Jake looked down at his feet, like a spoilt child being reprimanded by their parent. He hadn’t thought of that. It was true, though, and now it was time to meet him and find out. They had taken Mr Mathers’ word about Ashley. They should at least know their staff.

The door of the men’s club was open, as there were delivery drivers dropping off new furniture for the club. Tony froze; he could hear Sharon laughing. Why on earth had he come unannounced? What if Sharon was having an affair with this guy? What were they going to find when they went in? Tony wished he had telephoned ahead, to warn her.

Jake stormed ahead of him and followed the chatter and the laughter; he was ready for an argument. In his mind, he could see Sharon all over this guy, doing whatever. He stopped short at the door to one of the lounges. Surveying the scene before him, he gave a weak smile.

Tony was hot on his heels; if he had seen something wrong, Jake would have been going crazy by now, so why the sudden silence?

Sharon, Mr Mathers, and a couple of women, obviously the cleaners, were sitting having a pot of tea.

Sharon looked up at Jake. Although surprised to see him, she beamed at him.

‘Jake, love, what are you doing here? Hi, Tony.’ She stood up and walked towards Jake and kissed his cheek. ‘Why didn’t you say you were coming? Do you want some tea?’ She was being loving and friendly, the same as always.

Tony looked on and took a breath, trying to assess the situation. He felt the need to assert his authority, so he walked up to Mr Mathers, who stood up to greet him, and shook his hand. ‘How is everything going Mr Mathers? Everything running to schedule?’ He knew that was a stupid question, because this guy was like an army major.

Mr Mathers offered Tony his seat and stood to the side of it. ‘If I may be so bold, Mr Lambrianu, a gentleman always wears a silk handkerchief in his breast pocket, and carries a linen one for personal use. I will show you around, if you would be so kind as to follow me.’ He started towards the door.

Yet again, Tony felt like a schoolboy and blushed at Mr Mathers’ reprimand. He would have to take more care, next time, when getting dressed.

Each room had been redecorated, and smelt fresh and clean. The new wooden coffee tables by the side of the replacement Chesterfield suites made the place look exactly the same, just updated. The kitchen area, and its huge ovens surrounded by stainless steel worktops, looked amazing. They had already hired a good chef to run it. Tony had been to see the chef at the Italian restaurant he frequented and asked if he could recommend someone.

The bar was fully stocked, and the upstairs bedrooms had been refurbished and redecorated. Everything looked spick and span. Mr Mathers had suggested a log burner fire, which he felt would give the place a warmer, friendlier feel, but the insurance for that had been silly. They had compromised and got one that looked real, but was, in fact, electric. It sat in the white marble fireplace and gave off the same cosy glow. Jake hadn’t understood why he wanted a fire, because the whole place had central heating, but Tony had gone along with Mr Mathers’ suggestions.