‘Of course!’ I exclaimed. ‘Cameron’s sex has nothing to do with this. If it was a woman we were talking about, I wouldn’t want you to be unpleasant to her, but neither would I expect you to fawn over her and look up to her as if she was some kind of role model. It makes me think that you think what Cameron did was OK.’

‘It was OK.’

My jaw dropped. ‘You don’t mean that.’

‘Of course I bloody do. What is wrong with you, Edie?’ he asked, now sounding exasperated. ‘I’ve always thought that we were on the same page about all the important stuff. But you’ve lost me on this one,’ he said, looking at me with obvious disappointment as his face began to cool. ‘I’m sorry if you’re upset about what happened. Maybe you think Ruby left because of it – and maybe she did – maybe she would have changed her mind and stayed if this hadn’t all kicked off. But you’re letting your friendship with her get in the way here. Cameron is a good guy who, in my opinion, handled a difficult situation in the right way. And you know what, I do admire him for that, even if you don’t.’

I stared at him, seriously considering ending the conversation there and then, gathering up my things and going back to the office. But then, what was back there for me? I no longer related to any of my colleagues except Roger – and the only reason that he was still on my list of relatables was because I hadn’t actually discussed this particular topic with him yet.

My shoulders sagged at the thought and, dismissing the idea of storming out – which would, in any case, have required the summoning up of far more energy than I was at that point able to access – I instead closed my eyes and allowed my head to droop. ‘I can’t believe you’re standing up for him, Luke. Can’t you see how wrong that is?’ I asked weakly.

He didn’t reply and after a moment or two it crossed my mind that maybe he’d gone. But when I opened my eyes, he was still sitting there, the only difference being that he was now looking at me with obvious concern.

‘Edie, is everything OK?’ he asked gently. ‘Only you really don’t seem yourself right now.’