“…..and after we come back from the break, I’ll show you all how to make Canadian bacon soufflé with 7…. 7different herbs and spices!! " a dark haired man extolled to the audience seated in front of him. As the crowd burst into loud applause, the floor director signaled to the man, as well as the blonde haired woman next to him, that they were now in commercial. With that, the man ran over to the left to take a sip of water while the woman moved behind a large piece of staging and lit up a cigarette. “Jack is certainly boisterous today….. maybe it’s the fact that this is the last show of the week and we can get out of town to his cottage in the country…..” Anne thought to herself as she took a deep drag on her cigarette. She knew the producers of the show “Great Cooking!” that she and Jack worked on frowned on anyone smoking while on the set but Anne figured that rules like that were meant for the staff and not an important person like herself. “Psst… Anne…. 10 seconds……! " Anne’s assistant Gloria called out as she leaned around the staging to speak with Anne. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Anne muttered as she tossed her cigarette on the floor and stomped it out with her right shoe. She then hurried out to her spot behind the counter beside Jack. With applause starting up once again, Jack welcomed the TV viewers back and the rest of the show went without a hitch. At the end of the show, with the audience slowly filing out, Jack and Anne made their way back to the dressing rooms chatting about the upcoming weekend and so on. Anne had just entered her individual dressing room and was about to start changing into her own clothes when she heard a knock at her door. Figuring that it was Jack knocking to ask about some detail he had forgot to check with her, Anne went quickly to the door wearing only a bathrobe that was loosely tied at best. To Anne’s surprise and chagrin, it wasn’t Jack knocking on the door but a dark haired stranger dressed in an expensive looking business suit waiting for her. Flustered somewhat, Anne quickly tied her robe a little tighter before turning her full attention to the visitor. “Ummm….. can I help you?” Anne stammered as she heard a knock on a door to the far right of her right. She thought it might have been Jack’s door but now was not the time to investigate. “Sorry to have caught you at an inopportune time but your assistant informed that you leave for your place in the country rather quickly after the Friday show wraps up. If it’s not too much of an inconvenience, I was wondering if I might be able to talk to you for five or so minutes about a business opportunity,” the man said sincerely. “Sheesh…. I hope it’s not another guy trying to get me to invest in some revolutionary cookery that will change the way people prepare their meals…….” Anne thought to herself as she smiled and motioned for the man to take a seat inside. “I realize your time is rather limited so I’ll get right to the point, Ms. Gables. My name is Bill Conolly and I represent a European TV consortium that is looking to put together a cooking show that can be syndicated throughout Europe with worldwide penetration being the ultimate goal. We’ve gone over an extensive list of people we think would be good to host the show and you’re at the very top of the list. If you agree to leave your current job, we can offer a guaranteed three year contract that offers 25 % above what you’re making now plus other incentives and a great incentive package that will satisfy all your needs and then some. Does this sound like the kind of offer you’d be interested in accepting?” the man asked Anne with his tone completely businesslike throughout his speech. Anne was stunned by what she had just heard and was silent for several seconds. As if he was sensing some disbelief in what he had just said, Bill reached into the attaché case he was carrying and withdrew several multi colored pages. He handed them to Anne before sitting back and waiting for her to respond. “Ummm….. ummmmm…. can I take the weekend to think this over. This is a lot for me to digest,” Anne stammered while flicking through the pages nervously. “Of course, Ms. Gables. My partners can give you until the end of next week for a response to the proposal. The only thing we ask is that you keep our private and not discuss it with anyone else especially the staff of the show you’re currently part of,” Bill said smoothly as he pulled himself to his feet and brushed out a wrinkle on his right trouser leg. “Oh…. oh, sure, no problem at all. I’ll have an answer for you by then. Is there a phone number that you can be reached at if I have any more questions about your proposal?” Anne asked as she tried to figure out why such a proposal was being made to her. “My firm’s email address is listed on the last page of our proposal and is monitored on a 24 hours basis. I know you’re in a hurry so unless you have an immediate question, I shall take my leave. Please remember what I have said before about confidentiality….. my firm finds it VERY important. With that, I shall take my leave,” Bill intoned as he stood up and tipped his hat in Anne’s direction before leaving. When the door to her dressing room closed and Anne was alone by herself, she let out a deep breath as if she was holding her breath for an extended amount of time. Glancing briefly at the documents before shoving them into a travel bag, the blonde haired woman finished changing into her outfit and quickly applied her make-up before heading out of the room. “OOOFFF!!!!!” Anne gasped as she walked right inside someone outside her dressing room without even seeing him or her at all. Staggering backwards, she saw that the person she slammed into was none other than her boyfriend and co-host Jack. “Whoah there, geez, Anne, you’d think you were already on the road to the cottage,” Jack said with a wry smile crossing his face. “Sorry, Jack. I’ve just, dunno, got a lot of things on my mind, I guess,” Anne said softly while brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. “Oh. Uh…. I guess…umm…. I can see that but c’mon, it’s Friday! Let’s get the heck out of here and have some fun!” Jack replied enthusiastically after a moment or two of hesitation. Anne saw that he was holding several pieces of folded paper in his right side and was clutching them tightly next to his leg as if he was afraid Anne would see them. Dismissing the sight quickly, Anne smiled and kissed Jack. “I’m with you, darling. Just let me swing by my place and I’ll pick up that black bikini you like so much,” she said softly while playing with the bottom of Jack’s tie. Jack’s face turned red and there was a slight bulge visible in his trousers as he absorbed what he heard. “Ummm, I think that would be more than agreeable. In fact, why don’t you pack that see through nightie that ya wore last month? I never got much of a chance to see you in it, if I remember right!” Jack whispered into her right ear as the two embraced. With that, the two walked quickly out of the studio and headed out to start the weekend………
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