‘In the kitchen,’ she said, remaining on tiptoe. ‘He was talking to Bill about Rick Astley. I should probably go and rescue him. I’m such a bad friend.’

‘I’ll go,’ said Giles, already walking away. ‘You stay and chat to Edie.’

Kerry smiled after him and then turned to me. ‘He’s a bit keen to see Ron.’

‘Keen for me to meet Ron,’ I said. ‘I had a pretty crappy day at work and Giles thought it might help talking to Ron – you know, a little bit of networking in preparation for quitting on Monday.’ I laughed, but knew that I’d said way more than I would have if I’d been sober.

‘That bad?’ she asked, looking concerned.

I shook my head and held up my glass. ‘I’m exaggerating because I’ve had too much of this. I shouldn’t have even mentioned it. It’s all confidential, so don’t worry about me droning on to Ron, or crying on his shoulder or anything.’

‘Bloody hell, I wouldn’t worry about that,’ she said, rolling her eyes. ‘He’s more likely to blub all over yours.’

‘Really?’

She glanced over her shoulder and then leaned in conspiratorially. ‘Well, he probably won’t let on, but he’s not happy,’ she said, lowering her voice. ‘We went for a beer and something to eat first, ’cos he was so uptight, which just isn’t like him. He’s seriously, seriously fed up, Edie.’

‘Wow,’ I said, aware of my mood lifting, and only slightly ashamed that news of another miserable architect was making me feel better. ‘What’s happened? Or can’t you tell me?’

‘It’s not confidential, like your thing,’ she shrugged. ‘Just someone being an arsehole. And Ron doesn’t need to put up with that kind of hassle. He could have his pick of jobs,’ she added, draining her glass and popping another tomato into her mouth. ‘Doubt he’ll mention it to you though, ’cos he’s not gobby like me. Plus you’re an architect and might know the person. He won’t even give me a name.’

I pulled a face. ‘Wow, that’s so discreet. What are the chances of you knowing them? He’s based in the Midlands, isn’t he?’

‘The Midlands?’ she frowned. ‘No, no. He used to work in Birmingham, but now he’s in Bristol.’

‘Oh, right,’ I said, experiencing a sudden sense of prickling disquiet, my brief moment of uplift now dissipating. ‘So he’s in Bristol? I guess I might know the guy he works with then. How bad is he?’