‘That’s him,’ I said, interested in what she might have had to say. ‘Was she positive or negative in her assessment?’

‘Negative,’ he said. ‘Very. But she was ranting at me for messaging you at the time, so he might have just got caught up in the all-men-are-shits storm.’

‘No,’ I said, ‘she really doesn’t like him.’

‘Because…?’

‘I have been told that he resisted her charms.’

‘Ah,’ he said, nodding slowly. ‘Well, tell him from me, to watch his back.’

I considered explaining that it was actually a bit too late for that. But, for whatever reason, telling Jason anything more about Cameron felt like a betrayal of a colleague whom I had already let down quite enough.

‘I’m going to have to talk to her, of course,’ I said instead.

Concern and something akin to fear flickered across his face. ‘Wow,’ was all he said.

‘What?’

‘Well, I just think you’d have to have a bloody good reason to put yourself through that.’

‘I do, don’t I?’

‘To check whether I’m telling the truth?’

I shrugged. ‘Leopard, spots and all that.’

He attempted a smile, but I knew that he was hurt and I regretted the faux-flippant reply as soon as it was out.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘That was unnecessary. I just mean that I have to be sure of the facts, and that would be the case no matter who was involved.’

He picked up his mug and saluted me with it. ‘It’s fine. You’re right to be sceptical and I accept your scepticism completely. When you’ve told as many lies as I have, it’d be unreasonable to expect anything else. But if it’s of any comfort, I lied to myself at least as much as I lied to you – so much so that I can barely recognise my own truth anymore.’

‘That’s of zero comfort to me, Jason,’ I sighed.

‘I know, I know…’ he said, running a hand through his hair. ‘And I wish to God I could stop saying stuff like that out loud all the time. I drone on and on to anyone who’ll listen about re-educating my drive and not turning my anger inward and reconnecting with my sense of self. I’m just so therapied-up, Edie, I can’t help it. It’s as if I have to constantly remind myself and everybody else of what I am and where I’m at.’