They probably think he’s leaving the hotel again – and she can hear the disappointed mumbles as he instead swerves into the very room she’s sitting in. Sat around a large table in a space just off the hotel lobby that’s been designated to the crew for meetings, Evie half-cranes her neck before turning back to her coffee as he enters. She spoons the foam into her mouth and arranges her features into as disinterested a portrait as she can manage. Celebrity does not faze her. Being here, in this circus, does not faze her. She’s supposed to be at home in Utah, working on her next book, her only concerns being Doctor Dolittle’s two daily walks and whether to use the ristretto coffee capsule in her Nespresso or the Treviso.

All of this is the opposite of what makes her heart sing. Evie truly believes that wanting to be famous is akin to a mental dysfunction. She doesn’t even use a recent photo of herself on her books anymore, such is her desire to stay under the radar. Evie Bird likes to craft stories that sell, pick up her paycheque, and then get on with her life unencumbered. She loves her work but won’t be defined by it, and honestly thinks it’s unsettling when people are. When did everyone get job titles over personalities?

‘Hey, Duke, my main man, welcome,’ says Marnie, the head of production, as the noise outside peaks and then suddenly stops. Duke is surprisingly small, Evie thinks. Hasn’t she heard that somewhere? That most actors are shorter than we assume? But God, he is handsome: all sharp jawline and honed, glistening arms. That much is undeniable.

Evie doesn’t get up, and catches the eye of Daphne, the film’s female lead, who also remains seated, casting her gaze down guiltily at her hands. She looks up just in time for her to spot that Evie is watching and gives an embarrassed half-smile. Evie gives a half-smile back.

‘Evening all,’ Duke says, pulling off a baseball cap and running a hand through his infamously shaggy locks. He’s very aware of himself, Evie thinks, watching him as he greets everyone individually and by name – even Daphne. Though she doesn’t pay much attention to the headlines, Evie has been filled in about the Daphne-Duke-Director love triangle by the director of photography, who – in the space of one afternoon – has thawed Evie’s resolve not to make any friends. Katerina, her name is. Evie has decided she’ll be her one ally. She can get through the next three weeks with one ally, easy.