Subtlety prised open

Not one for small talk or any other kind of preamble, it was unusual that Tony seemed to want to chat first. But Sofia half expected that and started babbling on about little Giovanna. Then Tony asked about her work as a retail property agent in the West End. He moved on to the fact that she had a lot of freedom, gathering from the long lunch hours.

Tony was being subtle, slowly bringing the conversation round, but in Sofia he had met his match.

“Don’t beat about the bush, Tony, you just want to know about my black man!”