Henrik looked inquiringly at him.
“We’ve seen your withdrawals. The head of finance noticed that money had gone missing from one of the accounts. Transferred to Nymans. We could report you to the police. This is serious.”
Henrik didn’t say anything. He had regarded the transaction as a loan, but he knew that his father was right. It wasn’t entirely aboveboard and could definitely be used against him.
He turned and walked out of the conference. It was dark now. Cars were whizzing by, and he could see snowflakes in the red glow of their rear lights. He leaned against a wall, took a few deep breaths. He had so much to sort out, but for the first time in his life he felt free, completely and totally free.
Later that afternoon Henrik stormed into TV24’s spacious reception area.
Once he was inside, he slowed down and approached the receptionist with a polite smile.
“Could you please let Don know that Henrik Eklund is here to see him?”
“Of course. Does he know you’re here?”
“No—that’s why I want you to tell him.”
The receptionist tapped on her keyboard and asked Henrik to take a seat. He couldn’t possibly sit down, so instead he paced up and down. He tried calling Don while he was waiting, but got no answer.
Ten minutes later, Don appeared. “Hi, Henrik, thanks for an interesting press launch.”
“I’ve called you twenty times.”
“I think I know why you’re here. Come with me.” Henrik followed him toward the door, but the receptionist called after him.
“Wait—you need a visitor’s badge.” Henrik turned back and took it, fastened it to his jacket.
They went into a conference room and closed the door.
Don sat down at the table while Henrik remained standing, arms folded. “What the fuck was that promo supposed to be? That was nothing like what we agreed to.”
“I didn’t edit it or produce the content.”
“No, but everyone knows it was done on your orders.”
“Yes, and we want a show that people will actually watch. TV24 is very pleased with it.”
“Nora Jansson was portrayed as hysterical and incompetent. It was farcical and undignified. Like I said—not what we agreed on.”
“As I said, we’re super happy with the show—this is going to pull in new viewers. And don’t worry, we’ll include your little romance.”
“I don’t want the show to go out like this. It’s not happening.”
“But Henrik, the final episodes are being edited with that angle in mind as we speak—the team’s already put in several days’ work. We can’t change it now. Besides, we don’twantto change it. The premiere is next week.”
Henrik leaned forward. “And I thought you wanted to get away from docusoaps.”
Don didn’t say anything.
“What was shown at the press launch today is entertainment at the expense of other people’s health and dignity—reality in its purest and dirtiest form.”
Don still didn’t speak, but Henrik could see he had made him think.
“Everything I’ve produced has been a roaring success,” he said eventually. “I know what viewers want.”
“If you don’t go back to the production company and make them change the angle, I will never work with TV24 again.”
Another silence. Henrik was taking a chance; he didn’t even know if they wanted his show next year. Maybe his threat wouldn’t carry any weight, but he couldn’t think of anything else. And he had to fix this; otherwise he risked losing Nora forever.
