“You’re talking about the phone store?” I clarify.
“Uh, yes. Do you have more than one previous job where this information could apply?”
“No! And I’m surprised someone told you that about me from that one. Who did you talk to? Was it Chris?”
“You want me to tell you so you can call him and force him to change his mind?”
I’m floored. I mean, I always suspected Chris didn’t love me, but I can’t imagine he would want to ruin my entire career. Just because of one small outburst on my last day. Does this mean no one from NBS actually called to check my references before I started on reception?
“Okay, so what do you want?” I ask warily.
“I’m going to HR at eight-thirty and recommending they let you go. We can’t have someone on staff who clearly wasn’t background-checked for the position.”
I let out a big sigh. “Fine. I’ll be over at Starbucks if you need me.” I walk off, exhausted. I’m not sure Ariel can actually have me fired, but after staying up so late last night, I don’t have the energy left to argue.
I buy myself a large soy caramel hot chocolate and sit at my usual seat, staring gloomily back at the studio.
I wonder if I’d be allowed back on reception if Ariel did fire me. And would I want to go back? I love working with Jules, but I don’t know if I could handle seeing Ariel all the time and have her gloat about the time she defeated me.
I get out my phone and compose a text to Patrick.
I don’t think Ariel wants me around.
I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining, but he’s the one who put me in this position.
He writes back quickly, which is kind of flattering, considering how busy he normally is.
What makes you think that?
I might as well be honest.
My old work told Ariel I wasn’t a team player and that they fired me for non-performance.
My phone rings immediately. I pick up. “Hello?”
“Why was Ariel talking to your last employer?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she was confirming my references?”
“That’s bullshit. She’s just pissed because I made you a consultant.”
“What did you two talk about after the Friday meeting? She seemed like she didn’t completely hate all my ideas when I first presented them.”
“It’s not important. Let’s just say she doesn’t like having to answer to me sometimes.”
“Well, I don’t want to fight with her. I can’t work on the show if she’s going to keep sabotaging me every step of the way.”
“She sabotaged you?”
Oops. I really didn’t mean for that to come out.
“It was nothing. Just a misunderstanding.”
“My ass. Don’t you go anywhere. Are you still at the studio?”
“I’m at the Starbucks across the street.”
“Stay there. I’ll call you back.”
I sip my hot chocolate and wait. I probably made things worse, but it’s too late to take it back now.
Ten minutes later, my phone rings again.
“Go back to the studio. I talked to Ariel and she’s going to co-operate.”
“What did you say to her?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. Also, in case you’re wondering, it was Cam Ariel spoke to at the phone store.”
I laugh in disbelief. “Seriously?”
“Yep. I called and talked to Chris and he let me know you were a model employee, and he was actually sad to see you leave. He also said he hadn’t received a call from anyone at the studio, but when he checked with Cam, he admitted to speaking to a woman. Does that help your state of mind?”
“A little,” I admit. Jeez. Cam really must not have appreciated me calling him a jerk on the way out. So much for all the nice stuff he said on my last day. I re-focus on the conversation. “But the show is a mess, and I don’t know what to do.”
“You use the awesome negotiating skills you’ve acquired over the years. I know reality TV stars aren’t the easiest people in the world, but I have faith you’ll figure it out. And I hear you’ve already made friends with Mason. That’s good. You need allies.”
I wonder how he found that all out so quickly. “Uh, okay.”
“I’ll call again tomorrow for a progress report.”
“Thanks, Patrick. Sorry for all the drama.”
He laughs. “This is nothing. You do realise I work predominately with TV divas? Not to mention all the investors who are constantly on at me to produce results. This is a walk in the park in comparison.”
“I won’t let you down,” I promise.
“I know. Now, go. Help make me a show we can be proud of.”
“I will.”
I hang up and stride back into the studio. Patrick has a way of making me want to try my best, not just for him, but for me too. That’s probably why he’s so successful. He knows how to get the most out of people.
And I want to be like that too. I’ll need to be like that if my plans are going to succeed. I just hope that whatever Patrick said to Ariel calms her down, and that I can somehow magically get everyone to co-operate.
Ha. We’ll see.
I re-enter the cauldron, armed with my clipboard and newly prepared cheat sheets. Everyone is back in the same rooms as yesterday. I don’t immediately see Ariel, and the other producers all look busy, so I head over to Brittany and Blake. Blake looks even more traumatised than the day before.
“Hey guys!” I say brightly.
Blake gives me a sad smile. Brittany seems oblivious to his mood.
“Did you sleep okay, Blake?” I ask.
“Not really,” he mumbles.
“Was your bed comfortable enough? I can see if we can get you a better mattress?” I have no idea if I have that kind of authority, but I want to get him opening up.
“The mattress was fine. It’s just the environment…” His gaze flicks to Brittany and back to me.
“I know this is a pretty weird situation, but you’ll have to make the most of it.” I look down at something on my clipboard. “I saw you mentioned on your application that you feel you’ve gained a lot of inner strength over the years due to your difficult childhood.”
