Alice frowns. ‘I haven’t trained you up just to have you walk away now.’

Darcy feels the slightest satisfaction in having Alice view her as some kind of investment. But deep down she knows Alice is more likely irritated that she’ll have to spend time instructing someone new, someone who can’t anticipate her many demands.

‘I’ll finish out this season, of course.’ There is only a week until the show technically wraps and she’s already guided Max in editing together the package for Ty and Penny’s reunion. No one will ever know about the extra footage Ben captured of them. Darcy had watched as Ben deleted it. As badly as she wants to move up the ladder and gain credibility within the industry, she realised she would never be able to forgive herself if she aired the footage. Her emotions and conscience are satisfied in knowing she’s managed to give Ty and Penny the tiniest bit of privacy. ‘It’ll give you plenty of time to find someone else before the next season starts.’

Alice’s face is tight.

The silence should make Darcy feel nervous, but instead she feels a sense of freedom in seeing the finish line ahead. ‘I’ve scheduled one-on-one scenes to be filmed with Addison, Hayley and Jodie for today.’ Darcy moves the conversation back to the job she’s prepared to see through to the end. The interviews will be aired before an edited version of Ty and Penny’s reunion. ‘Ty’s agreed to tell them all separately about his feelings for Penny.’

‘Will he apologise to them?’ The network is in fear of being sued by the girls once the truth of Ty’s feelings for Penny are revealed. Alice’s eyebrows raise, waiting for the answer.

Darcy nods. ‘We’ve gone through what he’s going to say and if he sticks to the script, I think the network will be satisfied.’

Alice turns back to her computer and Darcy assumes that their conversation is over. She doesn’t wait to be dismissed and instead turns away, the feeling of dread returning as she remembers her next task is to go and watch Ty break up with three different women.

‘Darcy?’

She’s surprised to hear Alice call her back.

‘Are you sure you can walk away from this?’

Darcy knows that somewhere behind Alice’s question is a hint of a compliment and that in itself is satisfying. She can’t deny that she has loved working on The One, but she developed tunnel vision. She’d forgotten that the world has other jobs on offer. This isn’t the only place she can grow. It’s going to be hard walking away from familiarity, just like it was hard walking away from Drew, but she knows something else is out there for her. ‘It’s time for me to move on.’