‘Knock, knock!’ a voice comes then, and Duke assumes it’s the hot drinks arriving but it’s not his assistant. It’s the head of production, Marnie.

‘Hey,’ Duke says, standing up to shake her hand.

‘Hey,’ Marnie says, shaking Duke’s hand and waving at the three women. ‘Listen,’ she presses. ‘Can we have a little three-way meeting here? Sorry Evie, and …’ She trails off, unsure who Magda is.

‘A guest of mine. Magda,’ Duke supplies, and Marnie nods politely, obviously wanting to discuss something sensitive.

‘We’ll pop to the café on the corner,’ Evie announces. ‘Leave you all to it. Break a leg, won’t you?’ she adds, fumbling through all their coats and jackets to find what belongs to them. ‘If that’s … Is that what we say? Okay. Well. Whatever … it is. Bye.’

It’s the first time Duke has seen her flustered and unable to articulate herself properly.

‘Right,’ says Marnie, once they’ve both gone. Duke looks at her. She’s a calm woman, with a kind and patient demeanour, so it’s unnerving to see her sweating and tapping her foot with nervous energy. This must be bad.

‘Is Brad okay?’ Daphne asks, slowly, and Duke looks at her. Trust Daphne to be compassionate, even in the face of rude, dickish behaviour.

‘Physically?’ Marnie says. ‘Yes. Mentally? No, to be frank. He’s off the project. So is the assistant director.’

Duke is shocked. Off the project? Halfway through it? That is not a thing that can happen. This is serious.

‘I know,’ Marnie continues, and she motions to an empty chair. ‘May I?’

‘Yeah,’ Duke says. ‘Of course.’

They watch her get comfortable, take a big gulp of air, and then continue, calmer now: ‘Speaking confidentially, there have been … allegations.’

‘What kind of allegations?’ Daphne asks, and Duke can hear the alarm in her voice.

‘Sexual harassment,’ Marnie says. ‘Intimidation. Bullying.’

Daphne sets her face in a hard line. Duke has a very fleeting thought – is she the accuser? And then it disappears. If she is, it’s none of his business unless she tells him directly.

‘What happens now?’ Duke asks. ‘Are we done?’

‘No,’ Marnie says. ‘Financially, we just can’t do that. The investors are insistent. But, so close to Christmas, right now, finding somebody else …’

‘We’ll do it,’ says Daphne. Duke looks at her. She doesn’t meet his eye. ‘We’ll self-direct.’

Marnie nods. ‘I was going to suggest as much.’

‘We’ll do it,’ Daphne reiterates. ‘Won’t we, Duke?’

Before Duke can answer – direct? A movie? Between them? – Marnie interjects.