‘You’re wrong in that regard too. I mean, no, of course, you don’t need to take pictures of your food. But a big part of curating and improving your personal brand is by lifting up others,’ she countered. ‘It’s a shame you didn’t grab your handle years ago, though. Kim Kardashian doesn’t need to put a number after hers.’

Ward snorted. ‘The very last person I want to emulate.’

‘What? You have a problem with being a billionaire adored by millions?’ she chuckled. ‘David Beckham then?’ He rolled his eyes and Hannah warmed even more to her theme. ‘OK, maybe Travis Kelce more your style … actually, we could even try to set you up with a pop princess … ’

He shot her one of his famed daggers looks and she burst out laughing. ‘Nope, lunch I can give you, but my personal life is off-limits.’

His voice was light yet she knew he wasn’t kidding. ‘Regardless, once we get you verified, everyone will know it’s you.’

‘Verified,’ he repeated eyerolling. ‘As if some blue tick suddenly makes me a worthy person. Do intelligent grown-ups honestly buy into this crap?’

‘Absolutely!’ Hannah laid the phone back down on the table between them and he stared at the shiny device as if already itching to pick it back up.

‘Holy Hell,’ he muttered. ‘Talk about the kids’ table, I can’t believe I’ve joined a bunch of babies reliant on a tech soother.’ She didn’t reply – her gaze fixed on reply notifications already coming in on her own phone and Ward snickered. ‘Case in point. You know, I’m actually insulted now. So much for my ladykiller charm … ’ Before she could respond, his device duly lit up and dinged with multiple notifications. ‘What the … ?’

Reaching out, she snagged it off the table. ‘Whoops, sorry about that. Let me just … ’ She tapped on the screen and nodded, then passed the phone back to him. ‘All good. Just switched off your screen alerts. That gets old very fast.’

Brow furrowed, he again looked down. ‘What the hell just happened, Hannah? How do I already have … five hundred followers … six … eight … it just keeps growing. You set this thing up like two seconds ago. Who are these idiots?’

Hannah guffawed. He truly was a different breed. ‘They’re not idiots, they’re interested – lucky for you. Analogue news alert, Ward – this is my job.’ She chuckled. ‘ESPN just tagged you. So did the Bleacher Report. And any moment now, TMZ is about to pass comment on your choice of lunch venue … ’

As if to illustrate what she’d just said, the guy who’d seated them at their table on arrival called out from behind the counter.