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‘What do you want to say, Ben? I’m not in the mood for playing games.’

‘I want you to know that I’m acting only in the best interests of my client.’

She raised an eyebrow. ‘This again? Your client? Mack is my client.’

‘Like I said yesterday, that has changed.’

‘For now,’ she said.

He folded his arms. ‘For good.’

‘How is that?’ Mary said. ‘Mack hasn’t said anything to me.’

‘Mary,’ Ben said. ‘You acted totally unprofessionally yesterday. You accused me of criminal activity.’

‘Are you denying it?’

‘I don’t need to. All this is nothing to do with me. There’s nothing to deny.’

‘Sure.’ She drummed her fingers on her desk. ‘I don’t know what you’re doing here, Ben.’

‘I recorded our call, Mary. And I’m going to share it with the partners.’

She looked up at him. His face was expressionless, his eyes hard.

‘You can’t do that,’ she said. ‘That evidence would be inadmissible.’

‘In court, yes. But not to our partners. They’re interested in the health of this firm, and they’ll consider anything when it comes to safeguarding that.’

He smiled.

‘And your behaviour – in general, but also on that phone call – is seriously alarming.’

‘Unless I’m right,’ Mary said.

Ben shook his head. ‘You’re only making this worse.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘You are. You did this, and you’re going to pay for it. You must know I’ll get to the truth?’

‘Honestly, Mary, this is sad to see. I’m worried about you, not as a lawyer, but as a person. I think you need to seek medical help.’

‘Get out of my office.’

‘Not just yet.’ Ben said. ‘If you continue down this path you’re going to lose everything. But I have an offer for you. A way out.’

‘Here we go,’ Mary said. ‘Here’s what it’s all been about.’

‘You apologize to me and you allow me to take over Mack’s account, and this goes no further. You don’t, and this goes all the way.’

It was a relief finally to hear it, to receive confirmation that what she had suspected was true. This had been about Ben and his ambition all along.

He thought he had manoeuvred her into an impossible position.

He’d made a mistake. He’d forgotten one, crucial, aspect of this. She was right. All she had to do now was prove it.

‘Fuck off, Ben,’ she said.

He shrugged, and got to his feet. As he left her office, he glanced over his shoulder and she felt a moment of terrible uncertainty.