Chocolate for Two (13 page)

I nodded, burning with curiosity about what he had to say to me—
in private
.

I also wondered what he and Wendy would be talking about—
in private
.

Ugh, drama.

No matter how hard I tried to avoid it, there was always a lot of drama that went along with working with Wendy Davenport. Because we produced my segment of the show separately, I did my best to stay on the periphery of it. And so far Justin had been rubber-stamping the topics I wanted to cover in
Honey on Your Mind
, which was just fine by me.

I wondered if that was about to change.

When Wendy returned several minutes later, I looked up and smiled, determined to be nice to her. “Did you have a good weekend?”

She patted her hair and nodded. “It was fabulous, thanks. I heard
you
were on TV yesterday…several times.”

I balled up my fists under the table. “You did?”
Several times?

She clasped her hands together. “I heard commentators were having a field day. Apparently they recognized you and thought it was a hoot that every time the camera panned to you, you had your face in your phone.”

I winced. “Was it bad? I mean, for the network?”
Am I busted?

She didn’t reply right away, and I braced myself for her reaction. With Wendy, you just never knew.

She shrugged. “Hon, I don’t think there’s much crossover in our demographics, so to be honest I’m not too worried about it.”

I exhaled and put my head down.
Thank God.

“You look quite pretty today, by the way.”

I looked up.
What?
Wendy hardly ever threw me a compliment.

“I do?”

“Yes, dear, it looks like you finally got some desperately needed sun.”

And there you go.

She stood and hooked her purse over her arm. “I’m just going to run to the powder room before the meeting. Be right back.”

As she strolled out the door, Justin returned.

“So, Waverly, can you please drop by after we’re done here?” He nodded toward his office.

“Okay, sure.”

Had he heard about my unfortunate solo performance on national television?
Way to act like a bored teenager, Waverly
.

Several staff members walked in, followed a few minutes later by Wendy, and the standard premeeting chatter began to float through the room. I pulled out my notebook and pretended to pay attention, but for the next hour I barely heard a word anyone said.

I felt like a high school student asked to meet with the principal after school.

I hope I’m not in trouble.

After the staff meeting, I stopped by the kitchen to refill my coffee mug before reluctantly heading down the hall to see Justin. I knew from personal experience that it was rarely good news when you were called unexpectedly into a higher-up’s office.

When I reached his open door, he was sitting at his desk and on the phone. He motioned for me to come in, so I took a seat across from him and quietly sipped my coffee.

“Yes, she just walked in,” he said.

I froze midsip.

“Yep, I’m just about to tell her.”

Tell me what?

I fidgeted in my seat while he finished up the call. When he hung up, I did my best to smile.

“Waverly, thanks for stopping by.”

“No problem.” I kept on smiling, even though I was pretty sure he knew it was forced.

He cut right to the chase.

“Did you have a nice trip to Florida?”

I stopped smiling.

Uh-oh.

I nodded and shifted in my seat. “I did, thanks.”

“I heard you made quite the impression at the Heat-Lakers game yesterday.”

Oh, sweet sugar.

I laughed nervously. “So I’ve heard. Was it…um…that bad?” I figured I might as well cut to the chase too.

“That bad?”

I swallowed. “I mean…um…was anyone at the network upset?”

“Upset?” He looked surprised.

“Yes, um, you know, because I wasn’t really paying attention to the game?”

He waved a hand in front of him. “Oh, please. If anything, they were pleased the camera guy recognized you from
Love, Wendy
. The show got a good plug out of it.”

I felt my shoulders drop.

Thank God.

“I’m glad to hear that. To be honest, I was a little worried. I didn’t realize the game was on NBC.”

He shook his head. “Waverly, if there’s anything I’ve learned since I joined
Love, Wendy
, it’s that most of our viewers don’t care a lick about sports. You think Wendy knows the difference between a zone defense and a criminal defense? Please.”

I laughed and smiled, this time for real. “You have no idea how glad I am to hear that. So, um, what did you want to see me about?” I winced as I realized how many times I’d uttered
um
in the last three minutes. I hated that it infected my speech when I got nervous. I was usually able to keep the
um
s at bay while on camera, but in person they managed to creep into uncomfortable conversations.

Like this one.

He gestured to a thick manila folder on his desk. “Actually, speaking of our viewers, that’s a perfect segue into why I wanted to talk to you.”

I raised my eyebrows.

He opened the folder. “Well, as you know, I like to run a tight ship around here, and I don’t see the value in wasting our valuable budget on programming that people aren’t responding to.”

I swallowed.

“Shortly after I came on board, I hired an outside research firm to conduct a number of focus groups on the show,” he said.

“Okay.”

