The Hating Game (11 page)

What did he mean,
you
decide? The audience could control who Mattie dated? Jess swivelled to look at the people around her. They were staring at Seamus hypnotically, eyes shining darkly, and for a second they reminded Jess of zombies – or girls waiting for the doors of a TopShop sale to open.

Seamus
lurched back to the safety of his podium. ‘Here’s what happens.’ He gestured towards the pods. ‘There are four exes, right here, right now, waiting in these pods.’

‘
Ooooh,’ squealed the zombies.

‘
And there will be four dates
, to reunite each ex with our sexy single lady. The ex with the highest Date Rate – as decided by you, the audience, in a phone-in vote – spends two weeks alone with the lady in question in a romantic location.’ Seamus paused. ‘And together, they could win two hundred thousand pounds!’

The zombies
rustled and nodded appreciatively.

‘
But here’s the thing.’ Seamus wiped his split lip. ‘When our single lady comes on in just a few seconds, she won’t know the men are her exes. Even their voices will be disguised!’ He rubbed his hands gleefully and Jess sunk deeper into her chair. Oh God. Poor Mattie.

‘
So she’ll ask each of them two questions,
which they’ll answer – truthfully – but without giving away too many details. And at the end of this show, she’ll choose which one to date first!’

Seamus
swung around to a camera. ‘And night by night, as she chooses the next ex to date, she’ll find out it’s
not
just another dating show. She’ll discover she’s playing
The Hating Game
– whether she wants to or not!’

The zombi
es roared as the giant screen with
The Hating Game
logo lit up again and started flashing. Jess took a deep breath to stop the rising nausea.

‘
Tune in every night this week at eight p.m. right here on X-ACT to watch our sexy single lady give her exes a second chance, one by one. Then, every night after the show, you out there in TV land call to register your Date Rate!’ Seamus laughed heartily, spotlights illuminating the spittle flying out of his mouth.

‘
This
Sunday night, when all the dates are complete, we’ll reveal the ex with the highest Date Rate: the one who will spend two weeks alone with our sexy single lady – and the one who gets to try to win her heart again.’ He turned and winked at the audience, his split lip gaping to reveal glowing white teeth. ‘Or to make her life a living hell.’

‘
W
ill it be love or hate?’ He turned towards a camera inches from his face. ‘Let
The Hating Game
begin!’

The zombies roared and Jess held her head in hands, feeling dizzy. Her heart thumped in time to a psychedelic remake of the
Jackson 5
tune
I Want You Back
blaring from the speakers.

‘
So let’s meet our
single lady. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you . . . Mattie Johns!’ Seamus yelled.

Jess
lifted her hands from her temples and watched the stage for her best friend. It was like knowing there was a massive car crash waiting to happen and being forced to watch it in slow motion.

The zombies around her cheered wildly as the silhouette of her best friend appeared against the studio lights.

CHAPTER TEN

One in five men purchases flowers for a date.

Half of all women admit to preferring chocolates or alcohol.

UP IN THE CONTROL ROOM
, Nate stared unseeingly at the monitor.
The Hating Game
? He hadn’t approved that script! Where had that come from? He glanced at Silver. Her face was as poker-like as ever as she examined the monitor in front of her.

‘
What happened to
Second Chance for Romance
?’ Nate blurted. His heart was beating so fast he felt like he was about to pass out.

‘
What?’ Silver waved her hand as if he was an insect to swat away. ‘Oh, yes. We had to change the concept. Make it more dramatic, you know. Yours was too
fluffy
.’ She said the word with disdain.

‘
But I told the men it was
Second Chance for Romance
!’ Not that Giovanni or Adam would care, but Kyle definitely would. Imagine when Mattie found out he’d signed up to something called
The Hating Game
. Kyle’s chances of getting back together would be completely ruined.

‘
Don’t worry, Nate.
’ Silver looked amused. ‘You’re still EP.’

Nate turned back towards the monitor where Seamus was spraying the front row of the audience as he painstakingly explained the rules of the game yet again. Executive producer was great and all, but what about his concept? This
Hating
Game
thing wasn’t
his
full and complete creation, was it? Maybe it was naive to think he’d be consulted on any changes to the concept. Naive or not, he’d need to embrace
The Hating Game
and show Silver he was totally on board if he wanted to stay in the frame. He didn’t want to be one of those EPs who faffed around with nothing to do except look forward to seeing their credit at the end of the programme.

‘
Sorry I’m late.’ Baz strolled in and took a seat on the other side of Silver. ‘Hey, mate.’ He raised a hand for Nate to high five.

What the hell was Baz doing here? Nate stared as Baz’s hand wilted in the air until he finally shrugged and turned to face the bank of monitors.

‘
Baz is producing the series,’ Silver told him, not even bothering to look in his direction.

‘
Producer?’ Nate croaked.

‘
He’ll help out with storylines and day-to-day details,’ Silver said, still glued to the nearest monitor, ‘and you’ll both report back to me.’ She swung around to face them. ‘I want to know when the contestants break wind, what they had for breakfast,
everything
. The more we know, the more we can poke them and create some great TV moments. I expect the two of you to make it happen.’

Nate’s face went hot as he watched Baz nod eagerly. ‘We will, Silver.’ He punched Nate playfully in the shoulder. ‘Hey, Nate?’

Nate nodded limply. ‘Yes, yes of course. We will.’ He shifted on the chair and wiped his forehead.

