Victoria's Got a Secret (19 page)

She inhaled nice and deep, then nodded to the cameraman. “I’m ready.”

Walt stepped out from behind the equipment. “We can do a few more practice lines before we turn the camera on.”

“I’m okay.”

“It’s no problem. I don’t mind.”

The reassuring tone to Walt’s voice unknotted her tangled nerves. She saw his face and heard the buzz of the lights. She knew they were waiting on her and would continue to do so, but letting the minutes tick by would only prolong the initial agony. She had to try it and see.

If she hated it, she would walk out. That was the deal she had with Walt. Having an “out” gave her the confidence she needed to start.

She rolled her shoulders back and looked straight into the camera. She could do this. Own it and conquer it.

She smiled, letting the last of her nervousness fuel her resolve.

“Let’s get started.”

The light on the camera flashed to red just as she shifted her head and let her dark hair cascade down her back. Her fingers moved to the belt holding her dress together.“I’m Victoria Sinclair, and this is Naked News.”

Twenty

Beautiful naked women and information—
it’s the perfect combination.

—Victoria Sinclair

“I
WANT YOU TO DO IT
.” W
ALT DELIVERED HIS STATEMENT
over lunch a month later.

The water sloshed over the side of Jennifer’s water glass as she rushed to return it to the table. “Me?”

“You are a natural in front of the camera. It responds to you.”

She should have known he was talking about the professional angle. That’s who he was. Even without Preston there, Walt’s character didn’t waver.

And the compliments made her smile.

Preston barely acknowledged her some days. He’d be furious when he found out she stepped out with Walt and didn’t issue an invitation. In Preston’s mind, he made her decisions. In her head, he was nothing more than a boyfriend, and even that was a question lately.

Preston could throw out a line and think it made all the bad stuff before it go away. As if she was so shallow and needy as to be satisfied with kernels of affection rather than true affection.

With Walt, the words carried a note of genuine appreciation.

She knew his compliments came from an honest place with him.

He was a salesman of sorts and a successful businessman first, but he could deliver a line and make her believe it.

She toyed with how much she should admit and decided to honor him with the truth. “I was surprised.”

“About?”

“How much I enjoyed the taping.”

“I could tell.” He sat back in his chair as the waiter cleared the plates and left. “You nailed it in two takes.”

Pride spilled through her. She’d always known she was smart and sort of pretty in a small-town, nonthreatening way. But in front of the camera, she felt special.

She didn’t worry about the thickness of her thighs or the size of her breasts. Her body came alive, every nerve ending tingling as she talked and let the clothing fall with each word.

It was about being in charge. For so long, Preston had tried to call every shot in her life. Sure, she owed this opportunity to him, but this was something that belonged solely to her. He couldn’t manage or direct it. He couldn’t step in and do it for her. It was all about her up there.

“The plan was for me to do the pilot to lure other women into participating.” She repeated the deal to avoid any miscommunication.

“Plans change.”

“It’s a huge step.” She unfolded and refolded her napkin. “I mean, I work in an office. I run meetings and get people where they need to be.”

“And I’m sure you’re good at it.”

She wound one end of the cloth napkin around her finger until the tip turned white. “I don’t even use the same name there as I do with you.”

“You could always think of Victoria as your stage name.”

“That’s how I view it.” That’s exactly what it was. A name that covered certain aspects of her, but not all of her. Preston missed the fundamental distinction and merged the personalities until Jennifer ceased to exist.

“Nothing more than a pseudonym for your protection and privacy.”

Heather had raised that issue several times, and Jennifer ignored it. “Protection?”

“I can’t promise every one who watches you will be decent or even nice. There are jerks and scumbags out there, but you could run into them just as easy in a big office.”

“And I have.”

Walt tapped his fingers on the table. “May I make an honest observation?”

“Of course.”

“You want to do this. I can see it in your face. You talk about the project and your eyes get big and your breathing kicks up. I don’t see the same enthusiasm for your other job.”

It was as if he could see right through her. She’d grown weary and bored in an office environment. The challenge was gone.

But that didn’t make this the right step. “Change is scary.”

“That’s why it’s called change instead of fun.”

She laughed.

“Look,” Walt leaned in. “The choice is yours. I can tell Preston to keep looking for another woman, or you can take it over and make it your own. The choice is totally yours. You won’t get any pressure from me.”

“I appreciate that.”

“I don’t pretend to know everything. I just think you should headline the broadcast. You’re the one. I can feel it.”

That made two of them. “What makes you so sure?”

“I’ve built a reputation and earned a lot of money spotting talent and nurturing it. There is this undefinable quality some people have.” He pointed at her. “You possess it. It spills out of you.”

The words piled around her like a protective shield against all of her fears. “I wish I was as sure as you were.”

“Think about it this way. If we find someone else tomorrow, how are you going to feel to hand over the reins and let someone else run with it?”

Anger simmered inside her at the thought. “Furious.”

“Then I think you might have your answer.”

Between the time it took for her to listen and to blink, her answer crystallized in her mind. “So what exactly is the plan from here?”

That fast, Walt morphed into businessman mode. He dragged a notebook out of his jacket pocket and flipped through a few pages until he found something and started reading. “You’ll be the audio and visual component of a comedy newsletter called
The Daily Dirt
. From there, we build interest and expand to short add-on segments on other programs.”