He nods warily.
“Was there a specific incident that you feel defined you?”
“My mum’s death when I was six,” he says softly.
Brittany seems caught off guard by Blake’s confession. “My mum died when I was young too.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says formally.
“Was your mum sick?”
“No. It was a car accident.”
“Oh. Mine had leukaemia. My dad tells me she fought really hard, but she couldn’t quite beat it.”
Blake’s face creases in sympathy. “That must have been tough.”
“But for you, just having your mum suddenly disappear…I don’t know what would be worse.”
Blake gives her a wry smile. “I don’t know if you can really say one is better than the other. Did your dad remarry?”
I sneak out, seeing my work is done. They’re finally acting like humans with each other. I feel re-energised. One down, five to go.
Chelsea and Dean’s room is empty. I look at the cameraman, who doesn’t seem concerned. He’s drinking a coffee and reading something on his phone.
I corner a producer. “Did anyone find out what happened to Chelsea and Dean?”
She smirks. “Yeah, apparently they’re holed up in a nearby hotel.”
“How can that happen? Aren’t they under contract?”
“I don’t know if they care.”
“Do you know which hotel?”
“Uh, The Murphy, I think.”
I make a mental note to follow that up after I’ve dealt with the others.
Tracey and Grant still look like they’re worried they’ll trigger the apocalypse if they so much as make eye contact.
“Good morning,” I say. “How was
your first night in the villa?”
“It was all right,” Grant murmurs.
“It was pretty nice,” Tracey admits.
I glance at my clipboard. “Grant, I see you live near Byron Bay. Do you ever go to Bluesfest?”
He looks at me, surprised. “Yes! Every year.”
“Me too!” Tracey says, looking equally surprised. “I camp down there for the full five days.”
“Who has been your favourite artist?”
“You mean ever? That’s a tough call.”
He smiles. “Yeah, I guess. I loved catching Robert Plant.”
“Oh, he was amazing. But my favourite is always Ben Harper.”
“Of course. His live sets are phenomenal.”
“So I guess you don’t have to pay for accommodation, living so close…”
“No. I’m pretty lucky. If you wanted to save some money next year…” He doesn’t finish the sentence, but Tracey’s eyes light up at the implication. Wow. I don’t know how that happened, but I’m not going to complain. I leave while I’m ahead and move on to Maria and Johnny. They look very hungover.
“Hi,” I say tentatively. “Big night?”
“Can you keep it down?” Johnny says, wincing. “My head hurts.”
“I’ll ask one of the producers to send in some Panadol if you need it, but I just want to warn you, we’re cutting off your drinks for the rest of filming. I’m going to be talking to the staff at the villa a bit later and let them know. We can’t have you guys acting up during filming. The schedule won’t allow it.”
Maria looks like she’s about to protest, but then her cheeks puff up and she pukes on the floor between her shoes.
I jump back out of the firing line. The cameraman leaves in disgust. Johnny looks as if he might be about to throw up as well.
“Both of you, go and have a glass of water. Maria, wash up and I’ll sort this out. I want you both on your best behaviour from here on in.”
They stand up unsteadily and stumble out. The smell of vomit is starting to make me feel queasy too. I head back into the cauldron. “Does anyone know if we have a cleaner on standby?”
No one answers me. I close the door to the interview room and head onto the next room. I’ll deal with that after.
Olivia looks even more disturbed than yesterday. Lee seems to be enjoying seeing her cowering in the corner.
“Hi Olivia, let’s have another chat.” I take her outside the interview room. “How are you doing?”
“Not great,” she admits. “Lee was going around last night spouting off all these Asian stereotypes. And then later on, he threatened to come into my room while I was sleeping and…” She shakes her head. “I was awake all night.”
“Okay, well, I’m going to do everything I can to have him kicked off the show. It’s still early enough to get someone else.”
“Really?” she asks hopefully.
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”
“Thank you,” she says, looking slightly more relaxed.
I track down Mason, who is chatting with a cameraman. When he sees me, he nods a hello.
“Hey, is there any precedent for getting rid of contestants after they’ve already been cast?” I ask him.
“No. Why?”
“I think Lee should be replaced.”
“Ah. Right. Yeah, I heard about what he was saying last night.”
“So can we kick him off?”
“I don’t know. There are rules in place about ensuring the other contestants’ safety, blah, blah, blah, but I’m not sure Lee’s behaviour was serious enough to warrant eviction.”
“But he was threatening Olivia with racial slurs and a possible assault! Surely that’s enough.”
He pulls me away, out of earshot of the cameraman. “You know Ariel told me to stop you from doing anything you wanted to do.”
“That’s mature.”
“Don’t get me started. Anyway, the point is, if I help you get rid of Lee, there will be an even bigger target on both our backs.”
“What if you just tell me what I have to do, and I’ll take responsibility? I won’t get you involved.”
