‘A promotion? Congrats, Jack never said.’ Seriously, she’d have to have a word with her husband. It would be nice to know these things so that she didn’t look a complete twat when she spoke to his colleagues. ‘I wish Jack didn’t have to travel so much. He’s already been to Vegas several times this year and has to go back next month.’ She laughed. ‘He keeps asking me to come with him, but it holds no allure for me, I’m afraid. Now, Hong Kong,’ she added, ‘I’d have gone there all right.’

‘Vegas,’ Stuart said, a puzzled line appearing between his eyes. ‘I didn’t realise we had business there.’ He shook his head. ‘We work in the same building, but we might as well work in separate cities. Since my return, I’ve been so busy between the promotion and moving to a new house that I’ve had no time to catch up with what’s happening with everyone. Travelling as much as I did was quite isolating, it’ll be good to be settled.’

Molly felt a twinge of pity for the man as she recognised the hint of longing in his eyes; he was lonely. Perhaps she could fix him up with one of her friends. She rested a hand on his arm and leaned closer. ‘You know what you need, Stuart,’ she said, and was about to suggest introducing him to one of her single girlfriends when a commotion on the far side of the room claimed her attention. ‘Oh dear, I’d better go and see what’s up,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘I’ll catch up with you later, okay?’

The commotion was nothing more than a dropped glass and spilt wine, but there’d been enough alcohol consumed at this stage to turn a minor incident into a tragedy. Brenda, one of her work colleagues, flushed with embarrassment and alcohol, muttered, ‘I’m so sorry,’ and dabbed uselessly at the small puddle of wine with a scrap of tissue.

‘It’s fine, don’t worry about it,’ Molly insisted, manoeuvring her out of the way, trying to stop another guest, whose name she couldn’t remember, from picking up the pieces of shattered glass with his fingers. ‘It’s okay,’ she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. ‘Please, if everyone would move back, it’ll be sorted in a jiffy.

Her words, cajoling but firm, did the job. Guests moved and were soon engrossed in conversation.

Left to clean up the mess, Molly fetched a paper towel, dustpan and brush. The glass had flown across a corner of the room. She had to stretch under a low coffee table to brush some out, banging her head as she did so, swearing softly under her breath.

‘I heard that.’