Crossword Genius

Flat cap unwrapped — type of paper tricky at first for companion (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

apartment

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'flat' is the definition.
(I know that flat can be written as apartment)

'cap unwrapped type of paper tricky at first for companion' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'paper' could be 'art' (art paper is a kind of paper) and 'art' is found within the answer.
'first' could be 'a' (first letter of the alphabet) and 'a' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for apartment that I've seen before include "Penthouse" , "Flat (mainly US)" , "Suite of rooms to live in" , "19 across" , "pad" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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