‘Oh.’ This took the wind out of Mia. She pulled out a seat at the small round meeting table and sat down. Sarah followed suit. ‘I thought we talked it through. I thought you were happy about taking it forward?’ She’d been expecting Sarah to tell her she was ready, not that she was backing out. ‘You know, if Mike is treating you badly and making you feel unhappy, you can’t sit back and not speak up.’

‘I know, it’s just …’ Sarah’s voice drifted away. ‘I really appreciate you supporting me and everything, but I spoke to my boyfriend last night and we agree it would be better not to rock the boat.’

‘Not to rock the boat?’ Mia stifled a short laugh as she leaned forward. ‘Sarah, Mike is bullying you,’ she urged. ‘I want to help, I really do, but I can’t do anything unless you’re prepared to take this further.’

‘I wouldn’t have said he was bullying me …’

Mia shifted uncomfortably on the chair. She didn’t like the way this was going. ‘But that is what you said,’ she smiled, her voice softening. ‘That’s what you told me. Bullying comes in many guises, and what you told me Mike was doing’ – she paused and cocked her head – ‘is definitely bullying.’

Sarah didn’t respond, though her lips parted into a small O.

‘You said he makes you feel undervalued when you speak,’ she tried. ‘You know you should be able to voice your opinions without him shouting them down.’

‘I know, I know, but …’ Sarah’s words trailed off into an incomplete sentence.

‘And he cuts you off when you’re talking in meetings?’

Sarah nodded, almost looking ashamed.

‘He doesn’t ask you to do anything, just leaves you orders on your desk. And you say he hasn’t given you any feedback since you started, and then gave you an “underperform” measure in your last appraisal?’ Mia reached over and took hold of Sarah’s arm. ‘This isn’t your fault,’ she went on, gently but firmly. ‘But if we let people like Mike get away with what they’re doing, they’ll never stop.’

Sarah nodded slowly.

She was right to use the word ‘we’, to make sure Sarah knew they were in this together. ‘He’ll carry on bullying other people too, and that’s not right, is it?’

‘It’s just that “bullying” seems such a strong word.’

‘Well, we can use another,’ Mia said, maybe a little too shortly before adding, ‘I’m here for you. I have your back. I totally think you can do this; and what’s more, I think you should.’ She was trying to strike the right balance. Because there was every chance Sarah was going to bail out.

‘Yes. I suppose you’re right, but I feel like he hasn’t been that bad—’