She waits by the open car door as he jogs over. He’s wearing his outfit from this morning’s TV footage; he looks polished, trustworthy. He really should have ditched print and gone into TV—he would have made a fortune. Last year he was a panellist on a news show, and after it aired bunches of flowers with women’s phone numbers attached to them arrived at the office.

‘Nice work on O’Brien’s neighbour,’ Oli offers. ‘It clearly prompted the other guy to come forward.’

‘Thanks! I’m paying for it today, but it came together well. The claims are pretty damning.’ TJ doesn’t look like he’s paying for it: he’s clear-eyed and clean-shaven, the Ken-doll version of a journalist.

‘They are.’ Oli senses he hasn’t sought her out for a casual chat. ‘I’m just on my way out to speak with Alex Riboni’s ex.’

He nods, impressed. ‘Good get.’

‘Thanks.’ She moves to hop into the car. She’s not really in the mood to talk to TJ.

‘Oli, something is going on.’

She whips her head around. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Here.’ He lifts his hands, gesturing to the building. ‘I think they’re going to sell, for real this time. To one of the TV networks, probably. This podcast stuff is only the beginning. You can forget real news, we’ll just be serving up a kind of reality TV.’

Oli narrows her eyes. Is TJ pissed she’s so involved in Joosten’s pet project? ‘I think the podcast will actually work out okay. I’ve put an investigative bent on it.’ As she says this, she realises it’s true. What she recorded with Cooper is good, and she’s excited about their plan for the next episode. Making a podcast is not that dissimilar from writing a feature; the storytelling elements are the same.

TJ shrugs impatiently. ‘This is serious, Oli.’

‘How do you know all this?’

‘I just do.’

‘Did Dawn tell you? Or was it Joosten?’

TJ doesn’t say anything for a few moments. ‘Oli, I’m not sure Dawn can be trusted.’

‘Really?’ She crosses her arms. ‘Because the other day you told me you thought she was doing a good job.’

He looks annoyed. ‘It’s not exactly an easy environment to navigate. But there are a few things that have me worried.’

‘Like what?’

Pressing his lips together, he doesn’t reply.

‘TJ, I—’

She startles when he grips her shoulders. ‘It doesn’t matter. Listen, I reckon we should think about getting in front of it. Go out on our own, maybe. Do it our way. Stop having our stuff edited by people with an agenda.’

Oli shifts out of his grasp. ‘Are you talking about Dawn?’