Mike glanced at her and then looked down at his hands. ‘I worry about you. You haven’t been my smart, witty friend for months now, and I miss her. I hate to see the bad guys win out. You did the right thing by leaving, but I just wish you knew how clever and capable you are.’

Ellie looked up at him, surprised by the serious tone in his voice.

‘They treated you badly,’ he added. ‘What happened was not your fault.’ He took a mouthful of food and held his fork in the air. ‘So what’s stopping you from applying for jobs at other companies?’

Ellie laughed, but she heard the hard edge to it. ‘And get sabotaged again?’

‘Listen to yourself, Ellie! My old friend would be giving them the finger and moving on to bigger and better things!’ Mike flung his arms wide, almost knocking over his cocktail glass and Ellie’s with it.

‘Like what?’

‘You can do anything you put your mind to. Do your own thing, if you like. C’mon, Ms Estelle Conlan, move on,’ said Mike. ‘Drink up, let’s order another, and some crab croquettes.’

Ellie felt her eyes start to sting with tears. ‘You’re such a good friend, Mike.’

He lifted his cocktail glass in a toast. ‘Here’s to you, Ellie. Welcome back to the real world.’

As the waiter put down the plate of crispy warm croquettes and bowls of mussels with their fresh drinks, the two were deep in conversation. Talking about ideas and plans was one of the things they both enjoyed. Ellie liked the way Mike was a futuristic thinker who cared about the environment, about shared information, freedom of the press, and always thought about others. And best of all, he could make her laugh and distract her from thinking about the troubles of the last few months.

*

They paid the bill and left the café, wandering down the bustling street that was filled with the aromatic drift of cooking food and the sounds of music, laughter and a rattling tram stopping nearby. They strolled past couples arm in arm, a man wheeling his bicycle, a woman walking her dog. The rain had stopped, but everything was still glistening wet.

‘So when you get back from Storm Harbour, let’s do this again,’ said Mike.

‘I’ll look forward to it.’ Ellie realised that she actually was looking forward to seeing him again. It was the first time since leaving her job that she’d felt a spark of happiness.

Two blocks from her small apartment building, before Mike cut through to his street via a neighbourhood park, he bent down and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. ‘Enjoy spending time with your grandad. Wish I still had mine around.’

Then he waved and she stood and watched as he strode briskly away along the quiet street.