You think I sleep with men who buy me things. What does that make me, Joe? Is that what you think of me?’ ‘No.’ I sit on the bed next to her. She seems to flinch and move further away. The alcohol has hit my head, which is pounding. Through the open bathroom door, I barely recognise my own reflection. Julianne speaks. ‘Everyone knows Dirk is a sleaze. You should hear the jokes in the secretarial pool. The man puts his business card in the women’s toilets like he’s touting for clients. Eugene’s secretary, Sal y, cal ed his bluff in the summer. In the middle of the office she unzipped Dirk’s fly, grabbed his penis and said, “Is that al you’ve got? For someone who talks about it so much, Dirk, I thought you’d have something more substantial to back it up.” You should have seen Dirk. I thought he’d swal owed his tongue.’ Devoid of emotion, her voice is a monotone, unable to raise itself an octave above disappointment or sadness. ‘In the old days you would never have let a man get away with touching you like Dirk did tonight.’ ‘In the old days I didn’t need this job.’ ‘He wants people to think he’s sleeping with you.’ ‘Which is only a problem if people believe him.’ ‘Why didn’t you tel me about him?’ ‘I did.
