He raised his eyebrows, peering up as he fussed with a stack of papers on his desk.

‘Actually I wanted to update you on the issue with Mike Lewis,’ Mia said boldly. In truth, she had little to update him on. The previous Friday night Mia had sounded out some of the other women in the office, none of whom had had many positive encounters with Mike, but neither did they feel either harassed or undermined by him. At least not enough to join in the formal complaint that she was hoping for.

Mia had even broached the subject that she had found out Patrick Carter had taken some male clients to a strip club in Southampton, which had stirred more interest among the women.

And then one of them told her she begrudged the fact she’d been bypassed for a promotion because she didn’t want to work more than three days a week.

These were all things Mia was hoping to use.

‘Actually, Sarah Clifton has left the company,’ Harry told her.

‘Yes, I did hear. She’s gone very suddenly.’

Harry shrugged, as if it was no big deal. ‘She handed in her notice last week – we agreed she didn’t need to work it out.’

‘Oh.’ Mia’s mouth hung open in a wide O. It was Sarah’s decision. She must have given up, and now here was Mia looking stupid, unaware, left to pick up the pieces.

Her fingers reached for the desk in front of her and curled around its edge. She felt the anger beginning to rise within her, which to Harry – and most likely anyone else in the office – would appear irrational.

‘But this doesn’t mean you’re just going to drop the complaint,’ Mia went on, tightening her grip on the polished oak between her fingers.

‘Well, of course I’m still looking into it.’ He waved a hand in the air, brushing off her concerns.

Mia could hear her sister’s voice as if she were standing next to her. ‘Forget it, Sis, this isn’t your battle.’

No. Maybe it wasn’t her battle. Maybe none of it was, but time had made them into two very different sisters by now, and Mia wasn’t going to stand by and refuse to fight.

She was angry with Sarah for giving up, but she was also angry with Harry for turning his back on her as he rifled through the drawers that sat behind his desk, and it took every ounce of determination not to thump her hands down and yell at him not to ignore her.

From the corner of her eye, Mia caught sight of Laura shuffling into the chair at her desk, booting up her computer, and she wondered whether she should be more worried about what Laura was up to than about confronting Harry.