Harry was standing at the bar with his back to her. He wore dark grey chinos and a purple shirt. His shoes were smart and polished.

‘Why am I not surprised that you’re a punctual man?’ she said as she joined him. The restaurant was set back from the Thames and nestled under the railway arches. It was stylish and trendy; a long thin building with wooden floors and antique furniture.

‘I took the liberty of ordering you a drink,’ he said as he slid a tumbler of clear liquid towards her. ‘I hope that’s OK.’

‘Thank you,’ she said, and took a sip.

‘No need to say cheers,’ he said and smiled.

She laughed and held her glass up in front of his. ‘How uncouth of me.’

He held her gaze. ‘You look beautiful,’ he said.

She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. Was this a date?

‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you,’ he said. ‘Right. Shall we get a table before we begin?’

Their small square table was topped by a single white candle and positioned in a quiet corner of the restaurant. Karene took out her notebook and pen while Harry scanned the menu.

‘I’m just going to have the moules.’ He placed the menu down and spotted her notebook. ‘Oh, right,’ he said. ‘Straight in then.’

On the left-hand side Karene had written a dozen questions. ‘Is that OK?’ she said. ‘I can wait until after we eat if you’re hungry.’

‘No. No. Go ahead. It’s why we’re here after all.’ The smile on Harry’s lips implied that the statement was tongue-in-cheek.

‘Are you making fun of my work, Captain Peterson?’

‘Absolutely not. I’m endlessly impressed by your work.’

‘You do know that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.’

Harry took a sip of his gin and tonic. ‘That may be true but I’m not being sarcastic so my wit remains high.’

‘Your wit remains high. Is that so?’ Karene raised her pen in mock anticipation. ‘Perhaps we should start the interview with where you got your substantial ego from?’

‘Sure,’ he said. ‘If you like.’

She wrote the word ‘ego’ in large letters on the top of the right-hand page and then looked up to meet Harry’s eyes. His laugh was unexpectedly fresh. It made him seem young and carefree. ‘I don’t have a huge ego. Let me prove it to you,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you ask me one of your real questions?’

‘OK. What would you say is the most satisfying aspect of your work?’

‘Getting to boss people around and make them do what I want.’

‘You like being in charge?’

‘No,’ he said and he smiled again. ‘I’m joking. I’m not a big command and control type.’

‘Good thing you don’t work in one of the country’s most prominent command and control environments then.’

‘I know. Phew.’

‘So …’