He couldn’t let Baz take a
ll the credit; run away with his show. Somehow he’d have to show Silver
he
was the one in control here.

*

Mattie crouched behind the door
, waiting for her cue to go onstage.

‘
So let’s meet our single lady. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you . . . Mattie Johns!’ she heard Seamus Leary shout. The audience roared and the girl with the headset shoved her through the door and onto the set. Heart pounding, Mattie took a deep breath, tugged up her top for the thousandth time, then marched onto the stage. Squinting against the bright lights, the audience swam before her like a giant heaving, clapping mass. She tried to force her trembling lips into a smile as another trail of sweat ran down her spine.

‘
Come sit over here by me, Mattie.’ Seamus Leary patted the stool, a pervy smile exploding on his face. With his shiny suit gleaming under the lights, he looked more used car salesman than game show host.

Mattie crossed the crimson carpet and climbed up onto the metal stool beside the podium. She scanned the audience hoping to spot Jess, but all she could see were a hundred pairs of eyes shining back at her.

Where were the men
? Probably haven’t crawled out from whatever rocks they’re hiding under yet, she snorted to herself, just as she noticed oval-shaped metal structures on the other side of the stage. Oh Lord. How unoriginal – the men were in soundproof booths or whatever and she had to choose one blindly. Was that the spin? About as inventive as beer at a barbeque.

‘
So, Mattie
! You’re here looking for love?’ Seamus leaned too close and Mattie instinctively jerked away. He absolutely
reeked
of gin.

‘
Um, yeah, I guess. Looking for love, that’s me.’ She knew
she sounded snarky, but come on, what a stupid thing to say. For a man renowned for getting underneath the skin of his guests, he was certainly coming out with lame statements. Must have lost his thorny touch.

Seamus
bore down even more and Mattie began to breathe through her mouth. ‘Well, you’ve certainly had
plenty
of chances for romance, haven’t you?’ He didn’t sound so nice this time.

Mattie shrugged and tried t
o keep her face blank even though she could feel sweat breaking out on her upper lip. Where was he going with this? And hadn’t he heard of mouthwash?

Seamus
circled her slowly. ‘Haven’t you been in multiple relationships – all ending in failure? Wouldn’t you
really
like a shot at happiness in love?’

How on
Earth did he know about her multiple relationships? Mattie swivelled her head to try to read his expression, but he kept twisting about.

He finally stopped circling and swayed behind the podium. For a second Mattie was afraid he might fall over but he gripped the podium’s sides with his meaty fingers and steadied himself. ‘Well, in these soundproof pods are four men. Four men who can’t wait to meet you!’

Applause swelled from the audience and Mattie tried to see into the mass again. Where was Jess? She shifted on the stool, nearly sliding off from the sweat that was pouring from between her skin and tight, cheap top.

‘
Tonight you’ll have the chance to ask them two questions each – then you’ll choose one lucky man for your first date. And after your date tomorrow, you’ll be back in the studio to select the next fortunate fellow for a second chance at romance!’

Mattie rolled her eyes
. The whole thing sounded completely idiotic. No matter how much drama Seamus tried to inject, it really was another boring old game show. He probably had to get drunk just to sound excited about it.

Seamus
handed her a familiar-looking stack of laminated question cards. ‘So let’s get started! Mattie, choose your question and your bachelor.’

A hush descen
ded over the studio as Mattie sifted through the cards, her sweaty fingers leaving marks on the glossy surfaces.

Do you like cats or dogs better?

If you were a cocktail, what kind would you be?

Same old
boring questions! God, the show would probably be cancelled before the first commercial break. And if that happened, Mattie would be down two hundred grand. No way was she going to let that happen. Time to spice things up a little.

Mattie smiled at
Seamus. ‘My first question is for Bachelor Number One.’

The first pod to her right started flashing bright red. ‘Go on, he can hear you now,’ Seamus said.

‘
Bachelor Number One. What’s your best bedroom move?’

Light
s around the pod continued to flash as the audience waited for Bachelor Number One’s answer. Mattie stole a glance at Seamus to see if he’d noticed her changing the question, but his eyes were drooping and he looked like he was about to fall into a coma.

‘
I’m more of a giver than a receiver in the bedroom,’ a
robotic voice from inside Pod One finally said.

Mattie jerked her head towards the flashing sphere. So they were disguising the men’s voices, too? Not that it mattered – they were probably all monosyllabic morons anyway.

‘
I like to make sure my partner is happy first,’ the voice was saying.

Mattie made a face. He was probably one of those blokes who always tried to cuddle after sex. She shuddered as she recalled one man, post-Kyle, who pinned her in his sweaty arms and gazed at her with bovine eyes for what felt like hours.

‘
Thank you, Bachelor Number One
.’ Seamus was nodding as if he completely agreed with the answer but Mattie suspected he had no idea what had even been said. His earpiece dangled from his ear and Mattie could hear it squawking. ‘Mattie, next question?’

Mattie looked towa
rds the pods. ‘Bachelor Number Two. What’s your favourite lingerie item on a woman?’

Red lights started flashing on the second pod. And kept flashing.

Seamus
cleared his throat. ‘Bachelor Number Two? Can you hear me?’

‘
Um, yes,’ came another robotic voice, slightly deeper than Bachelor Number One’s. ‘What is this
lingerie
? Is it food?’