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Isabelle looked surprised and pleased that Alex was so easily broken. ‘Well, since you asked… I might be appeased if you tore up that letter you gave me earlier and signed a new contract. One where your companyonlyworks for me. At a discount rate, of course.’

Alex gave her a smile of utterly fake relief. ‘I could do that, Isabelle. If you could forgive me.’

Isabelle touched her arm. ‘I think we could be a good team now.’

Alex tried not to shudder outwardly. ‘Now you’ve got something over me?’

She nodded. ‘Exactly.’

Alex smiled, and this time, there was nothing fake about it. She was truly happy. Because she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that what she was about to do was the right call. ‘Well, you’re not leaving a lot of options,’ Alex shrugged. ‘So, I guess I’m in. Now, let’s get you to your big moment, shall we?’

Isabelle gave her a magnanimous smile. ‘Let’s.’

They headed into the screening room. Alex noticed Ivy Coulter on her way in. They gave each other a quick nod.

Right on time, she thought. It had taken some serious talking to get her to come. Alex practically had to offer to sit on her face, but here she was.

Alex sat in the back, along with Isabelle. She could just about make out Leigh somewhere in the middle. Erin was front row.

All told, the screening was only about half-full. But that didn’t matter. It only mattered that the right people were in attendance.

Isabelle also spotted her. Her jaw tightened. ‘Is that Erin? What is shestilldoing here?’

Alex leaned in conspiratorially. ‘I couldn’t get rid of her quietly but look at it this way. When you get your standing ovation at the end of the screening, she’ll have to soak in it.’

Isabelle smiled. ‘I like the way you think,’ she purred.

‘I’ve hardly gotten started,’ Alex promised her.

‘Have you seen Steven?’ Isabelle asked. ‘I can’t seem to track him down, and I thought I’d find him in here.’

‘I’m sure he’ll turn up,’ Alex promised her.

And so he did, suddenly standing up in front of the room. ‘Hi, everyone. Thanks for coming.’

‘What the hell is he doing?’ Isabelle frowned.

‘He’s giving you an intro,’ Alex explained.

‘I didn’t ask him to do that,’ Isabelle said, worry entering her voice.

‘Now, I appreciate that everyone is super excited to seeThe Last Flight,’Steven began with a gleam in his eye. Alex liked seeing him standing a little taller for a change.‘But before that, we’d like you to see a short film by some very talented filmmakers. It’s entitled,You Really Deserve This. Please enjoy.’

Isabelle finally smelled the disaster coming her way. ‘Alex, what is he…’

‘Shh,’ Alex hushed. ‘You don’t want to miss this.’

Steven stepped aside, and the lights dimmed.

The screen was dark, and then it cut to Amanda, her name captioned underneath. She was talking into the camera from what looked like a bathroom, probably the only private room she could snatch at short notice.

‘Hi, I’m Amanda Bradley. You might recognise me from a picture that became famous recently. People have a lot of theories about exactly who I am, but I want to settle it for good. I have a story to tell you. It’s about two famous actresses with too much money, too much time, and no empathy whatsoever.’

That cut to a different woman. ‘I’m Emma.’

A third woman, ‘Rosa.’

A fourth woman. ‘Iris.’