"That's wonderful news!" Hartleigh said, clapping her hands together. "It's all thanks to you."
Nina made a gagging noise, and Hartleigh glared at her.
"Just dust leftover from the fire," Nina said with a fake smile.
"Theyare callingus!" Dana continued, giddy. "Do you have any idea how rare that is? This is totally organic and totally unprompted."
"So now we are expected to make TV appearances?" I muttered to Nina.
"You will be compensated, of course, for your time," Dana said, looking at me.
"If I'm paid, I'll do anything," I said loudly.
"I know you will," Hartleigh growled, "including other people's boyfriends."
"Jack is not your boyfriend!" I yelled.
"He's not yours either!" she screeched. "He is going to marry me. His parents don't even like you."
Even though I knew Jack had said he had a bad relationship with his parents, Hartleigh's words stung.
She smiled triumphantly when she saw my expression. "I hear these things. We're very close. They already think of me as their daughter-in-law," she said.
"She's lying," Nina said. "You're such a horrible person, Hartleigh. I know you sabotaged the deep fryer."
"Girls!" Dana yelled. "I swear, I should have been a middle school teacher. Stop fighting over men and stop blaming each other. We have a packed schedule for the next few days for your TV appearances. And you all have to try to act friendly in front of the cameras. Understood?"
We spent the rest of the day going from show to show. During most of our appearances, they wanted us to do a little baking demonstration. They also wanted to talk about Jack.
"How is it to have Jack Frost as a judge?" one host asked.
"I wouldn't mind having him judge my cookies!" her cohost joked, and the audience roared in laughter.
"Are the rumors true?" another talk show host asked me.
"Excuse me?" I choked out.
"About you and Jack having a relationship," she said.
A picture of us atThe Nutcrackercame up, then several more pictures of us together.
"I… we're just… I was just working on a side baking project for him," I said lamely.
"Oh, asideproject," the host said, exaggeratingly winking at the camera.
"They aren't together," Hartleigh said snottily. "Besides, Jack has too much integrity to let any previous relationship affect his impartiality as a judge. He and I grew up together, we're very good friends. Our parents want us to get married. Hopefully we will start a family soon one day." She preened for the camera.
"So, you two have a history?" the host said, turning her attention to Hartleigh. "Can you tell us, what was Jack Frost like as a kid?"
"I cannot believe her," I fumed to Nina after filming the segment.
"Everyone will see that she's clearly insane," Nina said. "Besides, Jack's is the only opinion you should care about."
We filmed several more segments, including a couple that evening for the late-night talk shows.
I was tired, and my feet hurt when we returned to the tower.
"Don't forget," Dana said as we walked out of the cold into the lobby. "You all need to be down here at three thirty in the morning to go on the early-morning shows. Wear something cute. The crew people there will do your makeup, so have a fresh face."
