In a bizarre way—after moaning that she was never at home—Jake had been glad to have the house to himself. He needed to clear his head and do some serious thinking about where his future lay. The opinion was starting in his fuddled cranium that great sex did not necessarily make for a fulfilling relationship. Jake cursed himself. Maybe it was a bit late in the day to be discovering cornflakes-box philosophy. Besides, his problems weren’t just confined to his personal life—from the look of things his professional prospects weren’t shaping up too great at the moment either. Jake checked there was no one in earshot—you could never be too careful in this place these days. ‘I think Alec is trying to get rid of me,’ he confided.

Pip rubbed his chin shiftily.

‘Oh bollocks, man!’ Jake thumped his desk with his fist. Heads turned. He lowered his voice. ‘You knew that too.’

‘There are always rumours,’ his friend said.

‘And what else do the water-cooler gang say?’

‘It’s never pretty, is it,’ Pip reasoned. ‘You shouldn’t take any notice of office gossip.’

‘I haven’t heard any of it!’ Jake admitted. Which was alarming because he’d always thought he had his finger on the pulse. It could only be because all of the office gossip was about him. ‘What shall I do, mate?’ He lowered his voice further. ‘I feel like I’m drowning. I need help.’

Pip sighed. ‘I’m a friend, aren’t I?’

‘Yes,’ Jake said. ‘The only one in this bloody place.’

‘Then remember this is coming from a friend.’

Jake felt himself go cold even though the air-conditioning wasn’t blasting out like normal.

‘You’ve dug yourself a very big hole by getting involved with Neve,’ Pip said flatly.

This wasn’t what he wanted to hear, despite the fact that he was rapidly coming to the same conclusion. ‘How do I start to get out of it?’

‘It’s going to take one hell of a big shovel.’

‘Do you think Alec knows about me and Neve?’

Pip chose his words carefully. ‘I think it’s a forgone conclusion.’

‘Damn! I think I need to go in to see him,’ Jake said. ‘Get things straight.’ He had to confront this head on. If he just let bad feelings fester between him and Alec, things would only get worse. This was a nightmare and he hadn’t realised how much of a support Lyssa had been when it came to the tricky politics of business. She always listened to him, offered sensible advice and generally propped him up when he needed it. His stomach twisted slightly at the thought of her. It hadn’t all been about babies and sperm samples.

‘What are you planning to say to Alec?’ Pip spoke into his thoughts.