I was truthful to Mike when I said Albie and I have been more like pen pals than anything more sordid, but I wonder if Albie has seen things a little differently. What’s passed between us has been in the looks, the daily chats and the frequent messaging, all containing a flirtation that needs to go. I had wondered how to play this one and what to say to draw a line under everything so that some distance can be placed back between us. But how can you break up with someone you aren’t even in a relationship with? That seems a bit dramatic and unnecessary. My other approach, the one I’ve favoured, is to just ignore him and let things cool off naturally. To be civil at work (after all, he hasn’t done anything wrong, really) but to ignore any messages that come beyond that. Seeing as we work together and need to talk in order to get our jobs done, maybe it’s more about me reinstating the boundaries that I shouldn’t have dropped in the first place. He’ll soon get the picture.

‘Are we good?’ he asks, demanding my attention by sitting on my desk and almost placing himself in front of me.

‘Huh?’ I ask, the ‘we’ throwing me off as well as the fact he’s pulling me up on this so quickly after getting back. I wasn’t prepared for this. Suddenly wrapping up what we started and putting it to bed makes me feel even more stupid that I allowed it to begin in the first place.

‘Have I upset you?’ he prods further.

‘All right, guys?’ asks Dan from online as he walks by.

‘Hi mate!’ Albie says, his voice booming back.

I mutter something inaudible, wondering when this little chat will be over.

‘You seem really off with me, Zaza. What’s up?’ he asks, as he leans in closer, forcing me to look away.

‘It’s just –’ I falter, unsure what to say to him.

‘So I have done something?’ he asks, surprise in his voice.

‘It’s nothing you’ve done,’ I say, turning to him with a sympathetic smile.

‘It’s not me, it’s you? Are you actually going to say that?’ he laughs, his hand covering his face as he shakes his head.

‘I’m getting married,’ I say, a tiny bit more forcibly than I’d intended. ‘I found someone I love and admire, and I want to make our lives together as nonsense-free as possible.’

‘Am I the nonsense?’ he asks, his eyebrows shooting up.

‘Not necessarily,’ I say, looking down at my hands and the ring Liam lovingly placed on my finger when he proposed. ‘I just want to be the best version of me. That’s what Liam deserves.’

‘I get it,’ he nods, rubbing the back of his head. ‘I’ve actually been on some dates with this girl anyway. Good ones too.’