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“You like the one in Belgravia, don’t you?” Ebony announces, and fuck, I wish I hadn’t sent the link over to her so many times. She gives me a nudge in the arm as she carries on. “It’ll be a very convenient location for you, won’t it?”
I could swat her one, seriously.
“Do you work in Belgravia?” Richard asks.
“I work around the city,” I reply. “But I have friends in Belgravia.”
“Friends, yeah,” Ebony whispers, and she’s as bad as Tiff. Josh has been telling me that the two of them are so keen on us getting together that they’re browsing hats for the wedding. He’s been getting it nonstop, apparently.
“I have friends in Belgravia, too,” Richard says. “I go there a lot. Maybe we’ll end up bumping into each other, if you take it.”
His words are clearly pointed. In his mind, he’s already fucking me. Yeah, Dick has got more than a semi on right now. I smile back at his grinning reflection.
“So, which of the apartments would you recommend, if the choice was yours?”
“Belgravia, of course.” He laughs. “No, honestly. Joking aside, it’s quite a spectacular one, and reasonably priced for its location.”
He isn’t joking. That apartment tops the list on cost as well as location. I’ve seen some incredible pictures of it, on the seventh floor of a very flash block. It has courtyard gardens around it, and floor to ceiling windows that look out onto the city. It has two awesome huge bedrooms – perfect for Mum and Dad to visit. Mum would go crazy for the state-of-the-art kitchen. She’d likely get more use out of it than I would. I’m more of a microwave kind of girl.
But who knows? Anything can change, can’t it? Recent events have proved that. Maybe I’ll be cooking up Michelin level main courses in a few months’ time.
Ah, that leads to my next question for Richard.
“All of these places say currently available on your website. How soon does currently actually mean? Are we talking a few weeks before I could move in?”
“That depends. Three of them are empty and fully refurbished, so currently available on those means as soon as the paperwork is completed and the deposit funds are in our account. We’d just need to take some final pictures and get the landlord’s approval. Those could take about a week, if we sprinted it. The others may take a few weeks longer.”
“Great, when could we get the process started if I chose one?”
“How quickly can you sign your name? I can get Rebecca to draw the paperwork up as soon as you decide. I believe you’ve already handed over your employer reference and bank statements?”
“Yes,” I tell him as we pull away from traffic lights.
I sent over the reference as soon as I made the bookings, hoping Kingsgate wouldn’t dig much deeper. If they looked up my current postcode on Streetview, they’d probably turn me down in a flash.
“In that case, we’d do everything we could to get you in there as quickly as possible, especially if time is a factor.”
“Thank you.”
If only he knew how much…
We check out the first two, in Wharton Road and Halesbury Avenue on the North Side, and they are cool places. Plush, but compact. One comes furnished, which would be a bonus, but it’s just not me. It’s just too beige. The other is great, but it isn’t going to be available for another six weeks once a new kitchen install has been completed. It’s nice, but no. I need sooner. Onto the next one. Finns Lane. Available immediately. A sweet, Victorian apartment on the ground floor, with doors that open out into a mini garden. The bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe to die for, but Ebony doesn’t look as impressed as me when we leave. She pulls me aside as Richard goes on ahead to the car.
“This is quite far out from the city centre. A fair bit of travelling for proposals.”
I shrug. “True, but hardly a big deal. It’s a good price, too.”
“Maybe. Are you much of a gardener?”
“No, not really.”
“More of a city skyline girl?”
I laugh. “Yeah. I do love a view of the city.”
“That’s a no to this place, then.”
“Seriously?”
