The Cinderella Reflex (14 page)

“The X factor – hell, that’s original!” Ollie Andrews snorted. He was staring at Paulina with open hatred now and Rachel Joy edged closer, delighted she was getting something juicier than a run-of-the-mill business story.

“The winner,” Paulina continued bravely, but her voice was shaking a bit now, “will get his or her own show. In fact, the competition is called ‘It’s My Show’ and contestants will have to convince us – through a pilot programme, a written paper and perhaps a portfolio of relevant work – that he or she is the person we are looking for.”

“I am the voice of Atlantic 1 FM,” Ollie interrupted, “so why do we need a new
face
?”

Jack stood up and smartly stepped into the breach.

“Let’s not get side-tracked here. As Paulina said, we are looking for a
new
person to front the newly revamped station.” He held Ollie’s gaze until Ollie looked away, before continuing, “That person could be in this room. It’s My Show is a nationwide competition, but everyone here has the experience to be a serious contender. And remember, even if you’re not the winner, the contest will be a fantastic shop window for your ideas. Ideas are the lifeblood of every organisation and I’m sure I don’t have to remind you,” he glanced at Ollie again, “it is in
all
our interests to make Atlantic 1 FM viable.” He nodded at Paulina to continue.

She smiled gratefully and cleared her throat. “Thank you, Jack. So, what else is there to say?” She glanced at her notes again. “We want to encourage everyone here to put themselves forward for this contest as soon as possible. We are planning a major relaunch party where we will announce the winner. We should have more news about Atlantic 1 FM getting a national license by then too, so we are expecting a strong national media presence there.” She glanced around the room, “Any questions?”

“Do I take it I have to apply for my own job?” Ollie asked belligerently.

“As I said, the contest is open to everyone in the room.”

“What’s in it for the winner?” Rachel Joy pushed a lock of lank fair hair behind her ear and kept her eyes trained on Ollie.

“The winner will have their own weekday show which will run for two hours. He or she will be the face of Atlantic 1 FM, an ambassador for the revamped station,” Paulina replied smoothly.

“And as I think someone has already brought up – what will that mean for This Morning with Ollie Andrews? Will that show then be axed?” Rachel persisted.

“We will be looking at all our programming in the coming weeks but no decisions have been taken yet.” Paulina scanned the room again, looking for someone else to speak.

But it was Rachel who spoke again. “Excuse me? Paulina, isn’t it? Is it true there have been problems behind the scenes on This Morning? I’m referring to the recent incident where your Tess Morgan walked out of studio in the middle of the broadcast. Is your Agony Aunt of the Airwaves having some work-related problems of her own, perhaps?”

A low titter rose from the crowd.

Paulina coughed. “The agony aunt was a pilot slot, and as I said, we will be looking at all our programming.”

“Sources suggest there was a personality clash between Ollie Andrews and Tess Morgan,” Rachel persisted.

“I’m not aware of that,” Paulina replied.

“So why has Tess Morgan left the station then?” Rachel asked.

“Well, I’ll have to ask Tess’s boss that question.” Paulina looked at Helene.

“Um ... Tess has other projects on at the moment so it’s unclear what her commitment is to Atlantic 1 FM.” Helene hoped she’d get away with that. It was the safest answer in the circumstances – at least until she got a chance to talk to Tess.

“Thank you, Helene. So ...” Paulina glanced at her notes. “The contestants will have access to whatever expertise they need – a stylist, make-up artist, nutritionist, voice coach maybe. And Jack and I will be on hand to give tips to anyone who wants them. It’s really up to the individual to convince us that he or she has what we’re looking for. We will be promoting the station on cross media – television advertisements and guest slots as well as blogs and social networking sites – so we want the winner to feel supported. Any more questions?”

“Yes!” Sara’s hand shot up. “You mentioned television just there. Is it true the cameras add on ten pounds?” Everyone laughed except Ollie, who nervously ran his hand over his stomach.

“Yes, it does,” Paulina replied. “But we don’t want anybody going on a crash diet. We’re looking for someone with talent, brains and ambition, not a stick insect.”

“So what’re the criteria to win?” Andrea asked.

“As I said earlier, it’s up to you to convince us with your submissions.”

