On the morning of the pitch, I arrived at seven.

I made one last change to the final slide at quarter past nine, and saved the file on the shared drive. I checked it opened. It did. Fifty-two slides, all perfect.

I took the boardroom laptop and plugged it into the big screen. Everything was ready. Then Graham called me to reception.

“Becca, come and meet Catherine Hartley before we start. She's asking about you.” Catherine Hartley was the chief executive of Hartley's Biscuits. She was the great-granddaughter of the man who'd started the company in 1904.

I left the laptop in the boardroom.

Olivia was standing by the door.

“Go on,” she said. “I'll keep an eye on everything in here. I'll make sure the screen's working.”

“Thanks, Olivia.”

I spent fifteen minutes in reception talking to Catherine Hartley about Gateshead and the old factory. She was lovely. Warm and funny and sharp.

At ten to ten, I went back to the boardroom to do a final check.

And the file was gone.