Page 12 of Playing With My Heart Strings

“Ah, Dusty, yes. Let’s debrief, shall we?”

I’m finally able to see the nametag of the producer who was talking to me through the headset.George.I frown. He looks too young to be a George. Wonder if it’s a family name or something.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do tonight. We need to narrow thirty women down to nine right here, right now.”

I nod slowly, trying to remember the singers, but it’s hard to remember names when I can’t place a face to them. “Are there…recordings or something that I can listen back to?” I ask.

“Sure, sure. But we’d much rather not have to listen to thirty performances again, yeah?” the female producer, Leah, points out.

“Here. This will probably help?” George slides a piece of paper over the glass top coffee table that separates us. I pick it up, seeing the names of all thirty women who auditioned…minus one that’s scratched out.

“Why is this name scratched out?” I furrow my brows, pointing out the name covered in black Sharpie.

“Oh, she’s…she’s not important,” Leah stutters, clearly hiding something from me.

“With one woman already having been chosen, we unfortunately had to cut someone from the auditions,” the second male producer, Tobias, cuts in.

“That hardly seems fair.” I look up at them, raising an eyebrow. “She made it to the auditions, why didn’t she get a chance?”

“The decision had already been made, Dusty, let’s not get into it too much. Besides, this will help make your job easier, won’t it?” George says impatiently.

So, this is how it’s going to be?

I’m already annoyed that I have to be here. Now I come to find out singers are having their fair chances taken away from them because of a girl I didn’t even choose?

Whether the producers like it or not, I will be taking hold of the reins for this show. On camera and off camera.

“All right,” I concede, although the thoughts of someone unfairly being cut still wash through my brain. “Let’s get into it, then.”

“We already have Aspen and Sage down on the list from speaking to Alex yesterday. Are you still confident in those choices?” Leah asks, picking up a clipboard and a pen.

I nod.

“Great, we’ll mark those as a go. Anyone else in particular you liked or disliked?”

“Abigail,” I immediately answer, since her performance is fresh in my mind. “I liked Abigail.”

Leah and George exchange a look while Tobias puckers his lips and nods slowly.

“Something wrong with her?” I ask, perhaps a bit too harshly, judging by the way Leah recoils slightly.

“Er, no, not necessarily. We just aren’t confident about the way she looks on television,” Tobias admits.

“That’s not what this is about, though, is it?” I snap. “It’s about finding a singer who matches my voice.”

“Well, that’s part of it, sure, but viewers want good television. They want sparks. Drama. Not…plain Jane from a podunk town in the middle of nowhere.”

I roll my eyes. “I’ll have you know, I’m from what you would probably call a ‘podunk town’ and I’m doing just fine.” I earn myself shocked expressions, but I continue. “I want her on the list. And if not, I’m out.”

“You can’t—” George frantically tries to speak.

“Try me,” I counter, already ready to get up from my seat and walk out.

“It’s fine, George.” Tobias raises a hand to get me to stop. In a low voice, one he probably assumes I can’t hear, he says, “We can just eliminate her early. It’s fine.”

Not if I have any say in it, I think, even though it’s been made abundantly clear I really don’t have any say in things.

“Let’s get back on track. What were your thoughts on Morgan?” Leah asks, scribbling down some notes on her clipboard.

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