Page 10

‘We drop the date episode Saturday morning. Simultaneously, we open a twenty-four-hour poll on the app. The listeners judge what happened and vote on who won, which you’ll find out live during the debrief episode.’

‘And what does the winner get?’ Robin asked, tilting her head.

‘No prize,’ Gemma said flatly. ‘The listeners simply decide who is right. At the end of six weeks, one of you is officially proven correct on air, and the other has to swallow it.’

Robin sat in silence for a long beat. Despite the lingering guilt over how far she’d pushed things on stage, Robin had to wonder… Could she beat Sienna?

Then Robin groaned, her brain finally asking the obvious. ‘No, wait, how the hell would I ever create a bond with her? We…’ Robin looked at Sienna. ‘Let’s face it. We don’t get on.’

‘We can’t bear each other,’ Sienna amended quickly.

‘I was trying to be polite,’ Robin growled.

‘Where was that politeness onstage?’ Sienna demanded.

‘And where was your famous control?’ Robin shot back.

‘Guys. Save it for the podcast,’ Gemma said, disinterested.

Robin looked at Gemma. ‘You know what? Fine. Let’s do it.’

‘Like we’ve got a choice,’ Sienna muttered bitterly.

‘I do have a choice, actually,’ Robin told her. ‘I can choose how to handle this. And I’ve decided I’m totally up for it.’

‘You’re up for it?’ Sienna repeated, staring at Robin in sheer disbelief. ‘It’s career extortion!’

‘It’s opportunity,’ Robin corrected. ‘It’s a chance to make you eat your words.’

Sienna narrowed her eyes. ‘I guess we’ll just see about that, won’t we?’

‘Great!’ Robin clapped her hands together, looking back at Gemma. ‘I guess that means we’re both in.’

Gemma nodded as though it had never been a question. She turned to her desk and grabbed a couple of clipboards with papers attached, handing them to Robin and Sienna. ‘Now that’s settled, let’s get to the important bit: contracts. You’re looking at a standard rate per episode, plus travel and expenses covered for the location shoots.’

Robin took the paper, flipped to the back and signed.

Sienna tutted beside her. ‘Of course you’re not reading it.’

Robin shrugged. She did feel a bit silly, though. This was exactly how she got stuck with that five-year subscription to a wine club that kept sending her bottles of shitty white every single month. She drank them, but still.

Five minutes later, Sienna signed, nearly ripping through the paper with her signature.

After she’d handed her contract back, Sienna threw Robin a glance. ‘You would have lost that panel, you know. If we’d gotten that last vote.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Robin said warmly. She was glad to see Sienna locking in. It was no fun unless her rival was actually in the fight.

‘Dora will be in touch to arrange the first date,’ Gemma said, standing and ushering them toward the exit. ‘Try not to kill each other in the hallway.’

Gemma shut the door behind them, leaving them standing alone in the corridor.

Robin turned to face Sienna and offered a mock, dramatic salute. ‘May the best woman win, Vance.’

Sienna looked at her with a small, dangerous smile. ‘Don’t worry. I will.’

Nine

The red ‘ON AIR’ light over the glass door turned off, signalling the ad break in the Dating by Design live broadcast.