I did.
‘I’ve got two things I want to run by you.’ He leaned back in his office chair. ‘But before I do: well done, O’Connell. What you’ve pulled off here is pretty fucking incredible.’
‘Thank you.’
‘So let’s talk future plans. Thing number one: we’ve been having some chats around here aboutJuliet on the Beach. The pandemic means we can’t fly the contestants out to the island like we normally would. We could shoot local, of course, but everyone’s been trapped in their fucking houses. They don’t want local.’
‘I’ve actually got a plan for that.’ I opened the folder I’d brought with me. ‘I was thinking—’
‘Trust me, I’ve got a better plan. Check this out.’
He turned his computer monitor around to face me. I had to stamp down very,veryhard to keep my expression in check.
It was aWherefore Art Thou Romeo?concept poster.Love is an infernowas the tagline at the top, emblazoned above a picture of Lily, lips curved in that infuriating Lily Fireball half-smile.
‘Instead ofJuliet on the Beach,we double up onWhereforethis year,’ Greg said. ‘And we capitalise on the momentum of this season ofMMJ.’
My mouth had gone completely dry.
‘Didn’t I tell you this spicy meatball would make things happen for us?’ He waved at the picture of Lily. ‘She’s already signed on. It’s going to be fantastic.’
She’d already signed on? She’d alreadyfucking signed on?!
‘The work you’ve done has been stellar, O’Connell. That leads me to the second thing I want to run by you.’
He slid a stack of paperwork across the desk to me.
I scanned the top sheet quickly, and blinked. ‘A development deal?’
‘The Romeo and Juliet shows are the jewel in the crown of our unscripted programming,’ Greg said. ‘But we need more jewels. We need that whole crown to be really fucking shiny. That’s where you come in.’
He tapped the contract. ‘You’ve proven that you’ve got what it takes to make a show a hit. So how would you feel about moving out of the Romeo and Juliet world and developing some new shows from the ground up?’
I could barely believe what I was hearing.
It was everything Lily and I had never even dared to dream of. A season of TV like Romeo-Dylan’s could change a conversation, but it was still only one season.
A deal like this? Developing whole new formats?
That could change the whole fuckinggame.
‘I need to read the terms, of course,’ I said, ‘but I’m interested.’
‘Great!’ Greg said. ‘We’ll have you film this one last season ofWhereforeso you can get Suzette prepped to take over from you, and—’
‘No.’
‘No?’ He raised his eyebrows.
‘Suzette doesn’t need any training. A lot of the great shit that happened on Kumiko’s season was her, not me. And besides…’
My mouth was dry again. I swallowed reflexively.
‘Besides,’ I repeated, ‘Lily knows what she’s doing.’
For the finale, the network threw huge viewing parties in two major cities. One was hosted by Romeo-Dylan, Cece, and Z. The other was hosted by Juliet-Dylan, Amanda, Kumiko – and Lily.
I tried desperately to get Suzette to swap supervising duties with me, but geographically, it didn’t make sense. Her mother was sick, and she was in hospital right near the venue for Romeo-Dylan and Cece’s party. Given Suzette would soon be locked away in the bubble shooting the next season ofWherefore, even I wasn’t heartless enough to begrudge her the opportunity to spend time with her mother.
