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Alex screenshotted that one and sent it to Isabelle. And then, as an afterthought, she found Leigh’s LinkedIn account and DM’d it to her.

It didn’t take long to get a response.Well, aren’t we clever?

Your move,Alex responded.And she meant it. She wanted Leigh to fight her, push back.

That was when Alex realised something. She was having fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt that way. Work had been by the numbers for quite some time.

But Leigh made it interesting again. Weird.

Isabelle called, and Alex picked up on the first ring.

‘Amazing!’ she greeted Alex. ‘You did it. Exactly what you promised.’

‘Yes, I’m good like that,’ Alex said breezily.

‘So, what’s next?’

Alex had expected that question and had a pretty good answer. ‘Next? We get you every major award in the UK. Once that’s done, you’ll get that Oscar you should have had years ago.’

Isabelle laughed. ‘Not this year, not a chance.’

‘No?’

‘A nom isn’t out of the question, but Rachel Adebayo had a hell of a role this year. I can’t beat a homeless drug addict with sepsis.’

‘I didn’t see that.’

‘It ticked the boxes,’ Isabelle said bitterly.

Alex didn’t like that comment but decided to move around it. ‘You played Amelia Earheart. Awards love a biopic.’

‘My other PR people seemed to think it wasn’t going to happen. You think you can do better?’ Isabelle asked.

‘I don’t make promises I can’t keep,’ Alex said.

‘That much is clear. OK, well, I would certainly not be averse to an award sweep if you think you can do it.’

‘It’s going to cost you,’ Alex warned.

‘If you’re confident, I can shoulder it.’

‘OK, a few questions. Did the movie struggle to get made?’

‘It was in development hell for about seven years, I believe.’

‘Perfect. And why did you choose it?’

‘Because I’d never died on screen before,’ Isabelle answered.

‘Let me rephrase that. How did you personally connect to the role?’ Alex asked.

‘Ah, I see. Hmm…’

Alex realised she was going to have to do the heavy lifting here. ‘She was born into quite a wealthy family, right? Though there’s a lot of privilege, there’s also a lot of expectations. Women like her were not supposed to be adventurers. That click for you?’

Isabelle laughed. ‘It doesn’t seem like you need me for this.’

‘You can leave it in my hands,’ Alex assured her. They hung up.