He tapped a finger on top of the stack of papers inside the folder. “I was very curious to see what the research had to say. I wanted some real insight into what people like about it, what they don’t like, what they’d like to see more of, that sort of thing.”

I nodded but was having a hard time processing his words.

Is this good news or bad news?

“I got the final report last week, and I found it quite interesting. It wasn’t what I expected, to tell you the truth.”

“Okay,” I said again. I’m sure I had a strange look on my face.

Am I about to get fired?

He tapped the stack of papers again. “
Honey on Your Mind
tested well, Waverly. In fact, it was very strong.”

“It was?”

He nodded. “I was surprised, to be honest. Personally I find your segment quite entertaining, but I thought your sense of humor might be a bit too…how should I put this…
sophisticated
for our viewers.”

“Sophisticated?”
He thinks I’m sophisticated?

He nodded. “I
am
a Brit, you know. We love our wit.”

I laughed. “I’m honored that you think I’m witty.”

“I do, but I’m not the target audience, which, to be frank, concerned me a bit when I took this job. However, the research shows that people who
are
the target audience really like your segment too.”

“They like my segment too?”

He nodded. “They
relate
to it. That was the word that kept coming up in the report.
Relate
.”

“They relate to it?”

“They do.”

“They do?” I balled up my hands into fists again.
Why do I keep repeating everything he says? What the hell is wrong with me?

“Yes. Viewers identify with the situations you report on, and they love the self-deprecating way you present it. They relate to
you
, Waverly.”

I exhaled and took a peek down at my clenched, sweaty hands. I could also feel perspiration prickling the back of my neck.
You have no idea how much you just rattled me.

“So I want to give the viewers what they want.”

I looked up. “Excuse me?”

“I want to give the viewers more
Honey on Your Mind
. Starting the first of November, I want you to do a segment on every show.”

I coughed. “Five pieces a week?” I was currently doing two or three a week. And drowning.

“Yes. Wendy will be announcing it on the show late next month.”

“Wendy knows about it?”

“Of course.”

“And she’s cool with it?”

“Of course.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?” He gave me a strange look.

Do you really not know she doesn’t like me?

I swallowed and tried to look casual. “No reason. So, um, if I do more segments, what’s going to get cut? Or are you going to make the show longer?” God knows what Wendy would do to me if one of her favorite spots got the axe because of me.

He made scissors with his fingers. “I’m cutting viewer pet and baby videos. People get enough of that on YouTube.”

I stiffened. Wendy loved those stupid pet and baby videos.

Justin tapped his fingers on the folder again. “I’ll also need your proposed topics for all of November on my desk by the first of the month, okay? From now on I want to have the entire month planned a month in advance.”

A month in advance? Do you not realize how much I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants here?

I didn’t reply.

He raised his eyebrows. “Is there a problem?”

I didn’t want him to know what I was thinking, which was that I couldn’t do it.

I can’t do it.

“I thought you’d be thrilled by the news. We’ll adjust your pay accordingly, obviously.”

I hesitated for a moment, then spoke. “Well, it’s just that I—”

Just then his phone rang, and he held his hand up to interrupt me. “I’m sorry, Waverly, I’ve got to take this call. We’ll work out the details later, okay?” His demeanor indicated that it was time for me to go.

I guess it was settled.

I’d just gotten a promotion.

A big promotion.

I should have been celebrating my good fortune, but that’s not how I saw it.

Double the work?

I’m gonna die.

I ran into Scotty Ryan on my way out of the building after the meeting. I never ran into him anymore and had even resorted to leaving him a voice mail about my engagement so he wouldn’t hear the news from someone else.

“Waverly, love! How are you?” He kissed me on the cheek.

“I’m good, Scotty, how are you? How is life in the executive suite?”

He gave me a weary smile, and I could see the crow’s-feet around his eyes. “Exhausting, but I can’t complain. So, how goes the wedding planning? When can I expect my save-the-date?”

I laughed. “Not everyone is as organized as you and Tad.” Scotty and his husband Tad had gotten engaged on New Year’s Day and had already tied the knot in early June at an art gallery in SoHo. “I’m still getting used to being engaged.”

“Let me see the ring.” He reached for my hand. “Ah yes, that man has good taste in women
and
in jewelry.”

“Such a charmer. So, how is married life treating you anyway? I haven’t seen you in ages. Why did you have to abandon our show?”

He laughed. “Abandon? Kitten, you were hardly abandoned. If you haven’t noticed, Justin Wagner may be the most talented producer at this network.”

I nodded, still a bit stunned at the news Justin had just given me. “It’s hard not to notice someone
that
organized. He’s like a human spreadsheet. He’s great, but I just miss you, that’s all.”