‘She’d listen to anything you had to say. She thinks you’re great. Case in point are those warm words about your design,’ she added, reaching for another piece of sushi. ‘Well done with that, by the way.’

I smiled, a little sadly, knowing that the conversion of a listed pre-war substation into several homes was a project that Ruby had been rather keen on herself – something I hadn’t realised until Luke, our loose-tongued office administrator, had let the fact slip. ‘Better check Ruby doesn’t poison your coffee,’ he had sniggered, after Alison had approved my pitch. ‘She thought she had that one in the bag.’

I’d been surprised because Ruby had never hinted either her interest or her disappointment to me, and still hadn’t for that matter. Instead, she had stuck to perusing my ideas and being quietly supportive. It was that kind of support – as well as the workplace female camaraderie and gossip – which I knew I would miss.

‘It’s just nice to have someone relatable around,’ I said, turning my chair towards my desk.

‘You get on really well with Roger and Luke,’ she murmured, frowning thoughtfully at the design in front of her.

‘They’re great,’ I acknowledged, ‘but they’re not hugely relatable, are they? Roger’s old enough to be my dad and Luke’s a decade younger than me, lives with his mum and takes selfies to check his hair. He’s not going to empathise with my late-thirties cankle-angst and cellulite battles. I swear my bum is relocating into my thighs,’ I said, twisting in my chair to look. ‘I think it needs a sling, or a bra, or something. Do they make bum-bras?’

‘Mid-thirties.’

‘What?’

She glanced up at me. ‘Your mid-thirties cankle-angst and cellulite battles. You’re thirty-five.’

I tutted and then, seeing that she looked genuinely concerned, added, ‘You know I’m only joking, don’t you? I mean, I’ll definitely miss having you around and my bum is genuinely melting into my thighs, but I’m fine.’

At that, she stood up and came to stand beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. ‘I know you are,’ she said gently.

I reached up and patted her hand. ‘Like you say, Luke and Roger are great. Plus, there’s always the new guy. He’s quiet, but seems nice. I feel really bad that I haven’t made more of an effort with him, actually.’ I looked guiltily past Ruby towards Cameron’s empty desk on the far side of the office, reflecting that I had said little more than ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye’ to him each day since returning from my Italian break. ‘I haven’t had one proper conversation with him yet.’

‘He’s hardly the new guy,’ said Ruby, following my gaze. ‘He’s been here almost a month.’

‘That long?’

‘He started two days before you went away.’