Real regret turned down the corners of her mouth. “I don’t have that kind of clout with the studio. I have my own production company within the parent/studio structure. So far, Mitchell has only greenlighted my one show because he wants an Emmy. Once I prove myself, I’ll have more clout. After this show airs, there’s a good chance someone will try to recruit you. We have several hosts on EN that started out in contests and are now hosting their own show. Think of all the business cards you’d get then.”
His warm laughter washed over her, and a tingle crossed her arms. “If I did a show, it’d be about chocolate,” he said.
“You could re-live your adventurer days looking for chocolate in all its forms, show your viewers how it’s made, meet chocolatiers the world over. Perhaps a three-part series, something to get the audience interested and then—” She halted, realizing too late she was rambling. “Sorry, I get an idea and I go with it.”
“No, keep going. I like the idea. I met so many great people who specialize in chocolate. It could be an origins story from Aztecs to the finest chocolate houses in Paris.”
“Exactly, chocolate across the ages. We should draw up a proposal. If Mitchell says no, there are other networks. It would be a lot of travel, but you said you enjoy it.”
His expression fell and he crossed his arms. “It sounds like a great idea but I can’t leave Seattle. Not now. Not until…” he trailed off, straightening his back and exhaling.
Chloe. Alice’s own enthusiasm dimmed and she took a drink of her wine. “No, I get it, no explanation needed. How…how is she? I know it’s none of my business but…how is she?”
“I can’t answer that,” he said.
“Sorry, it’s none of my business.”
He laid a hand on hers and his strong fingers curled around her palm. “No, it’s not that. I don’t know. We don’t know. What we do know is they found a stem cell donor.”
Goosebumps flew across her entire being and she forced her hand beneath his to stay still. She couldn’t keep the wetness from her eyes. “Wow, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? I mean, it’s my understanding that a sibling is the best match. When Brooke was in a car accident and had to have an infusion, I was able to donate. Chloe is an only child.”
Alice held her breath, waiting for his response. She felt the worst sort of manipulator for asking such personal questions but she needed answers for her own sanity.
“Apparently, anyone with the same genetic makeup can donate. Her doctor is confident they have a match but it takes time to do the tests. Right now, Chloe is stable.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Inroads in modern technology have made the once impossible, possible,” she said, quoting some generic statement she’d read in a magazine. How empty the comment sounded. She wanted to ask him a hundred more questions but each one seemed obtrusive and obvious. Too obvious.
Cold air rushed across her legs and noise erupted behind her. A group of people pushed into the once quiet bar and began to pull tables together.
“Looks like you have a big top.” Alice downed the rest of her wine and tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. She’d no longer have him to herself, not with eleven people demanding his attention.
Without asking, he gave her a refill. “I’ll go take care of them and then check on your food,” he said, retrieving pen and paper from beside the register.
“Thank you,” she said with a forced smile. She clicked on the email app on her tablet, her mood worsened by the interruption. Mitchell had forwarded the link to the edited segments. Three hours later than he promised. It would be another all-nighter for Alice but she didn’t mind the work.
Opening a document, she began to write out the proposal she’d discussed with Niko. Why not? It was a solid idea for a show and she would owe him for the terrible lie she’d perpetrated on his family. If she was going to hell, she was going for the right reasons.
Chapter Thirty
“Five minutes, Contestants, five more minutes.”
Alice shifted in her chair behind the monitors. The second round of competition had flown by, each movement by the contestants riveting. As had happened throughout the cooking portion of the show, her attention was focused on Niko. Hair pulled back to expose his rugged jaw, his cut arms under a fitted CG T-shirt flexed as he worked on the last details for his Christmas ornaments.
He had received a record number of likes and posts on the show’s social media page. Many people were curious about who he was, while others recognized him from his MMA days. Brooke had played up the ex-athlete angle and the women loved it. It was unfair that the audience judged him by his looks alone, but there was no help for it.
“Niko, you look a bit lost. There is a lot riding on this round for you, and for your charity, Grams’s Kids,” Grace said.
He tilted his head, lips curving the slightest bit. Lips she’d kissed and wanted to kiss again. “Don’t worry about me, I got this,” Niko said.
By the time EN broadcasted the second show, she’d poll the audience and see how many people would be interested in the show on chocolate she’d discussed with him. Even if they agreed on the concept, how could she ask him to leave everything and travel to far off places? She couldn’t nor could she see anybody else hosting this but him. Perhaps another idea on the backburner, like so many of her previous ideas. She loved 3Square but she wanted a different challenge and traveling around the world with Niko would be a challenge.
You don’t have a future with him, either personal or professional. Alice would be better off giving the idea to Mitchell and letting him fly with it. She’d be left out of the loop, but it wasn’t about her. It was about Niko. She was starting to care for him in a way that was sliding down a slippery slope.
“Alice, Grace called time,” Brooke hissed in her ear.
“Contestants. Please stand at your marks.” Geez, she’d been caught daydreaming. Scrambling from her seat, she clicked on the volume of her mic and began to direct the crew. Not that they needed much direction. She’d worked with most of them since the beginning of the show. They were a well-oiled machine and had become like her family. She cared for each and every one of them, but the show that had driven her life was no longer a challenge.
Boring. Boring. Boring.