It was what he didn’t say that had her stomach flopping. “You have more in mind. I can feel it.”

He shrugged. “Eventually, I’d like Naked News to be a self-sustaining program. Not an add-on or short segment. A full broadcast with loyal paying viewers and numerous anchors. With you taking the lead, of course. With success, I doubt finding other women will be a problem.”

She’d be in charge. She’d have a boss but be the first and temporarily only anchor. That amounted to a lot of control. Walt had indicated he would listen to her suggestions, and she didn’t doubt that promise. She’d also make sure it was a provision in any contract they entered into.

“Interesting.” That’s all she said, but it took all the energy she had to keep her butt in the chair. Bouncing around and squealing with excitement wasn’t all that professional, and she wanted to show him she could be the face of Naked News and he wouldn’t lose his fortune.

“We’ll get started, and you’ll be the queen.”

The idea was so foreign to her. “I’ve never been the object of that much male attention before.”

He laughed.

The rough sound confused her. “What?”

“I’m betting you have.”

Flattery was a wonderful thing.
She liked him. Trusted him. And boy, did she want this. Like, every-part-of-her-trembled-and-shook wanted this.

She reached her hand across the table. “Sounds like we have a deal.”

Three months later, she sat at her make-up chair in the makeshift Naked News office and scanned the printouts Walt had just handed her. Line after line, and they all said the same thing: the risk had panned out.

She had an hour before they taped. Hair and make-up would start soon. For the first month, she did all of those things herself. Now she had someone come in and help her. She also had two other anchors recently join her on camera. She’d trained them and welcomed the company.

Being up there alone in front of a room of cameraman and a producer could be daunting. Having someone else on the stage made it more of a sisterhood moment. Being one of the group also meant she could concentrate on the part of the broadcast she enjoyed the most—the news.

“Have you seen this?” She glanced up at Preston, who was always hovering nearby.

“What is it”

“The newest numbers.” She almost screamed the news. It bubbled up inside her, begging to get out. “We’re up to ten thousand subscribers. It’s only been three months.”

“I couldn’t be more pleased,” Walt said.

They’d exceeded all expectations. She’d left her daytime job to focus on Naked News. That gamble turned out to be a wise and potentially lucrative business move on her part.

And it was just the beginning. “I think we need more.”

Preston hadn’t stopped looking through the papers or even bothered to look up. Walt was paying full attention to her. “Of?”

“The show.”

For once, Preston didn’t take over the conversation or tell her how wrong she was in her line of thinking. He stood there, staring down at her and actually listened as she talked with Walt. “You should buy out the contract and convince the other investors and the show’s producers to make Naked News its own program instead of an add-on to something else.”

Preston pressed one hand against the back of her chair and watched her through the mirror. His expression stayed blank, but his body language was open, as if he were listening for a change.

“That’s always been the long-term plan,” Walt said.

“I get that, but there’s no need to wait.”

Walt leaned against the table in front of her, giving her his full focus. “The longer it goes on, the higher the viewership will be and the easier to land a full show. It’s a matter of positioning for the best possible price.”

“I get that, but you could strike now while you have total control and before the bureaucracy rushes in. The investors become the board of directors and we move.”

Walt smiled. “Makes sense.”

“There’s enough material.” The words rushed through her, and she had to swallow a few times to get them out.

“Have you thought about the downside?” Preston asked.

She couldn’t think of a single negative. “Which is?”

“You might end up with a smaller role on the show.”

All her excitement vanished. He’d always had the power to do that to her. The wrong word at the wrong time and she felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“More time likely means more anchors. You’re already down to news only.”

Walt waved off Preston’s concerns. “Absolutely not. She asked for the news segment and I gave it to her. She is my lead.”

Preston shifted until he stood half in front of her, blocking her view of Walt. “I think you should wait.”

“Why?”

“It’s prudent.”

Preston was wrong on this. She could feel it. Following his gut was the wrong choice. “I’m only suggesting this because I think it is best for
my
show.”

Because this wasn’t about him. Not anymore. She’s the one who took the risk. She’s the one who stood up there every night and opened her body up to being picked apart and dissected by the most vicious of critics.

If she was honest, that fear of being ripped apart had never materialized. The men who watched the show were fans and very supportive. She received all sorts of letters praising her, and very few that fell in the scary pile.

No one talked about the flaws she saw every time she looked in the mirror. No one called her names or made assumptions about who she was based on her decision to take off her clothes. Her immediate family knew, and her father struggled a bit with the idea of some of his friends watching his daughter, but he stayed positive.

But still the pressure of looking as good as possible and the never-ending panic of having someone judge her as wanting never went away. All those insecurities, ingrained in high school and nurtured by life since then, silently smacked her around from time to time.

Her friend Andrea and sister Heather thought she was brave. That was the greatest compliment of all. That other women could look at what she was doing and appreciate the value of it. Jennifer just wished she saw more of Heather and Andrea these days.

Between the work and Preston’s demands for attention, Jennifer had very little time for her friends. She felt more isolated even though she had never been more exposed.

Worse, she’d lost all contact with Paul. The years had ticked by without one of those unexpected phone calls or chance meetings. Sometimes, when she was alone and allowed her mind to wander, she dreamed about him. He was her first love and, she feared, her only true one.