‘Yes, to my surprise, it was.’ She shrugged. ‘I’ve come away with lots of plans, few of which will be instigated.’

‘That’s always the way: we’re sent on these wonderful box-ticking courses and that’s as far as it goes!’ Allison took a large mouthful of her wine.

‘Always the way,’ Jo agreed. ‘How was your morning?’

‘Busy!’

Allison was going to launch into a description of her morning but stopped when she saw the waiter approach with their lunch. A few minutes later, she took up the thread of the conversation again. ‘I needed to get into work early this morning to get everything done before taking the afternoon off—’

‘You’re not going back to work after lunch?’

‘No, we’re three months married today so we’re going to celebrate.’ She twirled her fork in the air. ‘I’ve warned Peter to leave the office on time for a change. Five on the dot. Then, he should be in Charing Cross station at ten past, and home by six. He’ll have time to shower and change and get into relaxation mode before we head out.’ She grinned. ‘It’s taken me the full three months to get him trained!’

‘Lucky you, I’m still struggling with Ethan. Three months married, how lovely – so you’re still in the honeymoon phase.’

Honeymoon phase? Allison kept a vacuous smile pinned in place as she tried to think of a suitable reply. ‘I don’t think we’ll ever leave that.’ A little nauseating but it appeared to be the correct reply if Jo’s expression was anything to go by.

‘Have you known each other long?’

Allison laughed and then, because why not, she told Jo about meeting Peter and how quickly they’d decided to spend the rest of their lives together. With the slant she put on it, it sounded quite romantic.

‘He sounds lovely,’ Jo said.

‘Yes, he is.’

The conversation slowed. When they had to resort to talking about the quality of the Caesar salad they were eating, Allison decided what they had in common was superficial; there was no real rapport. Searching for an acceptable topic, she told Jo about a problem she’d had earlier in the week with a junior member of staff. ‘Hazel came into my office and sat for almost an hour, professing to being confused about the company’s policy on inclusivity; it isn’t that complicated.’

‘Hmmm.’ Jo’s eyes narrowed in thought. ‘She’s new, you said?’

‘Yes, a little over a month.’

‘I bet, if you ask the other senior accountants, you’ll find she’s been to each with a similar problem. She’s sizing you all up.’