‘Not outside of this office, no,’ he murmured absently, staring intently at a document onscreen. ‘But why not ask your professor cousin? Bet he knows loads of saddos at the uni who’d just love to go.’

‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ I exclaimed, brightening at the thought of a possible out from an evening of sitting through a penny whistle version of Like a Virgin. ‘Giles is always saying what a complete bunch of weirdos his colleagues are.’

Luke didn’t reply, being now too engrossed in work to look up. But I was pretty sure I heard a quiet laugh from Cameron’s end of the office, and that, combined with the prospect of not having to go to Bill’s gig after all, made it by far my best start to the working day in a very long time.

Chapter 25

The next few weeks progressed, if not brilliantly, then at least without disaster, which in the context of my recent past actually felt like a win. Workwise, it was a highly productive time and, in terms of personal relationships, my good-mornings and good-nights to Cameron became daily less self-conscious, as did all our admittedly brief interactions in between.

This upturn in workplace productivity and relations had the very welcome side effect of edging almost everything to do with Ruby from my thoughts. Just occasionally, I had a nagging doubt that ignoring my outstanding issues with her might not perhaps be the healthiest of approaches. But as a highly distressing read-through of her texts to Jason had freed me from any obligation to sit through her version of events, simply refusing to think about her remained an attractive and effective option.

Of course, the flaw in my approach to the situation was that it was entirely unilateral, as a text that I received while at work one mid-September morning made abundantly clear. In it, Ruby apologised for being out of touch, ‘due to shadowing Vincent’ (whether this was with or without his knowledge and a pair of binoculars wasn’t clear), and then announced that she would be making ‘a surprise visit to Bristol very soon’.

It was a text that left me staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at my phone, as I wondered exactly when the unspecified visit might take place. Next week? Tomorrow? That afternoon? The uncertainty sent my anxiety levels through the roof and, from that moment on, Ruby monopolised my thoughts, her spectre looming larger than it had at any time since I had read her disturbing correspondence with Jason.

Not surprisingly, by midday I was a bit of a wreck, my focus being constantly interrupted by imagined conversations with Ruby, all of which concluded with me wearing a glass of red wine.

But just as I was contemplating a lonely, Ruby-obsessed lunch at my desk, rescue came in the completely unexpected form of Cameron.