If she means did running away from my problems solve them, then no, it didn’t help, not at all. I’ve realised now that you can’t run away from problems; you simply swap one set of difficult circumstances for another. ‘Yes,’ I say. ‘It helped.’

‘Good.’ She looks immensely relieved.

Charlotte returns with my coffee, which I sip gratefully, enjoying the fact that the scalding liquid at least makes me experience some sort of sensation.

‘Did you decide?’ Charlotte asks eagerly. ‘Which mag are you going to plump for?’

‘I don’t mind,’ I say. ‘I’ll fit in with whatever works best for the company.’

They exchange a worried glance.

‘No, really,’ I say. ‘I don’t mind. I’ll slot back in here or I’ll move my arse over there.’ I point to a desk in the My Divorce section of the office and shrug.

Monica frowns. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind?’

‘No.’ I try a smile. ‘I’m just happy to be back.’ What I really mean is that I don’t give a toss about either and I know that I need to get out of here as soon as humanly possible.

They both come behind me and give a group hug. ‘It’s fantastic to see you back,’ they say in unison.

I only wish that I could say the same thing.

Chapter seventy-one

Chapter seventy-one

‘Come to do Jake’s dirty work?’ I say to Pip as he meets me just outside the door to my office block at lunchtime.

‘Yes,’ Pip says and gives me a sheepish glance.

‘Thought so.’

Pip is leaning on a low brick wall by the steps to the building. He’s wearing an exquisitely tailored, black, mob boss overcoat and a charcoal-grey suit with a frilled, pink shirt that makes him look like a macho, thug fop. And, despite his individualistic dress sense, I realise that I’ve missed Pip rather more than I’d like to admit to. It was great to get his phone call this morning on my first day back—and not simply because it broke up the endless stretch of boredom that loomed before lunch and meant I could escape for some brief respite.

He comes and puts his arms round me, giving me a brotherly squeeze. ‘You look absolutely fantastic.’

‘Thanks.’ I feel myself blush slightly under his scrutiny. I link my arm in his, and we start to make our way back over the footbridge to the Embankment.

‘Shall we eat?’

‘No,’ I say. ‘Unless you’re hungry?’

‘Not particularly,’ Pip says.

‘Let’s just walk then.’ I glance towards him. ‘I take it there are “things” you want to say to me.’

‘More than you can imagine,’ Pip admits with an uneasy laugh.