‘Wow!’ I take the piece of paper. ‘Thanks. Who’s her new client?’

‘Lois Kellerton,’ says April, and I freeze. I’m aware of Suze opening her eyes wide and I try desperately to ignore her.

‘What’s up?’ says April, sensing the tension. ‘Do you know Lois?’

‘No,’ I say quickly. ‘Not at all. No. Never met. Why would I have met Lois Kellerton?’ I give a shrill, unnatural laugh.

‘OK. Well, Lois’s lovely,’ says April. ‘We’re friends too, in fact we’re neighbours. We’ve both lived on Doheny Road for ever. You’ll get along great.’

This is the first time I’ve heard anyone describe Lois as ‘lovely’ and April clearly notices my surprise.

‘What is it?’ she says.

I know I should keep my mouth shut, but I can’t resist it.

‘It’s just I heard Lois was … tricky to deal with?’ I venture. ‘Isn’t her new film running into problems?’

April sighs. ‘I wish Lois didn’t have this reputation. She’s a wonderful girl. And the film will be wonderful. It’s the story of the early female athletes, you know, using some original footage from the Olympics. So smart. And yes, there have been glitches, but every movie has glitches.’

‘Sorry,’ I say awkwardly. ‘I didn’t mean to … I just heard …’

‘I know.’ April drops her hands as though in exasperation. ‘Everyone says the same. The thing is, Lois’s bright, she expects high standards, and she doesn’t necessarily win herself friends. But you’ll like her. I’m sure you will.’

A text bleeps in her phone and she reaches for it. ‘Sorry, I have to go. Give your address to my assistant and I’ll messenger the tickets over. Let yourselves out when you’re ready.’

She heads out of the trailer, clumping down the steps in her Uggs, and Suze and I just stare at each other.

‘Lois Kellerton,’ says Suze at last. ‘Oh my God, Bex.’

‘I know.’ I rub my head. ‘Freaky.’

‘What will you say to her? I mean, about … you know.’

‘I’ll say nothing. It never happened, OK? And I never told you, either.’

‘All right.’ Suze nods fervently, then looks up. ‘Hey, what will Luke say about you meeting Lois? Isn’t Lois Sage’s big nemesis? Aren’t you supposed to be on Team Sage?’

Oh God. In the heat of the moment, I’d forgotten all about that. Damn. I reach for an energy bar, thinking hard. OK, so it’s not ideal. If I could have chosen any other celebrity, I would have. But I can’t turn down this amazing chance. I can’t.

‘Luke will be completely supportive of my career,’ I say at last, a bit more firmly than I feel. ‘I mean, we don’t both have to be on Team Sage, do we? We can have Chinese whatsits.’

‘What?’ Suze looks blank. ‘Fortune cookies?’

‘No!’ I can’t help giggling. ‘Walls. Where you’re on different sides but it’s OK because you don’t pass on any secrets.’

‘Walls?’ says Suze mistrustfully. ‘I don’t like the idea of walls. You shouldn’t have walls in a marriage.’