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Alex chuckled at that. ‘She did, did she?’

‘Yeah. She thinks you’re arealpiece of shit.’

Alex was less amused by that. Something bubbled up inside her. ‘Do you want to find out if she’s right? I was phoning it in this week for Isabelle in terms of how we reacted to your Selma Haynes bollocks, but if I decide to destroy you, I meanreallyput my shoulder to the wheel, well… EvenI’ma bit scared of what could happen.’

Erin tittered. ‘I’m not frightened.’

The anger inside Alex rose ever higher. A little too high, maybe. ‘No, I don’t suppose you are. But guess what? I’m not a nineteen-year-old maid. You’re not taking your shitty marriage out on me.’

Erin looked like she’d been slapped. ‘What?’

Shit. She shouldn’t have said that. ‘This is my last warning. Go. Now.’

‘What the fuck? You and Leigh have been sharing info?’ Erin asked, confused.

Erin knew Leigh knew? That wouldn’t be good. ‘Leave her out of this.’

‘Nah, it’s fine. It’s fine,’ Erin assured herself. ‘You’ll have signed a confidentiality agreement for Izz, won’t you? Both of you are toothless. I don’t even need to threatenyou.’

‘You threatened Leigh?’ Alex asked.

‘She’s such a nervous little thing, isn’t she?’ Erin grinned. ‘So vulnerable. You barely have to say anything, and she’s shaking like a leaf—’

Alex didn’t need to hear anymore. She went to find Leigh. But she was a little harder to track down than Erin. She wasn’t anywhere in the ballroom. Alex headed out into the corridor outside the ballroom. But the only person out there was Isabelle, making a phone call. Alex couldn’t seem to escape her tonight.

‘No, Jenny, I will not do a commercial in Japan. I can’t believe you would even suggest… Wait, how much?’ Isabelle spotted Alex. ‘I need to go. I’ll talk to you later.’ She put her phone in her purse and turned to Alex. ‘She gone?’

‘No,’ Alex replied, walking past without pausing.

‘Where are you going!?’ Isabelle asked. ‘You have a job to do.’

Alex paused, turned, took out her letter of intent, shoved it into Isabelle’s hand, and kept walking.

‘What is this?’ Isabelle asked her.

Alex still didn’t stop, but she could hear the ripping of an envelope. Apparently, Isabelle was a very fast parser because there was a hand on Alex’s arm two seconds later. She turned back to her.

Isabelle was furious. ‘How dare you.’

Alex raised an angry eyebrow. ‘How dare Iwhat?!’

‘You can’t quit. We’re not done.’

Alex shook her hand off. ‘Wearedone, actually.’

‘You were going to get me an Oscar. You practically vowed it in blood.’

‘Get yourownfucking Oscar,’ Alex sneered.

Isabelle seemed to realise she was being too much and tried to pull it back. ‘What’s this about, Alex? You owe me that, at least.’

Alex looked Isabelle dead in the eye. ‘I think you know.’

Isabelle trembled with building rage. ‘That stupid little bitch talked!’ she spat.

Now, the last time Alex slapped someone, it was her father. It was a personal relationship. Not that it hadn’t shocked Alex to have gotten physical. But her father had it coming since the day she was born. It made a kind of sense. She could square it.

But when Alex’s hand flew out and cracked Isabelle Kane around the face, there was true shock on both sides. What the hell had caused her to do that? Was she seriously risking her entire career and reputation to defend the honour of a total stranger?