Sweet Temptation (25 page)

I stopped abruptly and there was this weird moment of silence. I didn’t dare look across at Collette because I thought she’d be furious with me again for going ‘off-message’, but when I finally looked up, I saw a grudging sort of respect in her eyes. She gave a brief nod, then went on.

‘Thank you, Maddie. And I think I speak for everyone here when I say congratulations on your spectacular results. I know things have been hard lately, so it’s really laudable that you’ve stayed on the straight and narrow and are doing so brilliantly. Well done.’ She cleared her throat gruffly. ‘So that’s it from the campaign. I hope you’ve all enjoyed listening to us trying out our various beautifying doodahs. Remember, do check out our website for further details, and let us know how you’ve got on. Right now, it’s time for a news update with Alastair Barlow. Over to you, Alastair.’

She pressed a button. I felt drained now that my moment was over. It was cathartic, somehow, talking about myself on air like that, and even though I was sure I’d been more in control, more measured this time, I was still braced for a dressing-down from Collette now that the microphones were off.

Becky got in first, though. ‘Wow, Maddie, I don’t know how you do it,’ she said, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. ‘You’re so eloquent and so honest – that was really good radio. Straight from the heart, and beautifully done.’

‘Thank you,’ I said faintly, still waiting for the backlash from Herself.

But Collette actually managed a smile. A grimace, some might call it, but I recognized it as a smile. ‘Great stuff,’ she said. ‘Really. The switchboard’s gone mad already, look.’ She pointed to a row of small lights on her desk, all lit up like a Christmas decoration. ‘Thanks, both of you, I think this segment worked really well.’

Oh my
goodness
. Could it really be true? Praise from Collette – on air
and
in private. That I had not been expecting. Nor did I expect what happened soon afterwards – the phone call from Andy. ‘Hi, Maddie, could you come in to see me for a moment? Just for a quick chat.’

His tone of voice gave nothing away, and I wondered whether the quick chat was going to be a good one or a bad one as I walked along the corridor to his office. You could never tell, with Andy, what sort of a mood he would be in. He could be quite explosive and ratty; I’d seen him bawl out his secretary Janette enough times to know to dread his temper. It would be typical, I thought gloomily, if he ripped my piece to shreds just as Collette had said something nice to me for the first time in history.

I knocked tentatively on the door and went in.

Andy’s office was very boy’s-own and quite spartan, with a guitar in the corner, signed photos of The Who and Led Zeppelin in frames on a shelf, and several gold discs up on the wall. A huge cut-out of U2 stood to one side of the filing cabinet, their cardboard faces staring moodily at me.

‘Sit down,’ Andy said. He was smiling, eyes gleaming behind his glasses – surely that was a good sign?

‘Hi,’ I said nervously, folding my hands on my lap as I sat.

‘Maddie,’ he began, ‘I can’t tell you enough how brilliantly natural I think you are on air. Once again you’ve given us just a few sentences about yourself – and the response has already been amazing. People are phoning in, emailing, sending texts about what you said. You’ve struck a chord, my dear – and our listeners want more.’

‘Thank you,’ I said faintly.

He drummed his fingers on his desk. ‘Now, I know Collette has canned her campaign, and fair enough – she did say it was for the summer only,’ he went on. ‘But I’ve been wondering how you would feel about continuing your slot? Maybe a weekly piece about your diet and fitness campaign, maybe a phone-in session, tips, new recipes or gym advice . . . I was thinking we could call it something like “Weigh to Go”. What do you think?’

I was open-mouthed. I literally couldn’t speak for a moment.
Weigh to Go.
I loved it. I really loved it. My little slot, my pinch of time in the programme, my space to do my thing. Oh. My. God. Talk about a dream come true. ‘Really?’ I managed to reply eventually. ‘Do you mean it?’

He nodded, grinning. ‘I mean it. So . . . is that a yes?’

I was grinning too, and, oh, my heart was pounding and a delicious fluttery sensation was rising inside me. ‘Yes!’ I laughed. ‘Definitely. Are you sure? You’re not just winding me up? Or being nice because you feel sorry for me?’

He shook his head. ‘It’s not a wind-up, Maddie. The public love you. I think this could work really well for us all.’ He winked. ‘You’ve done good, girl. Really good.’

