‘At least he’s good-looking,’ Alice says, her expression implying she doubted that would be the case since Nigel made the final call. She drops the folder of notes onto the desk. ‘Okay, so we’re running with Ty Peterson.’ She doesn’t seem overly thrilled, more resigned to Nigel’s request.

Despite her exhaustion, Darcy flickers with excitement, the prospect of both a shower and her bed flooding to the front of her mind. She hasn’t heard from Drew since she hung up on him almost twelve hours ago. He must be furious with her, but she can’t muster the energy to even begin to think about how she’s going to make it up to him. She slides her feet under the desk, blindly searching for the shoes she’d kicked off hours ago.

‘You’ll need to schedule the publicity shoots ASAP,’ Alice says, glancing at her watch, which would tell her it’s almost four a.m. ‘Get him in first thing. We might be able to get something out to the press by day’s end.’

Oh God. Darcy is going to cry.

‘You want us to do that now?’ Mel clarifies, her voice unsteady. They had gotten into work around eight a.m. which means they’ve been there for about twenty hours straight. It’s hideously illegal, but who would protest and risk not only their job, but the rest of their career?

‘I’m going to pretend you didn’t just ask me that ridiculous question.’ Alice doesn’t look at either of them. ‘Email me through the schedule as soon as it’s done. I’ll be in my office.’ Alice barely seems tired. If anything, she seems more motivated than normal, almost like she’s thriving on the pressure. It makes Darcy wonder what Alice would be like if she were a producer on the news. Would natural disasters, world chaos and murder be like hitting the jackpot? In that case, maybe reality television is the best place for her.

Alice leaves the room but Darcy and Mel both sit there for a moment, frozen with the knowledge they have hours of work ahead of them. Sleep is a faraway fantasy.

‘Doesn’t she have a home she wants to go to?’

Darcy looks down at the long list of things she needs to complete. ‘Some days I seriously question my career choice.’

Mel laughs. ‘What, only some days? I feel like I question it at least once an hour, every work day.’

Darcy grimaces, wondering whether she’s committed enough to be successful in this industry.