Mike looks a bit nonplussed. ?Look, she was nothing,? he says eventually. ?Is nothing. Just a fling, you know. Georgie, it was only ever you, but I wanted to sort myself out. I confided in David, even asked him if he could help me get a job. But instead he asked you out and convinced you I was the lowest of the low. And now he thinks I?m going to get you back and he?s trying to ruin everything.?
Mike looks up briefly and I almost think I can see a tear.
?You really left me because you didn?t think you were good enough?? I still can?t quite believe this is Mike talking.
?I wanted you to be happy.?
?I was happy! Most of the time. Well, you know . . . some of the time anyway. I thought you left me because I wasn?t cool enough.? I?m almost laughing at the irony of all this. Except that I feel sick to my stomach.
?Georgie, you?re the coolest.?
?Yeah, well. Look, I?m sorry, Mike. I really am.? I?m trying hard to sound sympathetic and reassuring, and I lower my voice. Two years ago I would have been over the moon to hear this?two weeks ago, even. But now I just don?t care why Mike left me. Don?t care if he has any feelings toward me. I just want to know what David knows about Rome.
?The thing is,? I say slowly, trying not to sound as stressed out as I feel, ?I love David now. So look, why don?t you tell me what it is that you want me to do and that?ll be the end of it??
Mike looks up. ?Okay, here?s the deal. David has managed to get hold of something that could get me and him into a lot of trouble.? This doesn?t sound good.
?What kind of trouble? What thing??
He pauses. ?David sent one of his people to my offices posing as a DJ, and he managed to lift a disk with some information on it that I?m not particularly proud of.?
?What sort of information? Does he know about the drugs??
?Fuck no. And he doesn?t need to know, okay? Look, what he found isn?tthat bad, but it could cause problems. It?s just that I . . . well, I borrowed some money from my company to buy this place. I?m paying it back and everything, but I wanted to avoid some taxes and stuff, so it isn?t strictly done by the book. And if my investors found out they could close me down. I worked so hard to get this company off the ground, and if David shows anyone the disk I?m completely screwed.?
?You borrowed money from your company?? I ask skeptically. ?Borrowed or took??
Mike looks shocked. ?Borrowed! God, Georgie, you?re as bad as David. Look, I haven?t been paying myself anywhere near what I should because I want the company to grow, so it?s my money that I borrowed anyway, it just makes it easier this way.?
?And you?re going to pay it back??
?Of course! I?ve already started.?
?And David has evidence??
?Yeah. And he?ll use it, too. But it?s not just me in trouble. David?s also trying to fabricate stuff. If it comes out, he could lose his own job over this, but I don?t think he cares.?
David could lose his job? Now Mike?s got my full attention. I mean obviously Mike?s wrong?David would never fabricate anything. But he does really hate Mike. Maybe I underestimated how much.
?Mike, can?t you just talk to him? Why don?t I talk to him??
?It won?t do any good,? Mike says mournfully. ?It?s gone too far. He?s got too many people involved. The only way is for the disk to go missing. Then he?ll just have to close the investigation.?
?Can?t you just tell them what you told me? No one would close your business down if you explained, would they??
?I dunno. They?re all just suits. They don?t care if it?s not my fault. And they?re never going to believe me over David. Seriously, if I don?t get that disk back, I?m going to be in trouble. I need you to get hold of it, Georgie. I need you to get it back for me. Then David will just walk away from this. I?ll get my company back in order, and you and David can live happily ever after. Otherwise . . .?
So now I know what the favor is. I have got to steal a disk from David. Mind you, it doesn?t look like I?ve got much of an option?I can?t have David throwing his career away over some stupid rivalry with Mike. Mike just isn?t worth it.
?Okay,? I say crisply. ?Tell me what it looks like.?
?Like this.? Mike pulls out a fat-looking disk with red markings on it. It doesn?t look like a disk I?ve ever used before.
?It?s a Zip disk,? Mike says as if that explains the odd appearance.
?And you have no idea where it is?? It occurs to me that if the disk is at David?s office I?ve got no chance of getting hold of it. I?ve never been to his office and I don?t know if they?d even let me up.
?I don?t know for sure, but I know it?s in his flat, or in his briefcase, because I?ve got a friend at his firm and she says it definitely isn?t in his office.?
?You?ve got a friend at David?s firm? Mike, since when do you have accountants for friends??
?She isn?t an accountant, at least she wasn?t when I knew her. She used to be quite high up in the police but she had to leave and now she works with David. Anyway, it?s no worse than he?s doing to me. I just know someone, that?s all, and she did me a favor. Okay??
I take a deep breath. I need to think this through so I excuse myself and go to the bathroom. I don?t trust Mike, not really, but this is not the sort of story he would make up. And David was in Rome, which he never really explained properly. Could he really be risking so much just for me? I want to enjoy the thought, but can?t. If Mike is
