Chapter Twenty-Four
Eden
Have you ever felt two completely different conflicting emotions at the same time?
I was experiencing that right now, and it felt completely crazy. On the one hand, I was over the moon with joy—Troy had just told me he loved me for the first time, and the thought sent constant thrilling tingles up my spine. On the other hand, I was terrified. Was I about to lose my job?
Probably.
Sure, Glenn knew I was innocent of all the crap Blair had accused me of earlier, but I was the one who’d recruited her as a contestant for the show. He’d been gunning for the saboteur to be booted from the show for weeks now, and surely he would recognize the part I’d played in the debacle. Obviously I hadn’t known it was Blair at all, but I’d been friends with her for years. He’d either think I was a total idiot for not knowing, or that I’d somehow been complicit in her antics.
Either of those things could see me lose my job tonight.
I stepped into Glenn’s office and shut the door behind me with shaky hands. He was standing behind his desk, pouring himself a glass of scotch, and he nodded towards me as I came in. “Drink?” he asked.
That’s it, I’m definitely getting fired. He thinks getting me a bit merry will make it easier, I thought as I took a seat. It was expensive scotch, though; I may as well have a glass while I had the opportunity.
“Sure. Thanks,” I said.
He poured me some of the dark amber liquid, and then he sat down across from me, his expression still hard. “So, Eden,” he began, folding his hands in a V shape on the large desk. Suddenly his face broke into a grin. “Congratulations! Absolutely fantastic work. Sorry about the attitude I gave you out there—I didn’t want the others to get suspicious about the offer I have for you.”
My eyebrows shot up as my mind muddled with confusion. Why was he so happy, and what was he congratulating me for? And what offer was he talking about?
“Sorry, I don’t follow,” I said. “What are you congratulating me for?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Everything that happened out there! Bringing Blair onto the show and letting her run rampant like that; we haven’t had such amazing drama in over five seasons now! We’ll be able to turn what happened out there tonight into a double episode, and thank god for that; with Emily quitting and Cailin in the hospital, we’re in dire need of extra material to make up for their absence,” he said, his grin widening. “God, the way Blair was screaming while those cops handcuffed her….our viewers will be Twittering and Facebooking about this for weeks!”
My face was still blank as I processed his words, and he went on. “Obviously you knew she was a crazy bitch when you signed her on to our show, and you were banking on her doing something like this. I had no idea what you were planning, but by god, it worked. Really fantastic work, Eden. I’m proud of you.”
I knew what he meant now. He thought I’d planned this from the start; thought I’d known full well what Blair would do once she got onto the show, and he thought I’d used that to create drama for the show. He was obviously very pleased with me, and that meant my job was probably safe for now, but I had to come clean—I couldn’t take credit for something I hadn’t done. Especially when what he thought I’d done was so underhanded and malicious.
“Glenn, I’m sorry, but I didn’t plan it. I had no idea Blair would do something like this,” I said.
“Sure, sure,” he said with a wink. “You’ve made her a star, you know. In a bad way, mind. People will be talking about her psychotic meltdown for years.”
I sighed dejectedly, although I knew he was right. In a strange way, Blair’s wish for fame had come true for her, though not in the way she'd hoped. “If I had known what she was really like, I would’ve told you weeks ago so we could’ve gotten rid of her. You did make it pretty clear that you wanted the saboteur gone,” I said.
He waved his hand. “I did, but when I said that, I didn’t realize it was all building up to everything that happened today. I’m glad we kept her around, because like I said a moment ago, what happened out there tonight is pure ratings gold,” he replied. “And don’t be so modest, Eden! You don’t have to be ashamed of your success. Be proud!”
I narrowed my eyes slightly. “With all due respect, Glenn, it wasn’t a success. Cailin was in serious danger tonight. Blair could’ve killed her.”
