He continues with what seems to be a pre-prepared monologue. ‘Just annoys me, that’s all. It’s so frustrating to talk about your work with people who have no idea what it’s like to be creative. Like, the stuff we’re doing right now with McCain is actually pretty ground-breaking. No one’s ever been this irreverent and playful and just fucking … surreal in the history of oven-chip marketing. We’re in totally unexplored territory here. So it pisses me off that Phil thinks he can just belittle my work like that when he doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about.’ He exhales another plume of smoke and looks at me. ‘I mean, you get it because you’re … Well, you were sort of a writer, weren’t you? For a bit. Or you tried to be.’

‘Uh huh.’ At another time, in another life, this jab would probably have stung. But right now, I hardly feel it. I hardly feel anything.

I have to find out more about what Phil said. How long exactly was I moping over Daphne? Does Marek know what happened between us?

‘The guy’s a fucking accountant,’ Marek sighs. ‘It’s like: mate, just because your career’s unbelievably dull doesn’t mean you have to shit on everyone else’s.’

‘Yeah.’ I can’t take this any longer, and before I know what I’m doing, I force out what I hope is a casual chuckle. ‘Hey, it was funny what Phil said back there. About me moping over Daphne!’

Marek looks at the floor. ‘Ha. Yeah.’ A pause while he takes a drag on his Camel Blue. ‘Well. You did mope about a fair bit by the sound of it. But Alice got her way in the end!’

‘How d’you mean?’ I ask.

I’m aware that I’m now staring at him with what is probably an unsettling intensity. But I’m beyond caring how mad or odd I must look. I just need answers.

Marek clears his throat and fidgets on the spot. ‘No, nothing. Just … I think when you and Daphne split up, and then Alice moved back down from Manchester, we all thought that the two of you would probably get together. I mean, we all know she’s got serious staying power, that girl. Plus, she’d only split up with Seb a few months earlier, too, so y’know …’ He grins. ‘She was obviously on the lookout for a new fiancé. She ground you down eventually!’

He nudges me with his elbow as he says it: it’s clearly meant as a joke. But like every other comment at this godawful party, it feels like there’s something darker lurking behind it.