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travelling. But somehow a year had become two, then three. There was always one more project I wanted to finish before we booked our tickets.
    The thing was, I was good at the job. I had an eye for detail, an agile brain that could absorb and organise large amounts of information, and a confident manner that went down well with clients. It hadn’t taken long for Marley to notice me and start singling me out to lead on key parts of her projects. And I’d thrived on that trust.
    When Ben finally snapped, announcing that he was going travelling with or without me, I’d been determined to hand in my notice. But when I told Marley my decision, she’d asked me to reconsider.
    I’ve got my eye on you for partnership, Quin. If that’s what you want, you’ll be making a mistake if you leave now. A big one.
    The funny thing was, up until that minute, I hadn’t wanted partnership. It hadn’t even crossed my mind. But as soon as she put it in my mind, as soon as it was a real possibility, I did want it. I’d always been like that, even as a little kid. Single-minded and competitive. And my desire to succeed at Quicks had been bigger than my desire to give Ben what he wanted.
    So Ben had flown to the States, and I’d stayed in England. We’d decided on a trial break, one that became permanent six months later when Ben met Leon, another British backpacker, while surfing in California. And now, eighteen months later, they were back home and moving in together.
    And that was just fine by me.
    It wasn’t as if I gave a damn about what Ben was doing these days.
    The lift doors swished open at the fifth floor and I strode out, flashing my pass at the little black box fixed to the wall outside Quicks’ glass doors.
    Holly was on reception. She was pretty new, having replaced Lena, who had recently gone on maternity leave. I found her a bit irritating, with her endless questions and attempts at mindless chitchat.
    “Morning, Quin,” she said now, smiling. “Not long till Christmas!”
    “Yeah,” I replied shortly “Listen, could you organise a triple-shot latte for me? I’ll come get it once I’ve logged on.”
    Marley had had a Krug coffee machine brought into the office, and all our receptionists were given professional barista training. It was one of those little touches Marley thought was important: Do you know how many productive hours are lost by employees leaving the office to buy coffee, Quin?
    Lena knew everyone’s coffee preferences by heart. She’d have had my latte on the way before I’d even walked through the door—it irritated the hell out of me that I was having to ask Holly for it.
    Holly’s gaze took in my unimpressed expression and her smile dipped. “Oh, yes. Of course. Right away. I’ll buzz you when it’s ready.”
    I turned away with a grunt and headed for the office area, flashing my card again to get through the electronic doors that led to the open plan area occupied by the team. This area took up half of our total space. The rest of the office comprised a suite of rooms where we met with clients.
    The working area was spacious and bright, with pods of desks arranged in threes. The furniture was modern and ergonomic and there were “breakout” spaces dotted around where we could gather to chat and brainstorm without disturbing each other. A large fruit platter sat in one of the breakout areas. Marley insisted on food and snacks being provided throughout the day as it encouraged staff to work through their breaks. We used to have pastries in the morning but I’d had them switched to fruit. The effect on productivity had been marked.
    Marley shared one of the pods of desks with Brian, her PA. She used the third desk in her pod as her personal storage area. The chair was draped with clothes and the surface of the desk was littered with makeup, crumpled magazines and other paraphernalia. The rest of us occupied the remaining pods, with two consultants and an admin person to each pod.
    This