Glenn scoffed. “Cailin’s allergy is nowhere near as bad as she makes it out to be—I’ve seen her medical files—and we always have spare epinephrine pens around anyway, just in case of emergency. She was always going to be fine,” he said before taking a big long gulp of scotch. “Christ, the network directors are going to cum in their pants when they see the ratings this episode will get. You’re more like me than I thought, Eden. You’ve got a real talent for creating trouble and juicy drama.”
He winked, and I gaped at him in disbelief, unable to form a coherent response yet. His blatant disregard for the truth about my involvement in the Blair incident—and for the contestants’ wellbeing, too—was making me furious, and worst of all, he thought he was actually giving me a massive compliment for being ‘like him’. But I wasn’t; I’d never be like him. I’d never think it was a good idea to exploit people’s weaknesses for good ratings on our show like him and some of the other producers, and I’d never have let Blair come within ten miles of the show if I’d known what she would get up to.
“Glenn, I really can’t take credit for doing this,” I said, my voice firm. I was honestly so close to adding, ‘And by the way, I can’t stand this soul-sucking bullcrap anymore—I quit!’ but I managed to stay calm.
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, I know what this is. You’re acting like this because all you women are taught from birth that you have to be all meek and modest at all times, while we men are taught to grab stuff by the balls. Well, act like a man and grab this by the balls, Eden! I think you’ve done a fucking great job this season, even without counting the Blair stuff, if you truly don’t want to take credit for that. The reason I brought you in here was to chat about a possible promotion.”
My eyebrows shot up. “A promotion?”
“Don’t get too excited. It’s not set in stone. I just wanted to let you know that there’ll be a senior producer position opening up at the start of next season, and right now, you’re my favorite for it. I do have my eye on some others, but keep up the good work for the next few episodes, and you’ll be golden.”
The words ‘I quit’ couldn’t be further from my lips now. As much as working on The Stud bothered me sometimes, I knew I couldn’t just walk away from it when an offer like this was on the table. There was plenty of work on other far more decent shows for people with a résumé which boasted a senior producer job title, but there was far less out there for someone in my current position, because junior producers like me were a dime a dozen. If I just stuck it out for a while longer, I could get the senior promotion and leverage it to get a better job on a less soul-sucking show…a better job that I sorely needed if I was going to make a real career for myself without losing every shred of integrity I had.
As much as I loved Troy and was proud of his football career, I couldn't allow myself to just quit and live off his money. I knew he would support me without question, but I didn't want to be one of those WAGs whose only job in life seemed to be looking pretty and staying thin and tanned—I wanted to earn my keep, not be a kept woman.
“That sounds great,” I said, swallowing my pride and anger towards Glenn. “Thank you for considering me.”
“Ah, I knew you’d come round when I mentioned the promotion,” he said with a gleeful smile. “But keep quiet about it. Last thing I need is everyone sucking up to me for the next few weeks.”
“I will. Thank you, Glenn.”
I swallowed my last drop of scotch before standing up and turning around to leave, and Glenn coughed. “Oh, Eden? Before you go, I wanted to ask you something.”
“Yes?”
“Why didn’t you mention that you already knew Troy from high school before now?”
My heart began to race, and I gulped down a big breath of air and tried my best to give him a casual shrug. “It was so long ago. Like he said earlier, it was just a high school romance. No big deal, right? He barely even recognized me when he arrived here.”
He leaned forward at his desk, his hands still clasped together. “So there’s definitely nothing going on between the two of you? Not even a bit of flirting for old time’s sake?”
I shook my head. “No,” I replied, my voice almost cracking. Just two more weeks of hiding, I thought, trying to stay strong and resolute. Two more weeks till the season is wrapped.
Glenn’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “Good. Anyway, you better get some sleep. We’ve all had a long night.”
I gave him a tight smile, and then I turned and fled from his office, every inch of my body wracked with guilt. I was so tired of all the lies. It felt like I was losing a tiny piece of my soul every time I denied my relationship with Troy or thought about different ways of hiding it, and it was driving me insane.
I didn’t know how much longer I could last…