She wanted to grab it and throw it across the room. Worryingly, she wanted to grab him and throw him across the room. The thought made her smile briefly. She didn’t know herself these days. Finishing her coffee, she waved a hand for the waiter and this time ordered a double espresso. It came as Stuart finished the last of his sandwich. Adding a few grains of sugar to her coffee, she stirred it before saying quietly, ‘Tell me.’

He pushed his plate away. Picking up his coffee, he took a sip and put it down before he met her eyes. ‘Jack couldn’t have told me about your accident, Molly. He hasn’t been in the office in over a week.’

She choked on her coffee, coughing and spluttering, her hand going automatically to hold her ribs. It was a few seconds before she was in control. Ignoring the eyes that had swivelled to stare, she took out a tissue, wiped her eyes, held her arm tightly against her ribs and gave another cough. ‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘what do you mean he hasn’t been in the office? He goes every morning.’

Stuart shook his head. ‘I don’t know where he’s going but it’s not into work. He was suspended.’ He wiped a hand over his mouth, brushing away crumbs. ‘The details are being kept hush-hush, but it has to be something pretty serious. The company doesn’t suspend willy-nilly, it’s bad for morale and makes investors nervous.’

A wave of dizziness swept over Molly, forcing her to shut her eyes. The coffee churned in her stomach and, for one awful second, she was afraid she was going to eject the lot.

‘Bloody hell,’ Stuart squealed, seeing her colour drain away. ‘Don’t faint on me!’

She dropped her head into her hands and took some deep breaths.

After a few minutes, when the churning had stopped and the dizziness eased, she lifted her head, reached for a serviette and wiped her face. She stared across the table with dislike. ‘God forbid, I should embarrass you, Stuart. Now tell me the rest.’

‘That’s it,’ he said.

He was lying. It was obvious in the shifty way he wouldn’t meet her eyes. She wasn’t in the mood to be polite. ‘Don’t lie,’ she said bluntly and watched as he pretended to look outraged. ‘You may as well tell me. If you don’t, I’m going into the office. I’ll ask to speak to the CEO, tell him what you’ve told me, and ask him to elaborate.’

His mouth turned down when he saw she was deadly serious. ‘I should never have contacted you,’ he muttered. ‘I should have minded my own business.’