Only my traitorous brain refused to come up with anything, instead reminding me of how lovely Adam could be. I’d tried to walk away from him so many times, and every time we couldn’t resist returning to each other, like homing pigeons or those penguins who mate for life. Maybe I should simply give in and accept the inevitable. He was my person, for better or worse, and it was time to stop fighting it and find a way to live with the worse. Getting this job would be a good start.

No! No, no, no! Stop this now! I gave myself a mental slap around the face. There was a reason you broke up with Adam, and that’s not changed.

But remember all those amazing times we had together?

Remember all those amazing times you DIDN’T have, because he forgot to turn up, or yet again decided his music came first…

Yes, but if I lived in London it would be different! Or at least, it might be? Isn’t it worth a try?

‘It’s seven.’ Henry mercifully interrupted my frenzied internal debate.

I decided that not replying to Adam was probably the wisest option for now, instead following Henry into the dining hall where the other candidates already sat waiting.

‘Great, that’s everyone,’ Melody said, tapping on her iPad.

Two minutes later, Baxter strode in and took a seat at the head of the table, with Summer on one side and Ben on the other. I was initially relieved to be sitting furthest away where I could avoid his scrutiny. However, by the time we’d finished the scallop starter, this time served by two adult waiters, it was clear that Summer saw things very differently.

If she’d spent the meal flirting with Baxter I’d have felt justifiably irked. Watching her engage him in animated discussions about media and other current affairs, ensuring he virtually ignored the rest of us, was a genius move. Rather than the slinky dress she’d worn the previous night, she had on a sophisticated black suit with a cream camisole. Her hair was perfect, her make-up understated, and she looked every inch the national weather presenter.

Ben and Calvin both tried valiantly to wheedle their way into the conversation, but Baxter was having none of it. Ben eventually gave up and started chatting to me and Henry about other things. Calvin merely sat in silence, giving the ivy centrepiece such a death stare I half expected it to shrivel up and wither before our eyes.

The veneer of a pleasant dinner party cracked as soon as the desserts arrived. When Melody clicked the scoreboard that lit up on a screen behind Baxter’s head, Calvin dropped his spoon with a clatter and Ben gasped.

Henry, presumably emboldened by having nothing to lose, asked the question the rest of us were thinking but didn’t really want to know the answer to.