Chapter Fourteen

Spice of Life

Lauren

I’ve always loved the autumn. I positively relish the new-start, back-to-school feeling that September brings: it fills me with hope and good intentions every time, far more than January the first, when I’m usually hungover to hell and feeling bad about my godawful mess of a life. Plus there’s always
really
good stationery in the shops in September. I’m a sucker for a nicely turned pen.

This year was no exception on the optimism front. As August drew to a sticky end and September dawned with its fresh cool mornings and a sprinkling of golden leaves, I felt as if I suddenly had far more energy than usual – a renewed zeal for my job and for life in general. It wasn’t just the fact that I’d lost the best part of a stone over the summer (go, me!), which made me feel lighter, it was something inside, too, as if I’d finally let go of the bitterness I’d held clenched there for so long. I was over Brendan now, I’d come to terms with it. Okay, so my marriage hadn’t worked out, but hey – that didn’t make
me
a bad person, right? That didn’t mean I had to feel crap about myself.

‘Lauren Malone, have you been having sex with someone and not telling me about it?’ Patrick asked suspiciously one morning, staring at me across the office with narrowed eyes. ‘Only you seem in a bloody good mood today. Quite an annoyingly good mood, actually.’

I looked up blankly, then realized I’d been humming. Worse, I’d been humming ‘I’m in the Mood for Dancing’ by the Nolan Sisters. Oops.

‘I don’t need a shag to be in a good mood,’ I informed him with a certain degree of haughtiness. Then I forgot to keep up the haughtiness as a new wave of enthusiasm overtook me. ‘Actually, I’ve just been plotting a new marketing push for the agency,’ I went on. ‘What do you think of the slogan “Fall into Love this Autumn”?’

‘Fall into love . . . oh, right, as in the American kind of fall,’ he said, and raised his eyebrows. ‘Like it, centurion. Very nice. But you can’t fool me that easily. Go on, who is he? Is he that Joe bloke you fancied?’

In my dreams
, I thought. I didn’t say as much, though, just gave him a withering look. ‘Patrick! Honestly, that’s how rumours get started . . .’

He jumped up from his seat. ‘Oh my
GOD
! You have! You dirty mare!’

I pulled a face at him. Let him think what he liked. I went back to my press release knowing that he was still goggling at me, and I hummed even louder.

Maddie was true to her word. Within a week she’d called to arrange for me to come into Brum FM to record an interview for Collette’s show. Coincidentally, Collette had just bagged herself a new bloke and was so loved-up that she was completely into the whole idea. ‘We’re running a new feature about Local Heroes and she wants to play up your role as Cupid,’ Maddie had said on the phone. ‘The angle is that you’re a hero because you’ve brought together so many happy couples in the city. And as we all know, love makes the world go round, blah blah.’

I laughed at her impression of Collette’s high-pitched, breathy voice. ‘Cheers, that’s brilliant,’ I told her. ‘I look forward to some blah blahing on Friday, then.’

It was only when I was waiting in the Brum FM reception area surrounded by framed black and white prints of all the DJs and with Gary Barlow warbling from the speakers above my head that I started to feel nervous. Me talking on the radio! I was sure to make a complete tit of myself somehow.

The blonde receptionist smiled at me through her perfect make-up. ‘Maddie’s just about to go on air now, but I’ve left a message that you’re here, and she’ll be out to see you straight afterwards, I’m sure,’ she said. ‘Can I get you a tea or coffee while you’re waiting?’

‘A black coffee, please,’ I said, sitting down on the squashy cream sofa. Maddie was about to go on
air
? What was all that about?

The song drew to a close, and then I heard Collette’s familiar voice. ‘That was the Take That boys of course, lovely stuff,’ she said. ‘And now we’ve got a brand new feature, which I’m sure will be
fascinating.
’

My ears pricked up. Collette didn’t sound too happy about this new feature whatever it was.

‘By popular request, it’s our very own Maddie Lawson presenting a new slot called “Weigh to Go”.’ There was definitely a sneer in Collette’s voice. ‘If you’re tackling obesity too – ’
ouch!
– ‘then you’re sure to find this . . . of interest.’

I spluttered on the coffee the receptionist had just given me.
If you’re tackling obesity too . . .
she’d said. How rude! What a cow!

My heart beat faster on Maddie’s behalf, hoping she’d be able to recover from such a brutal opening salvo with a return shot of her own. I knew that I could never have taken that sort of a comment lightly – I’d have come out fighting, throwing a barbed remark straight back at the spiteful little hussy.

