Vijay gave Rhys a withering look. ‘This muppet wanted to call it Avocado.’

Rhys lifted his chin. ‘I happen to like avocados.’

This remark led to a bickering session about whose proposed name was the stupidest. It made Anna smile because, for all the edgy staff and high-tech office equipment, these were still the same two fellow geeks of Spencer’s who’d planned to start a company sitting around her dining table, surrounded by boxes of meat feast and stuffed crust pepperoni pizzas.

‘So, what are you up to next?’ she asked, mostly to distract them.

Vijay turned to her. ‘More interestingly, what are you doing now?’

‘Me?’ Anna looked between the two men.

Rhys nodded. ‘We like your idea. We think it might have legs – especially if we can forge links with a charity or nonprofit organization that supports people who are grieving. Early days yet, but we’re putting out feelers, seeing if there’s interest, that kind of thing.’

Anna beamed at him. ‘Oh, I’m so pleased you want to do something with it. Having someone to talk to really kind of saved my life, or at the very least, set it on a healthier track.’

‘Good,’ Vijay said. ‘And we’re glad to see you doing so well, but I wasn’t kidding when I asked what you were doing now. Where are you working?’

‘Oh,’ Anna said, a little taken aback, but she filled them in on Sundridge Plumbing and Heating, the joys of invoices for taps and bits of piping she still didn’t know how to identify. ‘I think I’m ready to move on, though,’ she added.

‘Yes, do,’ Vijay said. ‘Ditch it.’

Rhys rolled his eyes. ‘I thought you said we were going to take this softly-softly.’

‘Ditch what?’ Anna asked.

‘Ditch that job and come and work with us again,’ Vijay said, and he didn’t seem to be joking in the slightest.

Anna looked at the surrounding offices through the glass wall of the one she was in. It was no longer the three-person operation it was when she’d been involved. ‘I know you asked me to stay on after Spencer died, but you’re bigger now! I would have no idea how to manage the bookkeeping for this size of operation.’

‘Forget bookkeeping!’ said Vijay, cutting in. ‘You have Spencer’s shares. Technically, you’re a partner. Come on board doing something else.’ He pulled a disbelieving face and added, ‘You can manage the office if that’s really your bag.’

Anna looked once again at the team of bright young things buzzing around the open-plan space outside the meeting room. ‘Don’t you have someone to do that?’

Rhys saw where Anna was looking and waved a dismissive arm in the colourful crowd’s general direction. ‘Yeah, but they’re creative types, and they’re like we were when we started – young and stupid. They think everything we say is gold dust.’

‘They would’ve loved the name Avocado,’ Vijay said drily.

Rhys ignored him. ‘What I’m saying is that we need someone around who’ll tell us we need a “does what it says on the tin” name for a time management app. Someone like you, Anna.’