The Younger Man Read Online Free

good-looking, handsome, and I enjoyed his company. Fun and funny.’
    Fran looks at me as if she’s looking through me.
    ‘He was seeing the clients wasn’t he?’
    I look at her and smile, but I’m a bit glassy eyed.
    ‘Yes.’
    Fran stares at me for a bit, then says, ‘Hurt you, didn’t he?’
    I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry. I am a hard woman. A strong woman. A tough woman. It was a physical thing anyway. I understand what men are like. What makes them tick. It was just physical. Okay, I thought his children were lovely. And he was lovely when he was with them. And he was lovely with Sarah, too. I loved having breakfasts and lunches and suppers with him. And he was interesting and well read and I liked his taste in music. And he made me laugh. And I’m thinking, visualising him now. And things like this happen. I am not going to cry.
    ‘Yes.’
    A tear trickles down my face. God, so many tears in one morning. I must stop drinking so much water.
    ‘Liked him, didn’t you?’
    ‘Yes, but, well, he had baggage. I do, too.’
    ‘Perhaps. Depends how you package it, Hazel. How well you carry it. You carry yours well. Baggage only becomes a problem when you carry it around and offload it onto those around you. He sounded nice, but he had issues. You talked about him a lot, you know. Your relationship wasn’t just physical. It wasn’t to you anyway. What happened?’
    I tell Fran about the clients. In a matter-of-fact way, without tears, embellishments or use of the B word.
    She listens, sipping her tea, expressionless. She has a good poker face.
    ‘Well, everything happens for a reason. You’re worth more than him. Now hug.’
    We hug. Like friends who’ve known each other for decades hug—without a hint of self-consciousness even in a public place like GoForIt. And a few more tears fall. Silent warm ones, onto her pink cashmere Paul Smith cardigan.
    We finish the teas and bars and order two more teas.
    ‘Apart from Dominic, anything or anyone else new or on the horizon?’
    ‘There’s a new partner who starts on Monday. Joe Ryan. Came from Wilhouse Smyth. Oxford, sharp, good reputation. And young.’
    ‘How young?’
    ‘Like ten years my junior young.’
    ‘Handsome?’
    ‘Can’t really see in his mug shot. No one looks handsome in their mug shot though.’
    ‘You do. Have you met him yet?’
    ‘No, Monday morning, board meeting. 9:00 a.m. We’re all being introduced. You know, usual informal, formal thing. We’ll be working on a case together. The Bensons. Not particularly straightforward. Lots of emotion there. And money.’
    ‘So no difference then really.’
    ‘No. Joe Ryan comes well recommended.’
    ‘Wonder if he’s fit?’
    ‘Business and pleasure don’t mix, Fran. And I want to get away from dating lawyers and barristers. All we end up talking about is cases, past ones of course. It’s a bit limiting. And takes the innocent romance out of the evening a bit.’
    ‘I suppose it’s an occupational hazard. You dated that banker last year.’
    ‘Oh yes, him. The guy I met at someone’s birthday party, invited me to lunch and then proceeded to tell me he has a girlfriend, a five-month-old baby and a very big sex drive and wasn’t being satisfied. So would I be so kind as to relieve his tension.’
    ‘Yes, think you told him to pay for a hooker.’
    ‘In a nice way, yes, I think I did. Disturbing thing is, Fran, that this happened to me twice last year. I’d meet someone, talk to them, and they’d think that I’d be game for sex without the relationship bit.’
    ‘Your problem, Hazel, and it’s always been your problem, is that you’re sexy.’
    ‘A lot of women are sexy.’
    ‘Yes, I know that. Let me finish. You’re sexy and bright and come across as independent. You can look after yourself.’
    ‘I do look after myself.’
    ‘Yes, let me finish. So you’re sexy and independent. Along comes a guy, unhappy with his sex life, but