Julia's new boyfriend Michael works in publishing. They meet while she is touring foreign resorts, taking notes for brochure ideas. Michael steers her away from the club in which they meet. They visit several more clubs before he invites her to his room for a drink. He accepts her refusal on the grounds that she does not go in for "holiday things" (p. 169), assuming that she might enjoy a real-life thing. He begins visiting London to see her but she always has work-related excuses. He asks gently why she shuts him out, seeing that they get along well.