Jack leaned over to whisper something to Paulina. She looked surprised but nodded.

“Jack thinks that some people might like to put forward their names for the contest right now?” She looked at Rachel Joy. “And perhaps the media might talk to those people later about their ambitions?”

Helene threw her eyes heavenwards. Surely she didn’t think that was going to distract Rachel Joy from reporting on Ollie’s tired and emotional outbursts? She glanced over at Andrea who was poring over a file with ‘Ideas’ marked on it in blue felt pen. The sight of it reminded Helene of all the ideas she’d had throughout the years, and how hard she’d worked to execute them. All the time and energy she herself had spent trying to make Ollie Andrew’s show successful and to get Richard to want to marry her – where had it all got her? Nowhere, that was where. Maybe if she’d put all that energy into her own career she could have been as successful as Paulina was now.

Paulina had told her that she’d decided a long time ago to make herself the number one priority in her own life. And looking at her there on the podium, talking discreetly to Jack about their plans, Helene felt a flash of envy mixed with admiration. Maybe it’s not too late, a little voice inside her suggested. Maybe this was an opportunity to reinvent herself? Richard had always promised Helene she would have her own show one day, but it had never happened. How could she be sure that he would ever leave Louisa either? It was the fear that made up her mind. Her hand shot up. If she declared herself as a contestant now she wouldn’t be able to talk herself out of it later.

“Yes, Helene?” Paulina smiled encouragingly.

“Hello, Paulina.” Helene stood up. “And ... Mr McCabe.”

“It’s Jack.” Jack smiled.

“Well, Jack, my name is Helene Harper and I am currently an executive editor at Atlantic 1 FM. I’d like to be considered for the new um ... the new face of the station.”

“Traitor!” Helene heard Ollie hissing at her but she ignored him. The photographer was angling his camera to get a close-up of Helene and she beamed at him encouragingly. She was in the limelight already! Out of the corner of her eye she could see Richard looking at her with bafflement but she ignored him as well, anxious that the photographer should get a good shot of her.

“Great, Helene. Well done!” Paulina looked pleased. She waved a pen in the air. “Anyone else?”

Sara sprang off her chair. “Count me in!”

“You? You’re only an assistant!” Ollie exploded. “In fact you’re only my assistant’s assistant!”

“Why not? I’m young and I’m hot!” Sara whipped around to face Ollie. The photographer abandoned Helene instantly and made a beeline for Sara, where he was rewarded with a sexy pout from her. Ollie had had enough. He scraped back his chair and stood up.

“This contest is a charade,” he announced. “A cheap publicity stunt. I am currently the voice
and
the face of Atlantic 1 FM. And I intend to stay that way. I have a loyal audience who will not be impressed if I am replaced by some ... some ... whippersnapper! And,” he turned to face Rachel Joy, “you can quote me on that!”

“Oh, I will,” Rachel was scribbling again, a beatific smile on her face.

“Yes, well, let’s wrap it up for today then, shall we?” Paulina said quickly. She sat down and shuffled her papers, looking drained. Jack put a comforting arm on her shoulder.

Helene looked around the room, mentally checking out the competition so far, giving each of her potential rivals a score out of ten.

Andrea would only get a four – she had too many domestic commitments to be truly single-minded enough about the contest. Ollie was now clearly yesterday’s man so she was giving him a big fat zero. Sara was bright and energetic and certainly had potential but she lacked the killer instinct – too spoilt by Daddy’s money, Helene reckoned – and wouldn’t be prepared to put in anything like the work required. She would give her a six.

That left her as the leader by a long shot. Of course, there would be external candidates, but Helene liked a challenge. Isn’t that why she’d stuck with Richard for so long? As if on cue, she noticed Richard walking towards her, not bothering to hide his discomfort.

Helene hesitated. She had just made a very public pitch for a very public role when their plan had always been for both of them to make their new life far away from the limelight. Up to today, Helene would have been more than happy with that. She had seen her hopes of her own show fading over the years and she had come to accept that it wasn’t going to happen for her.

But now everything had changed. Richard’s intentions were unclear to say the least and now this career opportunity had opened up right in front of her!

