The Planner Read Online Free PDF Page B

ought to want. And one of them was much better paid than the other. James had a salary of £33,650 a year, with an extra £3,500 through his London weighting agreement; Felix earned £95,000 with a 20 per cent performance bonus and other benefits. But that didn’t matter so very much, because Felix was quite wealthy anyway. And, of course, Felix didn’t have a degree in geography.
    ‘It was my good fortune,’ he said, ‘to have studied some economics. This really ought to be a sub-branch of sociology, but has ended up providing the only kinds of explanation that anyone is now interested in.’
    James noticed that Felix spoke like this a lot of the time. He articulated bold and unusual opinions in full declarative sentences that caught the attention of people outside of his immediate group. Where had he come from? From London, obviously, but that could mean anything. He was Adam’s friend, and he knew Carl, but it wasn’t clear how. In fact, thrillingly, it wasn’t even certain if he liked them all that much.
    But the main thing they were discussing, and this really was unusual, was James. Felix was interested in James. Interested enough to email him, to come to this pub, and possibly even to help him. And despite having wise things to say on a range of important topics, he was also, just like James, a very good listener. He was attentive, he prompted with little nods and requests for information, and in no time at all James was speaking without inhibition. What did he have to lose? He talked about the night in the restaurant, and why he had run away to the washrooms, and how mysteriously his friends had become wealthy and Alice attractive. He talked about where he worked and where he lived, the difficulty of being a town planner in the modern world, the job offer in Nottingham and the fears and feelings that pulsed through him every day.
    ‘So, I’m going to ask you a few questions now,’ said Felix.
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘First of all, just to check. Are you still in love with Alice?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Are you sure?’ said Felix.
    ‘I don’t want to go out with her,’ said James. ‘But it would be nice if she wanted to go out with me.’
    ‘Yes, I can see that. Next question: do you want a different career?’
    ‘Well, there are some issues with the job I’ve got. But I like being a town planner. I trained to become one.’
    ‘And the job you’ve been offered, the one in Nottingham. Presumably that would solve a lot of those issues? I mean, you’d be paid more, you could live in a nice place, that kind of thing.’
    ‘Yes, all those things. I liked it there. Or at least, as I remember it, I do.’
    ‘But if you did leave London now, it would feel like you’ve given up. As if you were running away.’
    ‘Yes, that’s exactly what it would feel like.’
    ‘Okay, this is what I think the problem is – and excuse the pop psychology, but it is the best kind. What you’re seeking is respect – some admiration and affection. Your hope is that having a better job, more money, a girlfriend, a house, high-quality material possessions will get you that.’
    ‘Yes, well, they would. They would get me a lot of those things.’
    ‘If that was the case, then the move to Nottingham is actually not a bad strategy. One of the most effective ways to find happiness is to spend your life around people who earn less than you.’
    ‘But you don’t think I should go back there, do you?’
    James was, for a moment, suddenly anxious. What would happen now? What if Felix told him he should go to Nottingham? Did that mean he would just go? Was Felix rejecting him already, sending him out to spend his life with people on lower incomes? And why on earth should he take Felix’s advice? He barely knew him. But there was no doubt that’s what he was doing. No wonder he was so successful at advertising.
    ‘No,’ said Felix. ‘No, I don’t think you should. The problem you’ve got is not winning other people’s respect, but