“Is this Lucinda Rhodes?” The man’s voice on the phone was deep, like one you’d hear on the radio.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“This is Harry Prescott, Miss Rhodes,” he said. “Forgive me calling you on the weekend, but I didn’t want to approach you at work.”
I searched my brain for the name Harry Prescott, but came up blank. “I’m sorry, Mr. Prescott. Why are you calling?”
“Miss Rhodes, I’m the Vice President of Syndication at Kingston Television. I’d like to speak to you about becoming the executive producer of The Dr. Cole Walker Show.”
Chapter 17: Cole
“Are you sure she’s coming in?”
“Her plane landed last night and she spent the night in the room we booked for her at the Four Seasons.” Harry didn’t bother to look up from his cellphone, which was clutched between his hands with his thumbs tapping away. “Relax, Cole. Why are you so nervous?”
“I’m not nervous,” I said, lying badly as I sat on the edge of the plush leather chair across the desk from him. “I just haven’t spoken to her in six weeks and I’m not sure how she’s going to react when she sees me.”
“She’ll probably run away in horror,” he said with a smile. He sent the text message he’d been typing out and set his phone on the table. “Besides, she is not going to see you.”
“What?” I blinked at him. “Of course, she will. I’m going to be in the meeting.”
He set the phone aside and shook his head at me. “No, actually you’re not.”
“Wait, I don’t understand.”
Even though the show had my name on it, Harry was technically my boss as VP of Syndication. I could argue a point with him all day but I knew from experience, Harry’s word was law.
He said, “I think it’s better that you’re not here. I’m not refereeing an intervention between the two of you, nor am I interested in taking part in some romantic reunion . You asked me to consider her for the EP job and that’s what I’m doing. If she’s qualified, she’ll be seriously considered. If not, she won’t be. It’s as simple as that. Having you here would only confuse things. If you want to see her, do so later, at the Four Seasons.”
“Fine,” I said quietly, knowing that he was right. “Tell me again what she said on the phone.”
“I’ve told you ten times already,” he huffed.
“Tell me again.”
“Fine. I told her that I wanted to talk to her about the EP position on your show and asked if she would like to fly out for an interview.”
“But you did not tell her that I would be here.”
“No.”
“Did she ask?”
“Yes.”
“And you said no.”
“I said that you were not normally involved in the initial interviews, nor would you be part of this one.”
“And she still agreed to come.”
“Obviously.”
“Did you tell her you were interviewing other candidates?” I asked. “So, she wouldn’t expect anything?”
“I told her she was just one of a dozen candidates that were being interviewed for the job. She initially said she wasn’t interested, but when I asked what she had to lose just by interviewing, she said what the hell.” He swept his hands around the office. “And here we are. Waiting for her to arrive.”
The intercom on the desk buzzed. “Mr. Prescott? Miss Rhodes is here.”
“Okay, get out of here and let me do my job,” Harry said, getting to his feet and straightening his tie. He glanced at the platinum Rolex on his wrist. “You’re due onset. Go out my private exit. I’ll call you as soon as my meeting with her is over.”
“Okay, fine,” I said, heading for the door. I opened the door and paused. “Harry, I really appreciate this.”
“It’s not a problem,” he said forward to open the door for me. “Can I ask you one question, Cole?”
“Sure.”
“Why go to all this trouble just to make up with her? Why not just show up at her door with a dozen roses and a giant apology?”
“I don’t think I have anything to apologize for,” I said seriously.
“Maybe not,” he said, slapping me on the back as he ushered me out the door. “But that’s really not the point now, is it.”
Chapter 18: Lucy
I was reluctant at first to even accept the offer to interview for the EP spot on Cole’s show. I mean, come on, I knew I wasn’t being asked to interview because of my experience or skills. I had produced live newscasts for years, but producing a recorded, one-hour talk show would be a whole different ballgame. Not to mention that I would be working with Cole again, a man I hadn’t heard from in almost two months.
“I can assure you, Miss Rhodes, if you were not qualified to handle the job you and I would not be talking,” Harry Prescott said in a tone that told me he wasn’t bullshitting. He did not impress me as a bullshitter, or the kind of guy who would acquiesce to a request just to keep his talent happy, unlike me who had hired Bryant’s niece as an assistant just to get him off my back.
He continued on, “Cole Walker is the talent, but Kingston Television owns the show. We would never hire someone based solely on a personal recommendation or a past relationship. So, the question is, do you want to fly to Los Angeles on Monday to chat with me in person or not?”
It took me less than two seconds to say yes, not just because I was interested in the job, but because I might see Cole again, even though Prescott made it clear that Cole would not be in the interview. I had cried myself to sleep many nights over the way things ended. At the very least, maybe this trip would give us the chance to just shake hands and put our relationship behind us once and for all.
Harry Prescott was tall and lanky and impeccably dressed in a tailored blue pinstripe suit and bright yellow tie. He was sitting behind a large mahogany desk in an office that made mine look like a broom closet. He came around the desk and warmly shook my hand, and directed me to sit in a red leather chair across the desk from him. As we settled in, the assistant who had escorted me back appeared again to set a silver tray on the desk that held two china cups and a silver coffee service and fixings. She poured two cups of coffee while Harry sat smiling at me, then she left the room.
“So, how was your flight?” he asked as he slid one cup toward me and picked up his own. “And how was the hotel?”
“The flight was fine and the Four Seasons is amazing, thank you,” I said, picking up the coffee to drink it black. “I appreciate the gesture.”
“The gesture?” he asked, his manicured gray eyebrows arching.
“I doubt you fly every candidate first class and put them up at the Four Seasons,” I said. “That’s all.”
“Ah, you think that you are getting special treatment because you and Dr. Walker are old friends.”
“Am I not?” I asked the question with an expectant smile. “Oh well, it was nice to feel special for a while.”
“So, let’s talk about your job at WNN,” he said, setting the cup aside without ever drinking from it. He steepled his fingers and rested his chin on them. “Are you happy there?”
I took a careful sip of the steaming coffee and shrugged. “Happy enough, I suppose.”
“If you were happy there, you wouldn’t be here,” he said, holding out his hands, smiling. “Unless you are here just out of curiosity, of course.”
“Let’s assume it’s a little of both,” I said. I glanced around the room. “Is Cole going to join us?”
“No, as I said over the phone, he is not involved in initial interviews,” he said, picking up the cup again. He brought it to his lips and took a careful sip. “Can I be frank with you, Miss Rhodes?”
“Of course.”
“You’re here because Dr. Walker said you were an amazing EP and worthy of a conversation. However, the ultimate decision as to who is hired rests solely on me. So, let’s just forget your relationship with Dr. Walker and conduct ourselves like two professionals who do not have him as a mutual acquaintance, because I assure you, I would never hire anyone simply because the talent suggested I do so. Are we clear?”
I smiled at him. I liked this guy. He reminded me of a tall, skinny Ed. I said, “Clear as a bell, Mr. Prescott. I would love to forget that I know Cole Walker, I mean, for the sake of this interview.”
“Good,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s start again…”
The interview lasted less than an hour. Prescott had a copy of my resume and he spent most of that time staring at it and asking me inane questions about my career. I got the feeling that it wasn’t really an interview at all. It was just Prescott going through the motions so he could report back to Cole that he had indeed interviewed me as promised, and could now mark me off the list.
I left feeling a little dazed and confused. I didn’t get to see Cole, nor did I have a clue if I really had a shot at the job. Hell, I didn’t even know if I wanted the job. Would I take it if it were offered to me? I honestly did not know.