So what now?’
‘What now? Nothing!’
‘I was referring to those assholes.’
‘Oh, them. I don’t know.’
‘How do we play it at this party?’
‘Nothing special. You just have to pretend to worship the ground I walk on.’
Marcus blew out a cloud of smoke and shook his head. ‘I couldn’t fake that even if I took an acting class.’
‘So could you at least pretend to be crazy about me?’
‘Hmm . . . You have a plan C?’
‘You’re going to need to work for this money! If you don’t think you can do the job, there’s no deal here.’
‘Let’s see . . . I could pretend to find you painfully provocative. I could pretend that when I look at your mouth I want to kiss it till it bleeds, that I dream of fucking you for hours every night, and that I like everything about you, even that ridiculous hair and the way you insist on getting under my skin. Would that work?’
Penny had to swallow before she could speak. Her throat was dry, and she felt flushed and slightly dizzy, like after a long massage.
‘Um, yeah. I guess that would work. I don’t know if it’ll be convincing enough though. I’ll withhold payment until after, when we’re sure it worked.’
‘I reckon you can trust me that it will.’
‘Either way, you have to go now.’
‘Tomorrow I’ll put a better lock on this window for you. The one you have is weak as anything. It’s not safe. When I go out, fasten it good and tight.’
‘Are you worried about me?’
‘Sure! I need this job.’
‘OK, that explains it.’
Marcus jumped out on to the fire escape and gave her an ironic farewell salute. Penny raised her middle finger in return, in the same way that he so often did to her. He laughed and disappeared from view.
After fastening the window against any further nocturnal intruders, Penny was alone again, taking refuge under the covers.
The next day at noon, Marcus was there as promised with some tools to fix the window lock. When she opened the door, Penny thought privately that she really needed to stop right now with this business of feeling giddy every time she caught sight of him.
But Barbie was more obvious than Penny – who just feigned irritation – in letting on how overjoyed she was to see him. ‘Oh, how wonderful to have this nice boy come into our home! How kind you are! Penny, you have to pay him back somehow.’
Penny instantly blushed, thinking of the scene behind the Maraja. Marcus, as if he’d read her mind, gave her a smarmy smile.
‘Just fix the window and get out, will you?’ she ordered him, leading him to her room.
Marcus fiddled with the frame while Penny watched from the doorway. Today he was wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt, sinfully tight, that highlighted every muscle in his shoulders and his huge, tattooed arms. Penny bit her lip and stared at the floor, hating herself for being so totally under his spell.
At one point, Marcus stopped, pulled something from his back pocket and handed it to her. ‘It’s a letter to Francisca. Write the address on it and send it off.’
‘You mean please?’
‘I’m already doing you a favour by fixing your window.’
‘Well, you broke it! And, in any case, I pay you very well.’
‘I’m paid to escort you from your place of work to this apartment, and I’ll also be paid to pretend that I want no one but you, but I am not paid to be a carpenter.’
‘You’re vulgar and corrupt.’
‘Ah yes, my two main strengths. My two fundamental values are sex and money, as you well know.’
‘Plus you’re sleazy. Only a total sleazeball could do what you did and then write to his girlfriend the same night.’
‘That’s a lot of action for one night, sure, but spare me the sermons about Francisca, OK? That’s how we operate, and someone like you is just never gonna get it.’
Penny fell silent; whenever she talked to him about Francisca, Marcus dropped his normal jerkish cheerfulness and became a plain old jerk.
‘Anyway,’ he went on, ‘if I have to pretend to be your boyfriend, I guess I need to know a few things about you, just to have some shit to say. What were you like when you were younger? Though I can probably imagine for myself . . .’
‘That’s not true.’
‘Let me guess. You were lonely, and introverted but not timid, just disgusted by everyone around you. Even though they all thought you were stupid and submissive, you were