Page 106 of At the Heart of It
“I wondered about that,” Amy said, shuffling through a stack of papers in her arms. “Here’s that post-production report you asked for. It’s coming along nicely.”
“Excellent work.” Chase took the folder as the doors opened into the lobby. He stepped out ahead of them and took off at a speedy clip, leaving Kate and Amy to exchange a covert glance.
The three of them trooped into the conference room with Chase barking orders at the concierge about coffee service and scones. Amy walked around the table laying a briefing at each spot, and Kate checked her phone for any messages.
There was one from Jonah, sent just a few minutes before.
I miss you already. Last night was amazing. I wish we could?—
“Kate!”
She looked up sharply to see Chase looming in front of her. She clicked off her phone and said a silent prayer he hadn’t seen anything.
“Yes, sir?”
“I’ve been thinking about how to do the big reveal.”
Kate set her phone facedown on the conference table. “The one where Viv tells Jonah—Joe—that she’s still in love with him?”
“That, but also when he discovers they’re still married. What do you think about sending him on some made-up errand to the courthouse where he’ll realize he fucked up and never filed the papers?”
Kate swallowed hard and concentrated on keeping a steady expression. “I think we’d run the risk of making him feel stupid,” she said. “And that’s something we promised not to do.”
“Promises broken.” Chase snapped his fingers. “That’s brilliant! That’s a great title for the first episode, don’t you think?”
“Um—”
“Okay, how about this,” Chase continued, oblivious to Kate’s objections. “We get the two of them in the hot tub together?—”
“The two of who?”
“Viv and Joe, of course.” Chase waved a hand as though to indicate the details were irrelevant. “We make up something about needing them to model some form of hydro therapy for couples or some shit like that. Anyway, they’re sitting there in the hot tub when the lawyer walks out?—”
“Is the lawyer in a Speedo?” Amy pulled out her notepad, and Kate watched her starting to scribble words on the page.
“No, the lawyer isn’t in a Speedo.” Chase scoffed like it was the dumbest idea he’d ever heard. Dumber than getting two ex-spouses into a hot tub together or having one of them reveal her love for the other in front of millions of viewers. “Anyway, the lawyer comes in looking all official and says he has something important to tell them.”
“Cut to commercial break,” Kate said, hating that she could picture this so clearly in her mind. That she knew it would make great television.
“Exactly,” Chase said. “And then when we come back, he delivers the news about the divorce papers not being filed. Boom!”
“Boom,” Amy repeated with a lot less enthusiasm. “So are we setting this up for the season finale, or one of the earlier episodes?”
“That’s the beauty of this, isn’t it?” Chase said. “Post-production can edit to make it look like it happened at any point. We can splice it together so it seems like the big news came after months of filming, or we can do it early in the schedule so the whole season arc is about what happens next.”
It was on the tip of Kate’s tongue to echo Amy’s words from so long ago. Isn’t that a little dishonest?
But she knew better. And she could see Chase’s mind was already made up. “I say we do it fast.”
“What?” Kate took a steadying breath at his words. “But why? What’s the rush?”
“News spreads quickly in this business,” he said. “I don’t want any leaks. I’d rather spring it on Jonah fast so we don’t risk someone else spilling the beans.”
Kate swallowed hard and nodded. “Right. There are bloggers who get off on spoiling shows months before they release.”
“I’ve already heard about Reality Steve sniffing around the camera crew,” Amy added, prompting a sour look from Chase. “Don’t worry—Pete wouldn’t do that. He’s one of the most honest guys I know.”
Chase nodded, though it occurred to Kate that wasn’t necessarily a plus in the boss’s book.
