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‘My hand is fine,’ Eddy says, stretching out his fingers. ‘I didn’t hit him hard.’

‘That’s an order,’ Bryan corrects him.

I get the feeling it’s more of a punishment than a genuine test.

‘All right, fine,’ he says. ‘Is that all?’

‘You’re still here by the skin of your teeth, Eddy, pal, don’t make me regret it,’ Bryan warns him.

Eddy leaves, heading downstairs for his physical. As he passes me, he gives me a subtle smile. Then it’s just Bryan and me again.

‘I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you didn’t tell me you were seeing Eddy because you didn’t want it to be the reason you got the job,’ Bryan points out.

Obviously that’s not true, but the truth is something like it, so I nod.

‘Ironic, then, that it almost cost you your job,’ he points out.

My face falls. I feel the colour drain from my cheeks, and he must notice because his own expression softens a little.

‘Lucky for you, we need you now even more, because you’re not only his cover story, and the reason I don’t have to drop him, but you can be his full-time babysitter,’ he points out. ‘Get him to do whatever we need him to do, anything he can do for the World Cup – get him through the end of the season, the end of the year, and maybe he’ll retire with a good reputation intact. Do you think you can do that?’

‘I can absolutely do that,’ I insist – and now I’m not lying. I’m going to do my best.

‘Right, well, we need to onboard you, so I’ll need your details – you didn’t have an address on your CV,’ he points out.

Shit.

‘Er, no,’ I reply.

‘Well, we’ll need your address,’ he prompts me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

‘I’m… between addresses at the moment,’ I explain.

‘You’re… what?’

‘I was renting, but I had to leave that place, so I’m currently in the process of finding somewhere new,’ I explain.

‘Shall I put Eddy’s address down? Are you staying with him?’ he asks.

‘No,’ I say quickly. ‘No, I’m not – it’s still early in our relationship, and I thought that would only complicate things.’

I mean, look at Ron and me. It’s definitely made all of this worse. Which reminds me, I need to check the match fixtures, so that I know when he’ll be away, so that I can sneak into his place and get my things. I can’t face doing it with him there.

‘Where are you staying?’ he asks.

‘At a hotel, in the city, while I figure out my next steps,’ I explain, trying to sound like I have everything under control.

‘That must be expensive,’ he muses. ‘Say, you needing somewhere to live – is that also to do with this no-good ex of yours?’

I feel my cheeks flush bright red.

‘Right,’ Bryan says, reading my mind. ‘Tell you what, until you get sorted, you can stay here. How does that sound?’

‘With you?’ I reply.

‘No, don’t be daft, I hardly know you,’ Bryan blurts. ‘My wife would kill me if I brought a lodger home. But I do have daughters, and I would hate to think of them in your position. You can stay here, at the stadium, no charge. Let’s take house-hunting off your plate, so you can focus on the task at hand, eh?’