21. Nell
21
NELL
I’m at the bar, ordering three more glasses of wine when I feel my phone ping in my pocket.
I tap my card on the machine and gather up the glasses, figuring I’ll check it when I get back to the table.
We’re at a very swanky pub in Canary Wharf, just round the corner from Chlo’s and Mica’s offices. When I told them on the group chat about what happened in Pret, Mica had demanded a proper debrief straight after work. Apparently, news ‘this juicy’ couldn’t wait until we got back to our flat.
I put the glasses on the table and Chloe says, ‘I’ve been thinking about it, Nell, and honestly, I think it’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.’
Mica snorts as she grabs her wine. ‘What are you on about, Chlo? All the boy did was pretend to know some d-bag that Nell didn’t want to see. What’s romantic about that?’
‘He saved her from social humiliation, Mica!’ Chloe hisses. ‘He’s a hero!’
‘He hid under some fucking apples and then asked a guy about his Ironman training!’ Mica splutters. ‘It’s not exactly knight-in-shining-armour territory!’
I giggle into my wine. I am actually quite enjoying watching them squabble over this.
‘Yes, but the little dig at the end, about female comedians,’ Chloe says. ‘You’ve got to admit, that was inspired.’
Mica narrows her eyes. ‘OK, yes, I admit that was quite cool,’ she says reluctantly. ‘But let’s not lose our heads here. Yes, Charlie Francombe is fit. And, yes, Charlie Francombe helped Nell avoid what would have been – at best – a mildly awkward two-minute chat. But he’s still the nepo baby douchelord that got her booted all the way into the IT department. He’s still the dude whose dad is pulling strings for him behind the scenes.’ She takes a sip of wine and pouts at us. ‘Have you forgotten the Ed Sheeran video?’
Chloe sighs. ‘Mm. Yes, the Ed Sheeran video is hard to excuse. But I still think the chivalry in Pret outweighs it.’
‘“Chivalry in Pret”.’ Mica shakes her head. ‘Do you hear yourself sometimes?’ She looks at me. ‘Nell, which way are you leaning?’
I shrug. To be totally honest, I don’t know which way I’m leaning.
In the moment, as we were whispering under the apples, and Charlie was selling Zach down the river, I’d been very much #TeamChloe; it had seemed like such a sweet, funny and – yeah – romantic thing to do.
But Mica’s right too. The Ed Sheeran thing is hard to get over. Watching all the writers applaud Charlie for something his dad helped him out with was so gut-wrenchingly horrible. And there are still three weeks of this internship left – maybe he’ll pull the same trick again and again and again.
‘I mean, he is still technically your competition, right?’ Mica says.
I shrug again. ‘I guess.’
‘Have they said anything yet about whether there’ll be a job at the end of this internship?’ Chloe asks.
‘Not yet.’ The thought of Charlie being offered a full-time job at Punching Up instead of me makes me instantly lean heavily towards #TeamMica.
‘Just don’t go all mushy because he did one vaguely nice thing,’ Mica says. ‘Like I say, he’s fit, but I don’t trust him.’
I take a sip of my wine and suddenly remember the message I got at the bar. I take my phone out and check it.
‘Who is it?’ Chloe asks.
‘Tinder notification,’ I say.
‘Ooh! Who?’
I read the message and my heart sinks. ‘Zach. Asking again if I fancy meeting up this week.’
‘Ha.’ Mica thumps the table. ‘Poor boy doesn’t realise he was literally centimetres away from another meet-up this afternoon.’
‘Ugh.’ I stare at the message. ‘What should I say?’
Mica nudges my elbow and smiles. ‘Let him down gently, eh?’