TUESDAY 7 OCTOBER
Steven spent the day pacifying customers and colleagues alike. It seemed the longer this unseasonal heat continued, the shorter people’s tempers became. Almost the entire afternoon was spent dealing with a particularly obnoxious twenty-two year old who couldn’t understand why his loan application had been refused when all his mates had had similar requests agreed in recent weeks. It didn’t matter how simple Steven tried to make it, the kid – and that was what he was, really, just a kid – couldn’t grasp the basic principle of lending: we’re only going to let you borrow money if we think you’re going to be able to pay it back. Christ, it was hard work sometimes. What’s the point in coming to see a financial adviser if you’re not going to listen to their advice? It was all
