Strike shut the office door behind the sniffling woman and took a deep breath. Looking up, he saw Robin looking at him expectantly.
"I know," he began, "that for all appearances, that woman wouldn't be good for the business." He began ticking reasons off on his fingers.
"Her brother's death has already been declared an open-and-shut accident by the police. She has a spotty mental health history. Her family doesn't want her to involve herself with a private investigation, and the fact she even came today against their wishes implies they might make our job harder in the future. And…"
He looked back at Robin again.
"..and she's unable to pay us anything near what we would normally ask."
"Well," said Robin briskly, as she began to gather papers together on the desk, "I'll rearrange the schedule for tomorrow so that we can meet her again at that restaurant she mentioned. Might as well start in right away."
Strike grinned. He and Robin had always operated well together, but in the months since her divorce from Matthew, he'd been able to really appreciate it.
He shook out his watch and glanced at it.
"That's seven. Fancy a celebratory drink at the Tottenham?"
Robin stopped tidying up the desk and smiled.
"What are we celebrating?"
Strike pulled her cardigan off the rack and held it out for her as she shrugged her arms into it.
"You taking the lead on your first case. This one's going to be yours."
"Really?" Robin stopped pushing her arm through and turned her head to face him, forgetting the proximity in her eagerness. Suddenly, she found herself inches away from his clear blue gaze. Taking a split second too long before stepping back to a less intimate distance, Strike cleared his throat before answering.
"Absolutely. You deserve it. I've been waiting for a case that wasn't chasing around a cheating spouse, and I think this is it." He addressed her as seriously as he could, trying to ignore the scent of her perfume flooding his senses, and the fact that he could still feel the slight tickle of her hair against his neck when she had turned her head.
Robin, who had been waiting for this career moment for many months, couldn't stop herself from giving a squeal of delight.
"Yes, I bloody well do deserve it, don't I!" Strike let out a gentle huff of laughter. They were still facing each other, and Robin wasn't sure if she should close the distance between them and give Strike a friendly hug. At the same time that she stepped forward, Strike stepped away towards the door, and she dropped her arms at her sides, awkwardly. The moment that she had no doubt imagined, had passed.
