Eric leaned forward and rubbed her shoulder. ‘You ain’t on your own, Zara. I’ll help. I can drive you to a meeting tomorrow, if you’d like me to.’

Unexpectedly, Zara’s eyes filled up and two large tears cascaded down her cheeks. She hastily brushed them away and tried to push herself out of the chair.

Eric quickly assisted, by sliding his arm under hers. ‘Hey, Zara, what’s the matter, babe?’

His gentle words almost had her blubbering. ‘Oh, I’m so worried about Neil. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him.’ As soon as she said that, she felt his grip tighten.

‘I didn’t know you and Neil were so close.’

‘Yes, very close, actually. We worked together for five years. He was always popping in to see I was okay. The Lanigans were good to me, you know.’ Her mind preoccupied, the severe look on his face escaped her, but she sensed his prickly tone.

‘How good were they, Zara?’

Not realizing there was a dark undercurrent to his voice, however, she just smiled sweetly and replied, ‘Like family, really. It was such a bonus when you have no one.’

She excused herself to use the cloakroom. Once behind the closed door, she allowed the tears to fall for many reasons. With Neil now fighting for his life and that niggling doubt that she couldn’t compete with a younger woman, a multitude of emotions swept through her mind. But the worst of them was that she didn’t feel a complete woman. She sat on the toilet seat and tried desperately hard not to allow herself to sob. She had to pull herself together; this was a homecoming for Mike, Ricky, and the boys, and, more than that, she had to hold her head up and show she was still a woman in control. Her weakness and vulnerability must not show through. She had to demonstrate she was the same person who could lead a firm – her firm.

After splashing some water on her face, she left and walked back into the garden. The lights had come on. She spotted Mike with his back to her; he was engaged in conversation with Jennifer, the leggy blonde, and Eric was with them.

As Eric clocked her standing there, he quickly nudged Mike. Right away, Zara felt as though Eric was giving Mike the heads-up that she was watching. Instead of joining their company, she turned around and looked for Gloria. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits and chitchatting. For Zara, it was a stark reminder that apart from Mike’s family, she had no one. Pull yourself together, Zara, she thought.

Pouring herself a drink, she felt a presence behind her and hoped it was Mike, but, as she craned her neck, it was Eric. ‘Are you okay, babe?’ he whispered.

She nodded and glanced back at Mike, to find him heading her way.