‘Hi,’ he said, before immediately returning his attention to his screen. He sounded and appeared perfectly relaxed. The bastard.

‘And what time d’ya call this?’ chimed Luke, peering at me over the top of his screen and then swivelling slowly in his chair to track me to my desk. ‘Still hung over from the wine-and-wine thing?’

‘Morning, Luke,’ I said, trying not to add a recollection of our Friday home-time conversation to my list of current stress factors. ‘Morning, Roger,’ I continued, turning to my right. ‘Get up to anything interesting over the weekend?’

He frowned and cleared his throat. ‘Oh, y’know, this ’n’ that, this ’n’ that,’ he replied, offering me the same response he’d volunteered almost every Monday morning for the past two-and-a-half years – the only exceptions being when he had attended a sporting fixture or a funeral.

‘No matches this weekend then, Rog?’ asked Luke.

He shook his head. ‘No, although I did have a couple of pints at the rugby club. Saw old Dave there.’

Luke nodded. ‘He’s your oldest member, isn’t he?’

‘He is that,’ replied Roger. ‘Ninety-three and living in Henleaze now, actually. Not far from our Edie,’ he added, turning to me. ‘In that care home at the end of your road. They’ve just had new bath hoists fitted throughout.’

‘Oh, right,’ I said uncertainly, switching on my desktop. ‘That’s nice.’

‘Great that you won’t have far to move when the time comes, eh, Edie?’ Luke gave me a thumbs-up, without looking up from his screen.

I said nothing, acutely aware of how much his digs now irritated, rather than entertained. Roger, meanwhile, was now talking to Cameron, showing a kindly interest in how a client meeting had gone on Friday. I listened in as he offered encouragement and advice, and I found myself hoping desperately that his warmth was founded on ignorance. Because had I discovered at that moment that Roger knew the truth about Cameron, I would have marched straight into Alison’s office and resigned. Roger was, I decided, the only thing actually worth staying for right now.

I turned in my chair and gazed at Alison as she sat frowning at her screen. Was Ruby right? Had she got to where she was not only through talent, self-reliance and single-mindedness, but also by ignoring inconvenient truths and prioritising professional progress over personal principles?

‘Alison wants to see us. She asked me to tell you.’

My stomach lurched at the sound of Cameron’s voice and I looked up to find him towering over me beside my desk. He appeared as untroubled and unsmiling as when I’d first arrived, and if he was at all anxious about the events of Friday night, he was hiding it brilliantly.

‘When?’ I asked.

‘Midday.’

‘Why?’

‘I thought you might know.’

‘Well, I don’t.’