Maddie was way more professional than that. If she’d been stung by Collette’s intro, she didn’t show it for a second. ‘Hello, everyone,’ she said in her lovely warm voice. ‘I’m thrilled to be presenting this weekly feature – thank you so much to everyone who has been following my progress so far. I’m now tipping the scales at fifteen and a half stone, which still makes me elephantine, but a slightly slimmer elephant than when I started my diet and fitness plan. My goal is to get down to a healthy ten stone, so I’ve still got a
way to go . . .
but with the help of you listeners out there, as well as my fat-busting friends and my trusty gym kit, I’m determined to succeed.’

I smiled at the FatBusters mention. Alison was going to love her for this!

‘She’s great, isn’t she?’ the receptionist said, seeing me listening. ‘Maddie, I mean. Lovely woman.’

I nodded. ‘She’s fab,’ I agreed. Just then, Maddie said something about people calling in if they had any tips or questions, and three phones started ringing almost instantly. As fast as the receptionist answered and put them through, the calls just kept on coming.

Wow, I thought, feeling a huge burst of pride for my friend. If those calls were all for her, she’d clearly got some avid listeners. Go, Maddie!

I sipped my coffee and strained my ears to hear the rest over the sound of the trilling phones. Maddie was telling a funny story now, about how she’d started jogging for the first time ever, and was apologizing for any earth tremors that residents might have felt in the Harborne area. ‘My fitness guru Mike has got me walking for two minutes, then jogging for one,’ she explained. ‘Walk two, jog one, walk two, jog one. It sounds like a knitting pattern but, believe me, it’s about fifty times more painful . . .’ She chuckled, and I did too. ‘Now, I’m told we’ve got Darcey Matthews on the line, who’s also on a calorie-counting mission, I believe . . .’

It flowed so smoothly, Maddie’s ten minutes, and I was enjoying listening to what she said so much that I was sorry when her time came to an end and she signed off. Collette came back on the air sounding waspish and dismissive and put on ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ by Queen.
Miaow.

Moments later, Maddie herself bustled out to greet me, and even though I’m not the soppy type, I couldn’t help giving her a hug. ‘Hey, you were
good
,’ I told her. ‘You were fantastic, Maddie, I loved it! Are you really going to be doing that every week?’

She nodded, her cheeks dimpling. ‘Yep,’ she said. ‘Thanks, I’m glad you liked it. Was I really okay? I had a script, but I kept going off-track and I felt so nervous, I wasn’t sure I was making any sense.’

‘You made total sense, and you sounded dead professional,’ I told her. ‘Really. The only thing I’m narked about is that I’ve got to follow you.’ I elbowed her jokily. ‘You selfish cow, I’m going to sound rubbish after you!’

She grinned at me. She was so pretty, Maddie, once you looked at her properly. Her eyes were a really bright blue and sparkled when she smiled. Her face was a lot slimmer than when I’d first met her too. Once those cheekbones emerged I could tell she would be stunning.

‘Ahhh, don’t give me that,’ she said, elbowing me back. ‘Come on through and we’ll get you ready for the interview.’ She linked an arm through mine as she led me out of reception.

My eyes were on stalks as we went into the warren of offices. Oh my GOD, there was Maria Alonzo, the glamorous presenter who did the breakfast show with her sidekick Pete McKenzie. I listened to them every single morning as I got ready for the day – and there she was! I tried not to gawp too openly as we walked straight past her in the corridor. And oooh, there were the actual studios, like huge David Blaine-esque glass boxes with their soundproof walls and great rows of monitors. I could see Collette in one of them, headphones on as she stood there, one hand on her hip, gesticulating as she spoke into the big microphone which dangled from the ceiling.

‘She likes to stand up,’ Maddie said, seeing me looking. ‘Says it makes her voice sound better.’

I had another stab of nerves then. ‘So how’s this going to work?’ I asked as we came to a halt near a double desk outside the studio, where a woman with auburn curls was typing on a keyboard. ‘Will I be in there with her?’

She nodded. ‘Yep. You’ll be on in about ten minutes, if you’re okay with that. It’s only going to be a brief interview, and she’s totally on your side – you won’t get any of the catty remarks from her that I do.’ She pulled a face. ‘Just try and stay calm, pinpoint the main things you want to get across, and keep repeating them in different ways. You’ll be fine, I promise. It’ll be over before you know it. This is my colleague, Becky, by the way,’ she said, pointing to the curly-haired woman. ‘Becky – meet Lauren, she’s our Love Hearts lady.’