my head. I’ve been working in TV for the past thirty years and back then it was nothing like this performance it seems today.’ He rubbed his beard and sighed. ‘But things change.’ A knock at the door made him pause as he gratefully took two steaming mugs of tea from a woman wearing a thick fluffy jumper that had dog paw prints embroidered over each large breast. ‘Thanks, Dana.’
Dana blushed and dipped her head before scurrying out into the corridor.
‘So, Georgia, I’m one of the producers here and we thought it would be great if you and I got to know one another a little better. Today is about you and Ben, and informing you both about the premise of the show, and why we’d love for you to be involved. I spoke to Rahul who said he’d filled you in on some of the details but I wanted to make sure that you’re comfortable with everything before you sign up.’ Jerry passed me a cuppa and grabbed a notepad. ‘To really make sure you’re both happy we prefer to interview potential guests separately – that’s why Ben was also whisked off. He’ll join us shortly.’
I gave a hesitant nod; this was the one time when I could have really done with having Ben by my side. Don’t be such a baby. Where’s that fearless traveller gone? I berated myself.
‘Is Rahul about today?’ I asked, blowing on the steam of my cup of tea.
Jerry shook his head. ‘No, he won’t actually be working on this series. He’s going to be away filming something else. He just acted as matchmaker.’
My face must have given away how disappointed I felt. I really got on with Rahul, and as charming as Jerry seemed to be, I had hoped that my first foray into the world of television would be with the support of people I already knew and trusted. I felt like I needed some hand-holding especially after the last time I was on camera in India it caused me so much trouble.
‘Oh, okay.’ I paused. ‘Erm, Rahul also said that maybe we could meet the other guests?’
Jerry shook his head sadly. ‘Ah, well, until contracts have been signed I can’t reveal who you’ll be travelling with. But I can tell you that I’m sure you will have six new friends by the end of it all.’ He smiled at me.
I blushed slightly before asking the next question, ‘Rahul also mentioned something about a cash prize?’
‘Yes! Our sponsors for the show have agreed to give quite a healthy sum of £25,000 to the couple who win the most challenges, with the idea that it will go towards investing in their business, but how the winning couple spends it is up to them!’
‘Wow!’ Before he finished speaking I’d instantly banked the money into the Lonely Hearts Foundation, the charity fund Ben and I had set up after my trip to India, knowing how it could help such a valuable cause as getting children off the streets, and maybe bringing about some decent PR, my business side nudged me. ‘What sort of challenges are we talking?’
‘Oh simple things, just to add a bit of colour to the show really. Between you and me, this cash prize is just so the sponsor gets more shout-outs in the show. It’s all about building that special viewer–brand relationship.’ He rolled his eyes as if it never used to be like this in his day. ‘I can’t imagine they would be expecting the contestants to go above and beyond the call of duty.’ He waved his hand dismissively and glanced at the sheets of paper on his lap. ‘So, I think that’s a short overview. Can you tell me about your relationship with Ben? I know it feels weird to be talking about something so personal but what you tell me in this room stays in this room. It will just help shape the interview questions that you’ll be asked once you’re away.’
I nodded. ‘Erm, sure, okay, well Ben and I met in Thailand –’
‘Ah yes, you travelled there after being jilted, didn’t you?’ he interrupted me.
I felt my hackles rise like they had with Blaise. I had to put a stop to this angle they were clearly looking to go down. I cleared my throat and sat upright. ‘Yes I did. But honestly, Jerry, I don’t want to be known as “the jilted bride”.’ I made inverted commas with my fingers and cringed. ‘I was dumped, and yes that was the catalyst for going away but that is all in the past now. I’ve made something out of what was a horrible time and I couldn’t be happier.’ He was nodding along and making notes as I spoke. I felt really hot all of a sudden. ‘I don’t want this part to be a big element of the show. Rahul told me it would be more looking at how Ben and I manage our time working on the business, and our passion for travel. Is that okay?’
‘Mmm. I just have to ask these silly questions,’ he said gently. ‘I’m sure it won’t be the main focus of things.’
‘Okay, well if you could note that down please, I’d be really grateful.’
Jerry leant forward and put the papers to one side. ‘Georgia, we’re thrilled to have you both here today and we only want you to feel happy. Please trust me that you honestly don’t have a thing to worry about when you’re away, well apart from maybe applying sunscreen and mosquito repellent!’ He laughed.
I smiled along with him. Jerry looked like someone my dad would hang out and have a beer with in his local. There was no way he’d stitch me up. Stop being so dramatic, Georgia. They just need to cover all bases to check you haven’t got any nasty skeletons hiding in your cupboard, I tried to tell myself. Then a thought hit me: I wondered what Ben was talking to that glamorous woman about. What questions was she asking him? See, this is going to be great, you can finally learn more about each other without feeling like you’re nagging him, my subconscious said smugly.
The next hour or so passed quickly as Jerry moved on to less interrogative questions about running a business, the skills needed and time-management difficulties, then touched on how dating and working together with Ben was. He was apologetic about asking tough questions and made me laugh as he told me about his wife and how they’d tried to work together once but it had almost ended in a divorce.
‘So.’ He glanced at his brown leather watch. ‘I’m conscious of time so if you could sign this form and then we can get started on sorting out the travel arrangements, your passport details, dietary requirements and all of that.’
‘Oh, well I wasn’t actually planning on signing anything, not until I’d at least spoken to Ben about it all first, sorry.’ I winced feeling very awkward.
Jerry nodded politely and got to his feet and rummaged in his desk, ‘Course. I just need to get the paperwork, that I know I put in here somewhere, so you can have a read of it all.’ I nodded slowly and watched him banging open drawers. ‘Ah, here we go!’ Just then, the phone rang.
‘Hello? Excellent. I’ll let her know. Yep we’re nearly all done here. Great okay, bye.’ Jerry hung up and flashed me a heartfelt smile before putting his thumbs up in a cheesy dad style. ‘That was Anna, who was with Ben. She just wanted to let me know that he’s just signed the contract and will be waiting for you in reception.’
‘Oh right. Okay.’ He’d signed it already?
Jerry handed me over a stack of papers that had been stapled together at the top. ‘It’s just your basic contract that covers things like insurance and some boring legal jargon.’ I must have hesitated before taking it. ‘Don’t worry, Anna has run through it with Ben who must be happy with it all. It’s all kosher. The reason we need to move quite quickly on all of this is that the filming is set to take place in the next few weeks. I only found out this morning that Channel 4 have let us know of an unexpected slot in their scheduling so everything has been bumped forward to give ourselves the best shot to fill it.’
I smiled weakly and took the forms. I couldn’t believe that Ben had just signed it. But isn’t this what you wanted? I asked myself. You were the one who suggested taking Rahul up on his offer in the first place. Maybe Ben knew how excited you were and wanted to make you happy by showing you that he was on board with the idea? I tried to shush the prickling feeling that I was about to sign a contract without running through it with a fine-toothed comb.
‘Have you got a pen?’ I looked up at Jerry. He nodded