A collective whoosh of relief went through the onlookers, and then everyone sprang into action. Sophia had little time to feel any satisfaction at how well she’d played her part, but that also meant she barely felt the sting of how quick he’d been to attribute her idea to his own genius.

It didn’t matter. They all had a job to do, and once again, she would sacrifice her pride, her vision, her artistic integrity for the good of the project, only this time her sense of unease didn’t fade when he finally called “cut” and the burn of burying herself behind some lesser man wasn’t soothed even by seeing the infinitely improved footage.

She still felt mildly nauseated as they broke for the day and she piled into the transport van with Talia and Caroline to head back toward hair and makeup.

“Name your price,” Talia said as soon as the van doors shut after their last meeting of the day.

“What?”

“You saved our asses out there,” Talia said earnestly. “Don’t think I don’t know it, and don’t think I don’t realise how much that cost you personally. What do you want? A bottle of single-malt whiskey? A Louis Vuitton purse? Hell, you want a Rolls-Royce? I can’t afford one, but I’ll steal one for you.”

She shook her head. “The shot is the only reward that would make grovelling worthwhile.”

“It’s a brilliant shot.” Talia gave her hand a squeeze. “It’ll make the previews for sure, and the publicity kit, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the photography stills end up on the poster. It could be iconic.”

“Iconic,” she muttered, and let her head loll back on the seat. It wasn’t that she didn’t agree with Talia’s assessment, but when people referenced that shot, they’d always credit Brian. He would build his career on the back of her image and imagination while once again she’d only be seen for her body.

“I get the feeling I missed a lot before I got here,” Caroline finally said, “like, not only half the filming, but a whole lot of emotional work as well.”

Sophia snorted softly. Emotional work might be an understatement for what she’d survived in the last few weeks. More like emotional wreckage.

“But, what I’m not able to figure out is why you aren’t running this whole set, Sophia. Or rather, why no one can speak openly about how you actually are running the whole set.”

“You want the short version?” Talia asked, then answered anyway. “Patriarchy.”

Caroline grunted. “Now, that I’m familiar with. Wouldn’t it be great if we could run the world, or at least the movie business, without all the egotistical assholes?”

“That’d be living the dream,” Talia mused, “and I even found the perfect project.”

Caroline perked up. “What is it?”