There was never any question that Cameron and I would be able to discuss Alison’s proposal during office hours. An open-plan office and no time for a lunch away from my board made that impossible. So despite my eagerness to share my thoughts and to hear his, I waited patiently for the end of the working day – and for Alison, Roger and Luke to say goodnight – before packing up my things and making my way to Cameron’s desk.

‘Still busy?’ I asked, as he pored over multiple drawings.

He looked up. ‘I am.’

‘Will you be long? I was wondering if you fancied discussing Alison’s offer over a drink? It’s all a bit of a bolt from the blue, isn’t it? I mean, it’s an exciting bolt, but a bolt nevertheless.’

He leaned back in his chair. ‘I’ve got to think it all through,’ he said quietly.

‘Of course.’

I waited for him to go on, but he said nothing more.

‘Oh, I see,’ I said, after a moment. ‘You mean that you want to think it through before discussing it with me.’

He nodded. ‘I don’t think I’d make much sense if I tried to talk it through with you right now. I may need to talk to Alison again too,’ he added after a slight pause.

‘One-to-one?’ I asked.

He shifted in his chair. ‘There’s a lot for us to consider,’ he replied, shamelessly dodging the question.

I pursed my lips, resentful that in the space of less than thirty seconds he had managed to put a dampener on the most exciting day of my professional life to date. With just a few short sentences, he had left me feeling excluded, untrusted and irrelevant.

‘OK,’ I said, not at all keen to prolong the current topic of conversation, but unable at that particular moment to think of an alternative one.

With an obvious effort, he managed a smile. ‘Kerry had a great time on Saturday night, by the way.’

‘Giles too,’ I said, assuming his comment to be his way of ticking a conversational box and preventing me from suggesting a Giles-Kerry update as a pretext for a drink.

‘It’s good that it seems to be working out for them.’

‘It is,’ I replied, hitching my bag further up onto my shoulder. ‘Anyway, I’ll let you get on. Bye.’ Then, without waiting for a reciprocal farewell, I headed for the lifts.

Chapter 35