I need to get back for a meeting. It was lovely to meet you and I’m thrilled that you’re going to be the head of our campaign.’ She laughed at her painful pun.
I nodded. Lara was looking a little alarmed, probably worrying that I’d just screwed up a lucrative deal, even though the ink was down on the pieces of paper in front of us. All I had to do was show up for a photo shoot and film an ad and tell everyone I used the product.
I felt a tiny bit guilty about the trainspotting, but then Denise had pushed for the in-person meeting. I bet she regretted that now.
We all shook hands, the managing director, the financial director and Denise, before they trooped out of Lara’s boardroom.
‘Noah Sanderson!’ Lara burst into peals of laughter. ‘Trainspotting? Where the hell did that come from?’ She bent over double making very unladylike snorting noises. ‘You bugger. I nearly spat my tea out.’
I grinned at her, feeling quite pleased with myself. ‘Inspired, huh?’
‘I’m not sure what’s got into you recently.’ She shook her head and then sniggered again. ‘But I’m quite enjoying this new, improved version. I think your fans are, too. The quality of gifts is going up. I forgot to give you this.’
She ferreted in her desk drawer and took out a large brown envelope. I opened it up and pulled out a turquoise bag. It felt as if all my organs had ground to a halt as I stared down at it.
‘Tiffany’s? Nice gift, eh?’
I took the box out of the bag. My mouth drying with sudden awareness.
‘When did this come?’
‘Oh God, weeks ago. I’m sorry. I just forgot about it.’
‘How many weeks ago?’ I asked, my fingers stroking the perfect white ribbon on top of the box.
She sighed and opened up her desk diary, riffling through the pages. ‘Early January.’
‘Early January,’ I echoed.
‘Oh, and there was a card with it.’ She produced a white envelope tucked between the pages of her diary.
My name was scrawled across the front and I recognised the handwriting straight away. Scrawly and loopy. Evie to a T. Her penmanship was like her: fast, impatient and always wanting to get to the end so she could do the next thing.
‘Aren’t you going to open it?’ asked Lara.
I shook my head. ‘Not just now.’ I didn’t want to share the contents with anyone. If Evie was returning the gift I’d left her, unopened, it was a fair indicator of what she had to say.
‘Do you want to pop out for a drink to celebrate?’
‘No, thanks, I need to go,’ I said and turned and walked out of the office without even bothering to say goodbye.
As soon as I was outside, I strode quickly up to Soho Square and to the little park there, searching out an empty bench. As soon as I sat down, I ripped open the envelope and read Evie’s words.
… I hope you remember the good bits.
I was never going to forget the good bits. But now I had a little bit of hope.