I glanced up and raised a hand to Cameron, affording him as little time and attention as possible, before fishing a Twix from my top drawer, with a view to redressing the mildly negative impact a renewed awareness of my creepy colleague had had on my mood. I then returned my attention to my phone as it pinged, heralding the arrival of another text, this time from Ruby. Cameron, meanwhile, moved on to Luke – the only other person still in the office – from whom he elicited a much more enthusiastic and longer-winded response than he’d received from me, as the pair of them began to compare weekend notes.

I remained determinedly focused on my phone and reminded myself, yet again, that it wasn’t Luke’s fault that he didn’t know Cameron was a bastard.

Ruby was as upbeat as usual in her text; her new job was still great, her new colleagues were still great, and Bath was still great.

Great.

I leaned an elbow on my desk and rested my chin heavily on my hand as I munched on my Twix and read through the rest of her one-hundred-per-cent positive update. It was hard not to be just a tiny bit jealous – Giles and three-quarters of my work colleagues notwithstanding. But my spirits lifted as she ended the text with the surprise news that she would be in Bristol for a lunchtime meeting on Monday, and the suggestion that we should meet up for mid-morning coffee – after-work drinks being impossible as she had to lead a p.m. meeting in Bath.

Feeling immediately brighter at the prospect of an in-person catch-up, I was just about to reply when a fist knocked lightly against my desk, causing me to start slightly and look up. Luke, coat on and messenger bag slung across his body, was grinning down at me.

‘So, wotchu got going down this evening in Henleaze?’ he asked. ‘Beetle drive? Choir practice? Sweet sherry and bed?’

‘Avenue wine and cheese.’

‘Good one!’ He laughed loudly, pointing at me, and then cleared his throat. ‘No but seriously, whatever you’re up to, enjoy.’

‘I’m seriously up to a wine and cheese party. June and Stan are hosting.’

His nose wrinkled. ‘Seriously, seriously? People seriously do that kind of thing in real life? Not just in The Archers? Jesus, Edie, get out before it’s too late.’

I took a final mouthful of Twix and swivelled to throw the wrapper into the bin. ‘I’m fine with Henleaze,’ I mumbled. ‘I mean, I wouldn’t want to spend every minute of every day there, but Giles is just so great and the neighbours are… well, I guess I’ll find out what they are tonight. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to report back on Monday, so you can take the piss more thoroughly then.’

‘You do know I’m only messing with you, don’t you?’