Nate handed her a glass of wine as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

‘Thank you.’

‘You look like you need it,’ he said. ‘I haven’t had a chance to think of tea, with Bobby not getting off to sleep.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that. Let’s get a takeaway,’ she suggested, following him into the living room, where she sank onto the sofa and stretched out her legs. ‘I’m so done in.’ Laura closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

‘How was it today?’ he asked. When she looked up, he was flicking through his phone. ‘What do you fancy? Pizza?’

‘Anything. I spoke to Harry today,’ she added.

‘Oh?’ He passed her his phone. ‘Do you want to choose what you want, first?’

Laura sucked in a breath as she took the phone. Nate’s mind was clearly on food as he peered over her shoulder, waiting for her to select from the menu. She quickly pointed to the twelve-inch vegetarian pizza she chose every time, then passed the phone back to him and waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to make his choice and place the order.

All the time she sipped at her wine, studying her husband, and when he eventually put his phone down and asked how it went, she couldn’t actually be bothered to tell him.

Laura shrugged.

‘Did you say anything about Mia’s mistake?’ he asked.

‘Of course.’

‘So what did he say?’

‘Mia had already told him,’ Laura said, blankly. ‘Harry didn’t seem to think it was a big deal.’

Nate nodded, stretching his legs out next to hers.

‘He keeps telling me about this new client, Miles Morgan. Apparently there’s a meeting with him next week, but I don’t know, Nate,’ she went on. ‘I don’t know if Harry’s simply telling me what I want to hear.’

‘Maybe you need to see what happens with this Miles guy?’

‘I will, but that’s not the point, is it? The fact is Mia’s still there, lording it around the office, and I’m having to hover about, waiting to see if something comes from a mate of Harry’s. She’s got away with that bloody mistake – that’s what so infuriating. She’s working everyone in the office, and they’re all falling for it.’

‘I don’t get why you have it in for Mia,’ he said.

Laura’s head snapped round to look at him. ‘Are you kidding?’

‘Surely it’s Harry you should be pissed off with. He’s the one who’s made this decision, not Mia.’

‘Haven’t you been listening to me, Nate? I told you from the start, there’s something about her – she’s not the same person who came for the interview.’

Nate gave a short laugh that he turned into a cough.