A surge of hope rose in her chest. “Of course. I’d hardly take it elsewhere when I’m contracted to you. You’re the one who gave me the opportunity in the first place.” She took a deep breath and tried to relax. So much depended on this meeting going the way she wanted it to. Her whole future was tied up in this room with this man. It could go any way.
“Great. Well, I think first up we should have a look at what Russell’s put together, get your opinion on that and then we can discuss your idea, how it will impact on your fans and the studio.”
She nodded and waited while the lights dimmed.
After an hour of watching the finale of her last show of the season and the promo they’d put together for her new show, Bella was barely holding in her temper.
John watched her face as the lights came back on. “So, what did you think?”
Bella counted to ten, glanced between her producer and the show’s boss. They had the potential to make her life easy or ruin it completely. “I love what you’ve put together. The reason behind axing the present show and starting the new one has been shown very nicely. I love the romantic element you’ve added, the photos of Jake and me at the Valentine’s Day dinner.”
They all smiled at each other, prematurely patting themselves on the back, thinking they had a deal.
“But, Russell, you had no right to add those pictures without my permission. You promised you would get it and you haven’t.”
He squirmed in his seat beside her.
“Is this true, Russell? You promised to get permission first?” John leaned forward on his elbows, the lawyer following suit, looking concerned.
“Look, John, I had to do something. Bella’s a star, you know that. How do you think the public is going to react if we tell them that her show’s been axed? What do you think the backlash is going to be like?”
“That’s hardly your concern. I believe that’s my job as studio boss.” The lawyer and secretary both nodded, looking sternly across the table. “Besides, the show hasn’t been axed as yet. We’re merely discussing the possibility, I believe, of using a different format and location.”
“You know exactly what I meant.” Russell waved his hand in the air. “And I’m the one who has to give the viewers what they want if you agree to Bella’s idea. The one who has to come up with the goods that makes the fans keep coming back for more. This is the best way I could think of doing that. Having the public see why Bella is leaving and changing track is a stroke of genius. They’ll all go crazy for it and follow the new show.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Why do you think I brought out Ryan for the dinner?” He paused a beat. “Because it makes you look more important to have famous friends backing you, that’s why. Makes it look like the studio is prepared to back you all the way by bringing out the big guns. I preempted the fuss by bringing in the big guns.”
“That was a stroke of genius.” The studio boss tapped his fingers on the table, frowned. “Or they might change to another channel. Have you thought of that?” John’s face started to turn red. “Or, Bella might turn around and sue us for breach of promise.” His fist came down on the boardroom table and the lawyer nodded again quickly scrawling notes on his legal pad.
“She wouldn’t do that, would you?” Russell looked at her, unrest creeping into his eyes.
Bella looked back at the screen, the edits frozen over a picture of her and Jake in each other’s arms, the shots Jason had taken overlapping behind them. She loved the way the camera had caught them in a romantic, unguarded moment both relaxed with the bustle of a Hollywood production in the background. It screamed love and togetherness and the look in Jake’s eyes made her feel cherished. But she had promised him he would have a say in any photos he was featured in. And this wasn’t merely a photo, it was a whole series of them. It would be aired on all the network outlets right across the country. Nowhere for Jake to hide once it was done.
“I don’t know what he’ll say. That’s a gross act of impropriety that I didn’t expect from you, not after our little chat beforehand.”
“Look, kiddo. You wanted out and came to me with the idea of a new show. Nobody made you put that offer forward but I saw the potential, ran with it. Tried to do something that would make you happy. I put together that promo at the end of your last show to give everyone what they wanted. The studio wants you because you sell. You wanted to go live with your hunky fireman and get away from the glitz. I get all that, Bella. I understand and this is the only way I could see John going for it.” He pushed back his chair and started pacing the boardroom. “You can’t toss a contract away without giving something in return.” He turned to the studio boss. “John, when I pitched the idea to you, you had reservations, am I right?”
“Some, yes.”
“And after seeing that promo. What do you think?” Russell stood at the head of the table with the screen as his backdrop. “Do you not think that this is going to drag in more housewives around the country that can relate to Bella falling in love and wanting to be with her man?”
“You have a point.”
Bella pointed a finger at him. “You do, I agree. I have no problem with the way you’ve put the case forward for me to move to
