Page 37 of At the Heart of It
“These are real couples,” Amy pointed out to Viv as she performed an expert sideways dodge to avoid the grabby hands of some dickhead network producer. Kate made a mental note to keep an eye on the guy. “We pre-screened them all with an eye on what we think will play well with our audiences,” Amy continued. “First and foremost was relatability. A sense of genuineness. These are real people, not actors.”
“Well, some of them are actors,” Kate amended. “This is show biz, after all, and a lot of these folks are coming from LA. Everyone’s an actor.”
“True enough,” Amy acknowledged. “Which does help with the vetting process as far as making sure everyone’s comfortable being on camera.”
“But we plan to do most of the filming in Seattle,” Kate said with a quick smile at Viv. “That keeps us out of hot water as far as where Dr. Brandt is licensed to practice, plus we’ll catch audience interest with the fresh setting.”
“Thank God,” muttered a network exec to Kate’s right. “If I have to watch one more reality TV show set in LA or New York City, I’m going to stab my eyeballs with a fork.”
Kate glanced at Viv, hoping she hadn’t heard the reality-TV remark. Viv had already flipped to the section of the packet with the profiles of the couples they’d pre-screened for the pilot episode. She was reading with a serene, thoughtful expression, and Kate breathed a sigh of relief.
It was a good sign. One of six-hundred and eighty-four reasons she’d always loved Vivienne Brandt was that her desire to help people rang true. That shone through in her books, and Kate felt certain it would come through on camera, too.
She glanced away from Viv and let her gaze drift around the room.
Don’t look at Jonah, Kate willed herself. Don’t think about how hot he looks in that red shirt. Or how hot he looked the other day with no shirt. Or how his lips feel when he brushes them across your?—
“Jeez, you guys aren’t messing around.” Jonah whistled low under his breath and Kate felt her gaze swivel his direction without her consent.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“This first couple—Sam and Elena?”
“Those are their real names,” Amy interjected. “They’ve already signed confidentiality agreements.”
“I hope they signed a prenuptial agreement, too,” Jonah said. “They don’t have kids but they have two mortgages on a four-thousand-square-foot home, and she hasn’t held a job the entire twelve years they’ve been married?”
“It says here she’s been in school,” Vivienne pointed out as she slid a fingertip down her own page. “Working on her PhD in philosophy.”
“To do what?” Jonah asked, flipping through the pages like he might have missed something.
“It doesn’t say,” Viv said. “But is that even the point? She’s working to expand her mind, to broaden her horizons, to?—”
“Avoid reality?” Jonah flipped to the next page, and Kate watched him nudge his glasses back up his nose. “How did these people have the wherewithal to plan a ninety-thousand-dollar destination wedding with three hundred guests, but not to have a simple conversation about their expectations for careers and money?”
“Judgment, Jonah,” Viv murmured in a sing-song tone that told Kate this was a familiar refrain. “We’re here to help them, not scold them.”
“They need more help than we could give them in a thirty-minute reality show,” Jonah muttered.
“Unscripted television,” Viv corrected. “And we’re just giving them the tools they need to find their way.”
Jonah snorted. “Judging from what I’m seeing here, these two couldn’t find their asses with a map and a flashlight.”
“Perfect!”
All eyes swiveled to the head of the table, where Empire TV’s executive director clapped his hands and looked pleased. “This is excellent,” Chase Whitfield added. “I love the dynamic already!”
“I agree,” murmured Luke Sheehan, one of the high-level execs from the studio. Kate had already forgotten his job title, though it clearly involved agreeing with everything the Empire TV team had to say.
“They’re very fiery together,” added another Empire TV exec, almost as though Viv and Jonah were two actors in another room instead of two ex-spouses sitting right here in this one.
“This is some solid-gold shit right here.” Chase Whitfield whacked the packet with the back of his hand, and Kate tried to tamp back the irritation she’d always felt around him. He was one of the biggest names in the business, and they were lucky he’d taken an interest in the show.
That didn’t mean she had to like him.
“You know,” Chase continued, “it’s actually so much better having them divorced.”
“Amen to that,” Jonah muttered as he flipped to the next page in his packet and adjusted his glasses again.
