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The video paused as a call came through.

‘Hi, Isabe—’ Alex began, but she never quite finished the third syllable because the bearer of the name was on one.

‘Well?!’ Isabelle screeched. ‘I’m waiting to hear from you!’

Alex had been mulling, possibly delaying, her next move. ‘I’ve thought it over, and no, I don’t think we should sue. Not right now.’

‘I don’t agree,’ Isabelle said instantly.

‘Yes, well, I can understand why. But you can’t jump into defamation suits. They’re tricky. They don’t always go the way you expect.’

‘But we have to do something!’

‘Look, she did admit the affair, so—’ Alex began, but again, the sentence wasn’t allowed to come to a full conclusion.

‘They barelytouchedon it,’ Isabelle screeched again. ‘Selma Haynes didn’t give a crap; she was too busy buryingme.’

‘I realise it’s not—’

‘She’s slandering me, Alex. Do you have any idea how it feels to have the entire world think you’rethis?!’

Alex didn’t, but she’d seen it happen in front of her plenty of times, so she had an idea of how Isabelle was spinning out right now. She might want to react in haste, but Alex knew that was a mistake. ‘Look, I think we just need to…’

The door of Alex’s office banged open, and Isabelle walked right in. ‘Just need to what?!’ she demanded.

‘Jesus!’ Alex cried, clutching her chest in shock.

Baker popped his head around the door behind Isabelle. ‘Got Isabelle for you,’ he announced.

‘I can see that, thanks,’ Alex said sarcastically.

‘Well?!’ Isabelle demanded, her face practically purple.

Alex leaned back in her chair, mildly terrified. ‘Sit down. Let’s talk.’ She gave Baker a nod, and he shut the door behind him.

Isabelle put her hands on the back of the chair and leaned over it, towering and intimidating. ‘This is no time for talk. We need to act now.’

Alex decided she was not having this sort of thing and stood up, now pretty pissed herself. ‘Actually, this isexactlythe time for talk. You and I need to have a conversation.’

Isabelle looked surprised. ‘About what?’

‘I think you know what I have to ask now.’

‘For fuck’s sake, Alex. I don’t havetime—’

Alex didn’t give a shit about what she had time for. ‘Isabelle! Just be straight with me. If there’s truth in this, I can’t go on with you. So. Is there?’

‘You care? If I did this? It matters one way or the other to you?’ Isabelle asked her, her decibel level dropping several notches.

‘Fuckingrightit does,’ Alex said, surprising herself.

She’d always thought the truth wasn’t her business, and her only job was figuring out how to sell the client. But this was different. She couldn’t stomach knowing it might be true.

Isabelle smiled as though relieved. ‘Good. I’m glad. Because it didn’t happen.’

‘It’s a lot of detail,’ Alex said.

‘I should think so,’ Isabelle agreed. ‘It happened to a friend of Erin’s.’