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Robin tried not to react. But Sienna failed at the same task. Her smile didn’t drop, exactly, but there was a brief flash in her eyes that Robin was starting to recognise quite well.

‘How’s it feel to beat Sienna?’ Zoe asked Robin.

‘I’m not gonna crow. It was only the first poll. She could easily take the next,’ Robin said. Which was true, annoyingly. Robin didn’t underestimate Sienna Vance now, if she ever had.

‘Very magnanimous, Robin. Now, let’s get into a little more detail from you. How did it feel in the escape room, working with Sienna?’

Robin smiled into her gooseneck mic, keeping her tone easy. ‘Honestly? It was fine. Great, even. Sienna and I got through it in record time, and we proved that logic and intuition can actually get along.’

She looked across the table at Sienna.

Sienna offered a nod, straightening a cream number from her apparently limitless blazer collection. ‘Yes,’ Sienna said, keeping her tone completely flat. ‘We achieved a resolution in eighteen minutes. And the weather en route to the venue was... mild.’

Robin almost let out a snort. Sienna was playing her part to perfection.

‘See?’ Robin said, leaning into her mic with a cheerful grin. ‘Total synergy. We came, we saw, we unlocked a door, and we left. Mission accomplished.’

Zoe leaned forward, sensing the episode slipping away into complete monotony. Unwilling to let her big break turn into dead air, she immediately poked at the calm surface.

‘A record time is impressive,’ Zoe said, pressing her pencil against her notepad and looking directly at Sienna. ‘And the listeners clearly loved Robin’s high-energy style, giving her the win. But Sienna, as a dating expert, did you feel a high-stress puzzle room was a true test of compatibility?’

‘Well… I would say it had its benefits,’ Sienna said evenly.

‘But did you actually get to know Robin, or was it just a distraction?’ Zoe asked.

Robin smelled danger. She looked to Sienna and flashed her a warning look. Don’t do it.

But Sienna didn’t catch it.

Robin watched as Sienna’s brow lowered. Not the full unibrow, but headed in that direction.

‘Well, since you ask…’ Sienna began.

Ah, shit.

‘Though I did learn things about Robin, I can’t say that I felt we got the full measure of each other.’

For Sienna, that was pretty diplomatic. Maybe it was fine? Sienna had to know she was being baited.

Zoe spun to Robin so aggressively, she almost flinched. ‘Robin, let’s reverse that question for you. Do you feel it was a success in terms of getting to know Sienna?’

‘Yes, Zoe. Yes, I would,’ Robin said evenly.

‘So, what did you learn?’ Zoe asked.

‘Well. Let’s see. I guess what I learned about Sienna was that she’s very good at puzzles.’

‘Is that it?’ Sienna asked. The tone wasn’t irritable, exactly. But it was something.

Robin smiled aggressively. ‘No. Of course not.’ She thought fast. What could she say that was even-stevens? ‘I also learned that you like winning.’

Sienna’s head cocked, and her brow dropped a little more. They were approaching the brow merge. ‘Everyone likes winning.’

‘I don’t agree. I think some people are much less fussed. Me, for example. I didn’t care if the clock ran out.’

‘Come on,’ Sienna said. ‘You wanted to beat the room as much as I did.’

‘Nope,’ Robin said breezily. She was trying to be boring, and every word, somehow, brought Sienna closer to anger.