‘It’s not going to get any easier around here,’ Dawn continues matter-of-factly. ‘Surely I don’t need to tell you that.’

‘No,’ Oli says, uncertain.

‘The old way just won’t cut it anymore.’ A hint of defensiveness in her voice. ‘Different things are being prioritised. The podcast is a good example—Joosten thinks that part of the business might end up being more profitable than the paper.’

Oli makes a face. ‘I want it to do well, of course, but I think that might be a little ambitious.’

Dawn pumps lotion from a bottle next to her keyboard and applies it aggressively to her bejewelled hands. ‘The exec team have plans for several podcasts, Oli. Honestly, I feel like I’m drowning in them. You’re lucky to have a shot at it first up.’ Dawn gives Oli a pointed look, then brushes lint off her skirt and yanks open the door. ‘It’s time for the editorial meeting.’

Oli remains standing as the others file into the small space, uncertain whether she’s just been given a warning or a pep talk.

Dawn runs her tongue along the front of her oversized teeth. ‘Are you coming in or not?’ She directs her laser-like glare at Cooper, who is hovering in the doorway.

As Dawn paces behind her desk, assigning tasks and making snide comments about the competition, Oli barely listens.

‘That was my first editorial meeting,’ Cooper stage whispers thirty minutes later, as he and Oli walk back to her desk. ‘God, it’s so cool how she arranges the news like that.’

‘Yeah.’ Oli glances back at Dawn, who is on the phone, moisturised fingers tangled in her wavy hair.

‘Um.’ Cooper looks at Dawn too, then back at Oli. ‘So I guess we—’

‘Let’s record this bloody thing.’

‘You’re sounding great.’ Cooper removes his headphones. ‘Your voice is totally made for this. It’s so low and husky, which obviously works for the genre.’

Oli pulls off her headphones. She is raw with nostalgia, disoriented from her journey back in time. The apprehension feels fresh, the sense of being overwhelmed, desperate, while lurching from theory to theory. Trying to corral words into a logical sequence.

‘Seriously, I think it’s really strong.’ Cooper gets up to turn on the computer behind him, then spins back around. ‘It’s like I’m right there with you, rocking up to the house at day break. Being yelled at by the cop and seeing Evelyn’s body in the hall. It’s such great detail.’

‘I was high as a kite on ecstasy.’

‘What?’

She starts to laugh. ‘It’s true. I was in a cab home from a massive night when my editor called me and said I needed to go to the scene.’

He blinks several times. ‘Really? It sounds like you were so together.’