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“Not all jobs have to be exact and evidence-based like ours,” he said. “Sometimes life is about having fun and enjoying yourself.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” she said.

“What’s her name?” Matt said.

“Ash,” said Nina, convinced that he wouldn’t know who she was from that single syllable.

His eyes widened. “Ash Ashton? I didn’t know she was seeing Logan Wild.”

Nina laughed. “Her name is Ash Ashton?”

“For goodness’ sake,” said Matt. “You need to get with the times, woman. Anyway, to change the subject onto something you do know about, there’s going to be a role coming along at my lab. It’d be a step down for you but might be one to consider while you wait for something bigger to come along.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay. Keep me updated.”

“Or,” he said. “You could think about applying for that US-based post I told you about. My friend over there was interested in your CV.”

“I don’t know,” Nina said. “It’s so far away and such a different place to Scotland.”

“How do you know until you try?” he said. “You’re too cautious, Nina. Sometimes you need to take a chance. It’s not like you can never return if it doesn’t work out.”

Nina glanced up to see Isla returning from the restroom and she had a man with her who must be the label guy. “I’ll think about it,” Nina said. “Listen… That’s Isla coming back. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“No worries,” he said. “Give Logan Wild a snog from me.”

She rolled her eyes. “No thanks.”

Matt laughed and closed the call.

Nina stood to greet the label man. He shook her hand. “Hi. I’m Noah.”

She smiled. “Nina.”

Noah sat across from her. “Isla’s told me a lot about you.”

Nina glanced at Isla. “All good I hope?”

Isla smiled, sitting down next to Nina.

“Of course,” Noah said. “I’ve heard all about how you supported her from the start and your role as manager-cum-roadie.”

Nina laughed. “Yeah, lugging that amp around nearly broke my back.”

Isla reached over and squeezed Nina’s hand. Nina flashed her a smile. They still hadn’t had chance to catch up, because when they’d gotten back to the hotel, there hadn’t been much turnaround time to get ready. She made a mental note to make sure they did after the gig because she got a feeling there was an edge to Isla’s behaviour, like she was ruminating over something.

Noah smiled. “I hope you’re having fun so far.” Nina was struck by how young he looked. She’d assumed record label types were middle-aged.

Noah topped up their wineglasses and poured one for himself. “How’s it going with Cam?”

Nina flinched at the sound of his name but luckily Noah didn’t seem to notice.

“Great,” said Isla. “We made some headway yesterday. We’re on the same page with the demo.”

“That’s excellent,” said Noah. He took a sip of his wine. “It’s moving along quickly.”

Nina frowned. Quickly? They sat in a room for six hours with nothing to show for it at the end. She was never going to understand their industry.

Isla nodded. “We’re going to try to get in the studio over the weekend.”