“She’ll know someone was involved, but I guess if you’re willing to take the risk, I’ll help. But I do really need this job, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t throw me under the bus later on.”
“Of course I won’t.”
“Good. Okay, go see Margot in HR and tell her you want to pursue a contract breech based on threats to other contestants. If she needs further clarification, tell her to call me. But only if absolutely necessary.”
“Sure. Thanks heaps, Mason!”
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t ask me why I’m doing this.”
“Because you’re secretly a good guy. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
I run off in search of Margot. She is surprisingly helpful and promises to keep Mason’s name out of it as much as possible. We fill out all the necessary paperwork before I hurry back into the interview room. “Lee, someone will escort you back to the villa and help you collect your things. You’ll be leaving today.”
He laughs incredulously. “What?”
“You heard me. We don’t condone racism or violence against women.”
“Uh, sweetheart, the last time I checked, this show wasn’t exactly the height of moral ground.”
“Well, it is now. Get out.”
“Pfft. Fucking hypocrites.”
I call up Terry and ask him to escort Lee back to the villa. Lee won’t go down without a fight, though. As Terry drags him out of the room he calls out a stream of surprisingly creative expletives.
I shudder. I’m so glad we have Terry.
Once Lee is finally gone, I breathe a sigh of relief. Olivia looks a lot more at ease as well. “I’ll introduce you to Lee’s replacement a little later,” I tell her. “For now, just relax.”
I quickly check on Jill and Ken, who are happily talking about their relationship history. I’m glad I still don’t have to worry about them, although I might have to suggest a couple of spicier topics later. I can’t believe I have to find the line between nice and indecent.
I head towards the studio exit, stopping another producer as I go. “I’m just going to see Chelsea and Dean.”
He nods, and if I’m not mistaken, I think I catch a tiny glimpse of acceptance. It feels good to know I might finally be fitting in. Even if it’s just a little.
I locate the Murphy Hotel, which is only a five minute walk from the studio, and ask reception to call up to Chelsea and Dean’s room. The receptionist hands me the phone.
An annoyed male voice answers. “Hello?”
“Dean?”
“Yeah?”
“This is Lauren from the studio. I need you and Chelsea to return immediately to filming or we’ll hold you in breach of contract. That carries the potential of a fifty thousand dollar fine, and we’ll further sue you for any costs we incur because of your absence.”
I have no idea whether anything I just said is true, but I’m hoping it sounds like I know what I’m talking about.
“Seriously?”
“Yes. I’m expecting you in the interview room in ten minutes.”
He slams down the phone. It will be interesting to see if that changes anything.
I head back to the studio and look through the other male applicants that didn’t make the cut. It’s time to replace Lee.
I’m not sure if what I’m doing is going to work in the long run, but I feel like I’m on the right track.
TWENTY-TWO
I finally see Ariel an hour later. She glares at me, but remains silent. I mentally prepare and walk over.
“Hi, Ariel. I know this situation isn’t ideal, but we need to find a way to work together.”
“And you think the best way to get me on side is to go running to Patrick, exactly like I told you not to? Not to mention you went and removed one of the cast without my permission.”
“If I h
adn’t spoken to Patrick, you would have had me fired, and that’s hardly fair, is it? And in response to sending Lee home, yes I made that decision while you left me in charge, but I consulted with the other producers first and had it signed off by Margot in HR. I want to make this a positive experience for everyone, so that we have a greater chance of getting some lasting relationships at the end of all this.”
“More like we’ll be turning the viewers away in droves. Do you think people actually care if the relationships last after the cameras stop rolling? I don’t know if you’ve realised, but watching people fall in love without manufacturing a little drama around them is bo-ring.”
I don’t get it. She seemed at least a tiny bit impressed when I showed her my research the other day. I guess she’s just annoyed that Patrick thwarted her plan to get rid of me.
“I trust that there will be enough drama occurring naturally without us having to intervene.”
“Good luck with that. And thanks, by the way, for basically ensuring the show’s demise. I’m going to go and work on my CV.”
She stomps off again. Does that mean Mason and I are in charge again?
Around 11am, I ride with everyone over to the villa, and while the initial impression of the place is dazzling, it’s not that much better than a lot of the mansions I helped sell on the Sunshine Coast when I worked in real estate.
With a couple of producers obviously looking around for Ariel, I suggest to Mason that we have a quick meeting. He agrees.
All ten of us gather in an alcove around the side of the house and I clear my throat.
“Hey, guys. Uh, I know this is all a bit weird. I don’t want to get in the way, and I hope Mason explained that already. I’m happy to let him make all the big decisions and you guys to do whatever you want, as long as you check with one of your colleagues first. I’m not sure when Ariel will be back, but for now, just pretend that everything is the same as always. I only have two requests, and if you want to talk to me about them, please come and see me afterwards. The first one is, we should treat everyone with respect, including the cast. And the second is, let the contestants create the drama. Don’t try and force it.”
A few of the producers exchange looks, but I can’t tell if they’re scorn for me or for Ariel’s previous way of operating.
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