‘Pleasure to meet you, Jenny.’

Sarah held out her hand. Draper took it with a friendly smile.

‘You too, Sarah. I’m a big fan of your work.’

Draper’s eyes were already leaving Sarah’s as she spoke, and within an instant she had turned back to face Michael. Sarah rolled her eyes in a mixture of amusement and annoyance. She was sure that Draper had intentionally positioned herself partly in front of Sarah, physically excluding her from the conversation.

‘Simon is refusing to speak at all, Michael. He’s absolutely terrified.’

‘I told you he would be,’ Michael replied. ‘It’s all in the moment for him. But trust me. A few days outside of O’Driscoll’s influence and he’ll come out of himself. We needed them separated.’

‘But he didn’t tell us to do that, Michael,’ Draper said.

‘He didn’t tell us not to, either,’ Michael replied.

‘Kash’s wishes were still clear. Whether he said it expressly or not.’

‘Which we disagree on,’ Michael replied, his voice staying lighthearted. ‘If I’ve misread him then it’s on me, isn’t it?’

Sarah knew that tone and watched the exchange with some satisfaction. Draper was wasting her breath. Michael had made a decision and he was not going to be swayed.

‘OK, but what about Cole?’ Draper asked. ‘How is he going to take what you did? The message it sends about his guy?’

‘Matt won’t give a monkey’s,’ Michael replied. ‘The jury won’t notice the extra security. And they won’t know which prison they’re both held at. It makes no difference to O’Driscoll at all, so Cole won’t care.’

‘He certainly seemed like he did,’ Draper argued. ‘His objection was pretty angry.’

‘That was for his client’s benefit, Jenny. Don’t be fooled by it. Matt’s pleased with what I did.’

‘Pleased?’

‘Because it tells him where we’re going. I’ve separated the boys. Matt knows I’ve done that so we can influence Kash. So we can convince him into letting us attack O’Driscoll. So now Matt knows what he’s up against. He’ll be happy we’ve drawn the battle lines.’

Sarah watched with a smile as Draper was lost for words. It was not the first time she had seen Michael have that effect, but she enjoyed it more on someone who had been so instantly arrogant.

Michael’s approach was unorthodox. Sarah knew that. He was motivated far more by doing the right thing than he was by abiding by rules when they made that impossible. It was a risky way of working – one which had brought him close to the edge a number of times – but ultimately Michael could not live with himself if someone else paid the price for protecting his professional skin. That was why he was willing to stand up and protect the likes of Simon Kash from their own bad decisions. And it was why, Sarah knew, most lawyers struggled to work with him.

Draper will be no exception, Sarah thought. She’s a classic barrister. By the book. Which means the Michael Devlin way will not be a natural fit.