Page 64 of Hot Mic

‘Audio Fest went well, then,’ Carrie said dryly.

‘We thought we were getting sacked, honestly,’ Robin explained. ‘Called into Gemma’s office, both of us sitting on her sofa, sweating bullets—’

‘Speak for yourself,’ Sienna murmured. ‘I don’t sweat.’

‘You were practically vibrating, Vance, don’t lie. Point is, we were ready for the P45’s. And Gemma just... turns her iPad around.’

‘We were trending on Twitter,’ Sienna added.

‘Conflict always trends,’ Carrie observed.

‘Exactly,’ Sienna agreed. ‘And Gemma pitched us Head vs Heart.’

‘The premise of which is that you were to go on recorded dates with your very different approaches to dating,’ Carrie said for the benefit of the listeners.

‘And we both went, ‘No,’’ Robin said. ‘And Gemma went, ‘Well, if you don’t, I’ll just bin both your podcasts and hire two twenty-two-year-olds from TikTok.’’

‘That is not a direct quote,’ Sienna said, her lip twitching into the briefest ghost of a smile.

‘Yeah, but it was implied,’ Robin said. ‘You’ll give me that?’

‘Yes, I would give you that. There was a distinct air of threat about that meeting,’ Sienna concurred.

‘And you chose to do the show,’ Carrie said.

‘We chose being able to pay bills, Carrie, let’s be honest,’ Robin chuckled, stretching her legs out under the table. Her scuffed high-top brushed Sienna’s ankle, sending a sharp, unexpected jolt straight up Sienna’s spine. Sienna ignored it. She had to. This was going well. Accidental contact couldn’t be allowed to derail it.

‘So,’ Carrie said, leaning back and glancing over her notes. What were the rules?’

‘Sixty minutes,’ Sienna said, slipping effortlessly back into her articulate, measured rhythm. ‘One date a week. Robin was meant to prove that ‘spontaneity and gut instinct’ built better relationships—’

‘Which it does,’ Robin chimed in.

‘—and I was meant to prove that structured, intentional boundaries prevent unnecessary emotional catastrophe.’

‘And how did that go?’ Carrie asked gently.

Sienna paused for half a second. Her dark eyes caught Robin’s.

‘Challenging,’ Sienna said mildly.

‘She means it was an absolute car crash,’ Robin translated.

Sienna nodded with a small smile. ‘She’s not wrong.’

Carrie’s eyes shifted between Sienna and Robin. Sienna felt horribly transparent. The trouble was, Sienna couldn’t tell arguing with Robin apart from flirting with her. And six months had done nothing to change that.

Fifty-Five

To Robin’s relief, she was growing more relaxed as the interview went on. Bickering with Sienna felt like putting on an old pair of slippers. Cosy and warm.

‘So, you went on a series of dates before the polygraph episode,’ Carrie said. ‘An escape room, salsa dancing, an evening at a cottage in the countryside. And then dates with other people, followed by a double date. I’ve heard them all, of course. But I’d like to hear how you both felt, in light of the fact you were pressured into these “dates”.’

‘It was barely planned initially,’ Sienna said plainly. ‘We got through the first date by the skin of our teeth.’

Robin tutted. ‘We got out of The Alchemist’s Dungeon in eighteen minutes flat, thank you very much.’

‘That was because it was pathetically easy,’ Sienna cut in without missing a beat.