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I do. I do. I really do. Oh, please let him say he’s going to add me to the shortlist. I’m willing to fight for this job. Now that I’m here, listening to him, I’m realising just how much I want it. I want any job, obviously, but this one in particular sounds great. I want the challenge. I want to see if I can make a difference here.

‘How soon could you start?’ he asks.

For a moment, I’m convinced I’ve misheard him.

‘How soon… Sorry, what?’ I reply.

‘If we offered you a role,’ he clarifies, ‘how soon could you start?’

‘Right away,’ I say, probably a little too quickly, but fuck it. ‘Immediately. Monday. Now. I mean not now-now, obviously, unless you need something…’

I let my voice trail off, certain I’ve said too much.

‘There’s a catch,’ he says – of course there is. ‘The two strongest candidates both have one month’s notice. They’re experienced, but this isn’t a role where we can wait forever. We’re trying to build momentum now, especially with the end of the season on the horizon.’

I nod in an attempt to seem like I already knew that.

‘What I could offer,’ he says, rubbing his chin, ‘is a trial period. One month. You come in, get a feel for the place, show us what you can do. If you’re as promising as you seem, the job is yours permanently.’

Okay, so it’s not a proper job offer, not yet anyway, but it’s a start. A foot in the door. If I can prove myself to him, show him that I can be an asset here, then it’s mine to lose, right?

‘Thank you,’ I say, trying to style out the wobble in my voice. ‘I’d love that. I really would. I won’t let you down.’

‘Good,’ he says, smiling. ‘I’m expecting great things. So… start on Monday?’

‘Amazing!’ I reply. ‘Monday sounds great.’

‘Okay, but let’s start the work today,’ he suggests. ‘Why don’t you stay and watch the match? Get a feel for the place. I can sort you a seat.’

‘That would be brilliant.’

‘Ever been to a rugby league match before?’ he asks.

I shake my head. There’s no point in starting to lie now. I’ve seen Ron watching one, on TV, but I can’t say that, not without raising questions about why I was with him; plus, I didn’t pay attention to it anyway.

‘I’m sure you’ll enjoy it,’ he says. ‘I’ll have Megan show you to a seat.’

‘Thanks so much – for the seat and the job,’ I tell him.

‘Don’t thank me yet,’ he says with a laugh. ‘You might hate it.’

I don’t think I’d hate any job. I feel like I’m getting my independence back. Not that I’m not enjoying living with Ron, but it’s still early on for us. I don’t want to be dependent on him; I want to be with him because I want to be, not because I’m homeless and jobless.

As I step out into the stand, the atmosphere makes me feel a little dizzy. We’re at the tail end of summer so the evening light is glorious, the sun burning bright in the sky, but the temp is nice and cool.

The place is decently packed out. Not completely full, but some of the stands are getting there. I notice how some seem rowdier than others. I can hear a band, of sorts, playing somewhere – mostly a trumpet and drum, playing along with some of the chants.

I smile as I take my seat, everyone around me singing a song I don’t know as the players run out onto the pitch.

Never mind the song, that’s the least of my worries, because I don’t think I’m going to know what anything is. I don’t know any of the players, any of the rules – I know that Leeds Lions play in blue now, but only because almost everyone here is wearing blue. Still, at least I’ll know to cheer at the right time, when the right team scores.

I guess I’m a Leeds fan now, eh? Ron would be horrified. He’s from Wakefield, and a former Wakefield Warriors player, so the Leeds Lions were his closest rivals.

Ron is here, somewhere. I’m glancing around the edges of the pitch, looking for CrashSports – I suppose they tuck the pundits away once the game starts. I’ll just have to find him after, let him know the good news – and he can start my crash course in all things rugby league, train me up for the job so I don’t turn up on Monday just as clueless. I’d message him now, if I had my phone, but I guess I’ll just have to wait until the match is over to find him. Oh, I’m so excited though. I can’t wait to tell him. Perhaps we can go for dinner, somewhere fancy, to celebrate. I’m sure he can tear himself away from his usual burger place just this once.

I want to treat him to something nice, to say thank you, because I wouldn’t be here without him. Yes, okay, I got the job fair and square, but I wouldn’t have got the interview without him. I owe him for that.

The crowd goes wild as… something happens.