Wouldn’t it be better to know what Mia is doing rather than remain in the dark? she thought. If she were in the meeting too, at least she’d be able to see it all play out.

‘Is it okay if I stay?’ Laura asked, without giving the idea further thought.

Mia’s mouth hung open before she said quickly, ‘Yes. Yes, of course.’ A smile fixed firmly on her face.

‘If that’s okay with everyone?’ Laura went on, hoping her heart couldn’t be heard as it banged against the wall of her chest.

‘You’re welcome to stay, Laura,’ Tess smiled. ‘And I’m sorry I never called you, I was only back in the office today.’

‘No problem,’ she smiled, pulling out a chair as she caught Mia’s head ping up and look across at her.

‘So I’m really excited to be sharing these ideas with you,’ Mia said as she passed around handouts. ‘I’m sorry I don’t have enough copies, Laura.’

‘That’s fine,’ Laura replied as breezily as she could muster, as she shuffled closer to Bryony so that she could share hers, then waited for Mia to hold up the first creative. She wondered what the Coopers team was going to think of the ideas. She’d sat in front of so many clients in her time and knew every one of their reactions and what they were really thinking. She knew when they didn’t like what they were being shown, or didn’t agree with the concept she had decided upon, even when they tried to cover it up. Mostly it took a while for the ideas to sink in, and the good marketeers would eventually see what Laura was suggesting and, even if they didn’t wholly agree, they could reach a compromise.

Today heads were nodding and although experience told Laura this was nothing to go on, her stomach still twisted itself into knots.

Mia hadn’t once looked in her direction, her focus solely on the clients, as well she supposed it should be, but still Laura was beginning to feel like a spare part. Casually she beckoned to the handout in front of Bryony, gesturing for a closer look. Bryony nodded and pushed it towards her.

She smiled her thanks and flicked through the pack, zoning in on the budgets at the back. As she ran her finger down the numbers, Laura suddenly paused, turned back the sheet and looked through them again.

When she looked up, the room had descended into silence. Laura glanced round the table as everyone gathered their thoughts, waiting for one of them to start the conversation. She knew how awkward this moment was for Mia. She had been through it enough times herself, but she ignored the silence as she turned back to the pack, just to double-check there definitely was a mistake.