Once upon a time, in a world that now seems very far away, two people sat down for lunch at a corner table in one of London’s most fashionable restaurants. A deal — for a contract to advise on a merger, perhaps, or the budget for a new marketing consultancy agreement — seemed to be within reach.
Over the ceviche of octopus and shrimp, the discussion progressed swiftly, and by the time they were slicing into the prime rib, they were deep in the guts of an agreement. They shook hands before the feta cheesecake arrived and called for champagne to toast the deal.
In an age of Zoom calls and hybrid working, of three-day office weeks and days when the sun has bent the
