“It’s just best not to let ourselves get confused.”
“Totally. Listen, remember that deal I made with the network so they won’t share that awful secret about your mum?”
“Yes, obviously.”
“Good, I thought you might. Anyway, do you want to tell them you’re not coming to Greenlandia or should I? Prolly best if you do it since you have powerful lawyers and all that in case they say we’re reneging on the deal.”
“Sure, I’ll handle it first thing tomorrow.”
“Terrific. So, that’s it then, I guess we don’t have any reason to talk again.”
“Well, we’ll see each other at the finale after-show,” I say, closing my eyes as I realize how shitty that’s going to be.
“Unless you can get yourself out of it,” he answers.
“I don’t think I can.”
“Are you sure? You’re very powerful with your power and your money and your kingdom.”
Anger flares up, and I’m about to say something when he continues. “No matter, we’ll both be fine by then. Did I tell you I’m pretty much over you already?”
Christ. He’s a total mess. “You did.”
“Excellent, I wrote that one down on a little piece of paper so I wouldn’t forget. I can check that off now.”
“I’m glad.”
There’s another long pause in which I hear his breathing fall into a steady rhythm, almost like it does just before he falls asleep. I sit motionless and listen to it, wishing I could undo what’s been done. Suddenly, he speaks up. “So, if there’s nothing else then, I should go. I have to be up early. I wrote that down too in case I started getting all sappy or something.”
“Smart thinking,” I say. “I don’t think there’s anything else.”
“Okay then,” he says, “Thanks for calling.”
I’m about to tell him he called me, but then I realize there’s really no point. “You’re welcome. Good night.”
“Night, my sweet Belle.”
Okay, that was awful. Breathe, Arabella, breathe.
That was the worst of it. From here on out, onward and upward. No whining or complaining. Just chin up, get on with it. Be stoic. Suffer in silence. Leave my feelings at the door when I go out each morning.
* * *
“Kira Taylor here.”
“Kira, it’s Arabella,” I say, glad I was able to take the VP of Unscripted Television at ABN by surprise. If she’d known I was calling, she’d be ghosting me big time. “We need to talk.”
“Listen, I didn’t know about that whole audio thing untilafterthe show was edited, and by then, it was really too late to do anything about it, given the tight timeline,” she says quickly. “And in the end, it all worked out for the best since we’ve come to an arrangement that allowed us to remove the um…more sensitive things.”
“You still tried to screw me over in a most hideous way,” I say, looking at the mirror on the wall of my office and giving myself a stern glare.
“Yes, well, that’s show biz, right? It’s an all-out battle for ratings. When someone hands us a bombshell like that, it’s basically irresponsible not to use it, since our mandate is to protect the interests of the shareholders and all that…” Her voice trails off, and I know I’ve got her right where I want her—feeling guilty.
I remain silent and let her squirm on the line a bit. She finally speaks up again. “And none of that matters to you, does it?”
“Not even a bit.”
“So, are you calling so I can apologize because I really am very sorry about what almost happened, and I assure you, no one will ever breathe a word. The only people who know are Victor Petty—you remember Victor, yes? My co-vice in Unscripted?”
