‘Oh don’t be so cynical,’ I tutted. ‘There are always loads of things to go over with the boss when you start a new job. You know that. Maybe Alison is trying to help him settle in. God knows I haven’t tried very hard,’ I added, experiencing a fresh wave of guilt.

‘This is different,’ she insisted. ‘I honestly think he’s best kept at arm’s length.’

But displaying equal stubbornness, I shook my head. ‘As much as I would love a bit of office intrigue, Alison is nobody’s fool and doesn’t like suck-ups. If she’s going for drinks with him, then it’ll be strictly business, and maybe he was genuinely tied up when Roger invited him to the crumblies’ pub.’

She opened her mouth to object, but I got in first. ‘Give the guy a chance. I bet he’ll come out for a drink if I ask him.’

‘Maybe he will,’ she shrugged. ‘Maybe he’ll see you as useful – as someone with the boss’s ear – as opposed to me and Roger: a woman on her way out of the door and Mr Ilkley-Moor-bar-t’at, not far off retirement.’

I pulled a disapproving face, more at her description of Roger than her continued cynicism. ‘OK then,’ I said, ‘I bet he’ll come for a drink with us if I ask him.’

Her eyebrows arched sceptically. ‘Us? With you and me, you mean? How much do you want to bet?’

‘Fiver,’ I said, holding out my hand.

She stared down at it. ‘That wasn’t a literal challenge, Edie. Take my advice and let it go.’

I thrust my hand further towards her and, after a moment, she sighed and then shook it, just as Cameron re-entered the office, clutching a coffee in one hand and a soggy, brown paper bag in the other. His thick, mid-brown hair had been darkened and plastered to his head by the heavy rain, and he looked weary, as well as wet, as he placed the bag and cup down on his desk and hung up his sodden navy blue raincoat. A twitch of his dark eyebrows and an upward tilt of his broad, stubbly chin in our general direction, was his only greeting, as he sat down heavily and removed a wrap and a banana from the bag.

I wasn’t sure whether it was because Ruby had just moments earlier shared her rather negative assessment of him, but his wordless, barely-there acknowledgement of us felt distinctly on the chilly side. Nevertheless, turning to Ruby, and determined not to let her detect any newly sprung misgivings, I smiled brightly. ‘No time like the present,’ I whispered and rose to my feet.

She placed a hand on my arm and shook her head. ‘Let’s talk about it first,’ she said.