Harry wanted to talk about the new account. He wanted to run some ideas past her and see what Laura thought she could do on the tender. He suggested they have a drink at Le Bateau, a small wine bar off the cobbled path that led down to the quay. Laura asked for a lemonade, but Harry came back to the table with two glasses of Sancerre. She screwed up her nose at him, but took a sip anyway.

‘You can’t come to a place like this and not have wine,’ he said and leaned forward as he started talking business.

‘You sound like you want to impress Miles,’ Laura told him, fingering the stem of her wine glass. She got the impression Harry would do anything to make sure they didn’t lose this opportunity and wondered if there was more to it than simply money.

‘This is an important deal for me,’ he told her. ‘Miles is trusting me with a lot here; he doesn’t have to put all his money in one agency. And no, I’m not trying to impress him,’ he said. ‘Not in the way you think. Not like I owe him or anything. We just’ – he waved a hand in the air – ‘we do things for each other. You make mistakes …’ he trailed off. ‘Well, as I say, you do things like this.’

Laura nodded. She didn’t really understand what Harry meant, but she had seen him doing jobs before for so-called old mates.

‘There’s something else I need to tell you,’ he said.

Laura peered over the rim of her glass as she finished her wine.

‘Can I get you another?’ he asked as she placed it back on the table.

‘Definitely not, thanks. Go on, what do you need to tell me?’

‘I’ve had a complaint about Mike Lewis,’ he said, pausing briefly. ‘That he’s been bullying someone.’

‘Who?’

‘Sarah Clifton.’

‘The quiet woman? She works for him, doesn’t she?’

Harry nodded. ‘You haven’t heard anything about it then?’

‘No.’ Laura shook her head. ‘Not a thing. Why? Should I have?’

‘Apparently it’s the talk of the office,’ he said, looking at her steadily as if expecting her to admit she had known about it.

‘Harry, I promise you, I haven’t heard anything,’ she said. It didn’t pass her by that she was probably the only one who hadn’t heard the rumours. ‘If I had, I would have come to you.’

He paused before admitting, ‘Yeah, I know.’

‘So what’s she said Mike’s done?’ Laura asked.

‘Undermining her, making her feel worthless, speaking rudely to her,’ he listed. ‘I asked for examples, and that’s what I got back.’