And over and over again, Ted moved on to the next candidate without putting up a fight. There were plenty of qualified men with whom he was excited to work. He couldn’t believe his luck.

Not that Holly had been there for any of it.

“Which is why I’m delighted to announce,” Holly said, her voice lifting, carrying Phoebe back to the presentation hall, “the establishment of the Persistence Prize, a new fellowship backed by the Producers Guild that will be awarded annually to one female or gender nonconforming filmmaker to launch their film.”

The men at Phoebe’s table started to shift in their seats. Were they looking at her? Another resentment she’d have to dodge. But Phoebe felt the overall energy in the room start to change, a buzzing strangeness that happened whenever a door cracked open a sliver. At the other tables, asymmetrical pixie bobs rose and bare shoulders sat taller, vibrating with hope. Phoebe did, too, in spite of herself. Pick me, pick me, you could almost hear whispering across the room like a wave.

“This year,” Holly went on, “I’m pleased and proud to share that the studio sponsor is Stabler Studios.”

Great, Phoebe thought, collapsing back into her hips. She didn’t have a chance.

4

Zanne

The door to Ted’s office had been open when Zanne left to ride with Holly to the conference, but it was closed now. He was inside, and the door itself seemed to thrum with his presence, as if he were supernatural and not just rich.

Gaby was on her way for her interview. Zanne tried to put herself in her girlfriend’s shoes, at the threshold of her first encounter with the man, but all she could remember was her own.