“I need to talk to you,” Richard hissed. He grabbed her by the arm and manhandled her towards a corner of the room, away from any eavesdroppers.

“What did you go and enter the competition for?” he asked.

“Because I want my own show! Why do you think?” Helene shrugged off Richard’s grip.

“I don’t want you in the limelight, Helene. You know that.”

“You knew I always wanted my own show!” she retorted. They had never discussed how it had never happened for her. Whenever she had tried to bring it up in the past, Richard had changed the subject.

“I think Jack knows I’m having an affair!” Richard’s eyes were bulging slightly.

“With me?” Her pulse quickened.

“I don’t think he knows it’s with you. Yet. But we’ll have to keep a low profile. And if you’re competing for It’s My Show you’re hardly going to blend into the background now, are you?”

Helene raised her eyebrows. “Tell me what I’m missing here, Richard? You are leaving Atlantic. So our having an affair is Jack’s business because ...?”

Richard averted his eyes. “Look, I haven’t been exactly straight with you about something. But now ... well, I ... I need to tell you that—”

“What?” Helene felt a stab of fear.

“Jack McCabe is Louisa’s brother.”

Helene stifled a laugh. “Richard, that is so spectacularly unfunny!”

“It’s not a joke,” he said flatly.

“Jack McCabe is your brother-in-law?” Helene was frankly incredulous.

“I’m afraid so. It’s the only reason he’s buying into the station in the first place.”

“And you’re only telling me this now?” She was genuinely mystified.

“I didn’t think you needed to know,” he said.

“Oh, so you’re like the CIA now – supplying information on a need-to-know basis?” Helene snapped.

“I’ve only just found out that Jack suspects I’m having an affair,” he pleaded. “It was something he said when he arrived today ...” Richard threw a worried look back at the podium. Helene followed his gaze and saw Jack’s eyes trained on both of them. It’s actually true, she thought, sick to the pit of her stomach. Then another thought struck her.

“So this means that Anna and David are – Jack’s niece and nephew?”

Richard nodded. Helene clutched her stomach. Jack McCabe was going to hate her. Not only would she not get the It’s My Show gig, she would probably be booted out of her job altogether.

“Are you sure he doesn’t know that I’m ... that we ...”

Richard shook his head. “I’ve just said. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t.”

“I’ll withdraw from the contest. I’ll resign from Atlantic 1 FM altogether. We can go away, me and you. We can go travelling!” She grasped his arm. “I’ve been to this amazing new cafe at the end of the village. It’s called the Travel Cafe and you can find out anything you want to know about trips abroad. I know the guy who runs it and he’ll help me. I’ll do all the research, plan our itinerary ... Richard, maybe this is all for the best. Now we’re forced to be up front with people, we can finally be together. And it won’t be as difficult as if we were still living and working around here.”

Helene stopped, conscious that she was babbling.

“Are you mad?” It was Richard’s turn to shrug her off. “I can’t leave my children to go off gallivanting with you. And I’ll have to build up a new business. Look, we just need to lie low for a while, that’s all. You pull out of the contest – take the attention away from yourself. And obviously we won’t be able to see each other for a while ...”

Helene shivered. Her hunch had been right. All that talk about him leaving Louisa was just that – talk.

“If we’re not seeing each other it won’t matter whether or not I’m in the contest.”

“I’d still prefer if you didn’t,” Richard was adamant. “And it would be better if you left the station because I’m going to have to work here for a few more months, during the handover period.”

Helene took a deep steadying breath. Did Richard actually think she was that much of an eejit that she was going to give up her job after what he’d just told her? She looked at him as if he were a stranger. And it was in that moment that the scales finally fell from her eyes. Richard only had one agenda going on here and that was his own best interest. Was that how it had always been? Helene still didn’t know. But she was sure of one thing. All the energy she had poured into him and into the Ollie Andrews’s programme would now be going in one direction only. Towards Helene Harper Inc. She was surprised at the frisson of excitement that shot through her at the thought of it. In fact, as soon as she’d stood up to declare her interest in It’s My Show, she’d felt an energy, a high, she hadn’t experienced in years. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Rachel Joy standing close by, throwing curious glances their way. On impulse she stepped towards her.