‘The chance to hit the ground running?’ said Duncan. I smiled pleadingly, trying to find that relentless kindness that normally undid any of his attempts to exert authority.

‘I’m running now, Duncan!’

‘We can all see that,’ he said coldly. My shirt was untucked from my waistband, my cheeks scarlet. I wanted to die. ‘As we agreed before the break, we’re spending this first morning reviewing our ongoing projects. Why don’t you take us through the state of play with the sites you’re overseeing?’

He was right, we’d all been told about this on our last day in the office, when he was full of praise and enthusiasm, even with me. Especially with me – I knew he’d been relieved by how more visibly stable I’d been. How had I totally failed to remember?

‘But I haven’t… I haven’t printed off any notes.’ I looked around at the flurry of documents splayed across the table: everyone else had meticulously prepared.

‘Well then we’ll just have to settle for broad brushstrokes,’ said this new, authoritarian version of Duncan that I barely recognized. Everyone turned to look at me as I made a stammering start.

‘Letchworth is…’ A flash of Mum’s face, the cold curl of her lips as she told me how determined she was to destroy my relationship with Amber. ‘Letchworth is progressing well now.’ My voice was swooping and diving. It was the other version of her I could see now, the cruel, ancient one. My hands were shaking, and I held one steady with the other under the table. ‘If everything goes according to plan, tenants should be able to start moving in in March. No – April.’

‘And how do the projected costs look against budget, considering there’s been a delay?’ asked Duncan.

‘Um, they’re quite steady.’

‘What do you mean by steady? Steady as in there’s already an overspend, but it’s not rising, or that the costs have been contained?’

This was like some kind of horrific courtroom cross-examination. My face got even redder, my eyes trained on the table.

‘Yes, there is an overspend…’ I trailed off. Sophie’s fury with me, a fury I’d never heard in my life, before the phone clicked to silence. When I managed to speak, the words felt thick in my throat. ‘But it’s not out of control.’

‘What does that even mean, in concrete terms?’ demanded Duncan.

‘I’d need…’ I took a gulp of air. ‘I’d really need my notes to be able to answer that accurately, Duncan. Can I go and print—’

‘No,’ he said, cutting across me. ‘We don’t have time to wait for you. You’ll have to report to me individually later today.’

‘It’ll only take two minutes,’ I begged.

‘You’re done, Rachel,’ said Duncan, already looking to Jim, who worked in procurement, and was practically straining out of his seat with readiness.