Head-height cubicle walls hid people from sight, but you could hear every phone conversation, every sandwich being unwrapped, from across the room.

Jenny made straight for her desk and flopped onto her chair. She had given up five-inch heels in favour of flats around month six, but that didn’t stop her feet from screaming.

There was a commotion going on at Lucy’s desk; people were shaking her hand and Lucy was flicking that perfect hair of hers all over the place. Jenny spotted one of their regular freelance photographers, Brian, and beckoned him over.

She used her eyes to motion in Lucy’s direction. ‘What’s going on over there?’

‘Hmm? Where?’ Brian dropped his head and stared at the sheet of proofs he was holding as if they were the most interesting thing he had ever seen. He was attractive if you didn’t know he had the morals of a premiership footballer.

Jenny took the proofs from him and used them to point. ‘Over there. Little Miss Shiny Shoes and friends.’

Brian followed the direction of her gaze as if he had only just noticed the Lucy Fan Club in action. ‘Oh. That. Uh, Lucy just got a, uh, a promotion.’ He picked up a stapler from the desk and studied it, opening and closing the part where the staples went in. ‘You obviously haven’t been told.’

Jenny took the stapler out of his hands. Her heart was beating faster. Maybe that was just the sugar rush from the third cookie. ‘Told what?’

Brian ran a distracted hand through his hair. ‘Why am I always in the wrong place at the wrong time? I try not to get involved with anything, but…’

Jenny grabbed his wrist with both her hands, as if she were about to give him a Chinese burn. ‘Spill.’

Brian took a deep breath and let it out in one go. ‘Eva has given Lucy “Girl About Town”.’

Jenny froze, turned to look at Lucy, then turned back to stare at Brian. She let go of his arm. Maybe she’d misheard him. Or maybe he was confused. ‘Girl About Town’ was her column. ‘Who told you that?’

Brian shrugged, held up his hands and backed away. ‘Don’t shoot the messenger.’

As if on cue, the phone on Jenny’s desk buzzed. Eva’s name flashed up on the screen. Jenny picked it up.

‘I thought I asked you to come and see me as soon as you got in?’

Chapter Two

It was a relief that she didn’t have to try and squeeze into one of the designer chairs at the conference table, but Jenny’s stomach flip-flopped to see Eva waiting for her on the sofa. With tea and biscuits.

This was going to be bad.

Eva never looked entirely herself sitting on the sofa. There was something about her sharp, tailored frame which fit much better behind her large desk. She patted the armchair to her right. ‘Come and join me.’

Jenny stood her ground and folded her arms over The Bump: she needed to attack before losing her nerve. You should always be higher up than the person you are negotiating with.