would he be wearing that mask of genial competence that had helped him clinch the election? She knew that mask. She wore it herself a lot. In fact, she planned on wearing it tonight.
She hoped that this meeting might be the start of a relationship between them, but she was keeping her hopes in check since he didn’t know her well enough to trust her. He might not want to get close to anyone new. He was in a position of power and influence that made him strangely vulnerable. He probably didn’t want to share intimacies and feelings with a stranger who might turn around and repeat them to the press, or even to her friends. Still, she knew she’d be disappointed if she didn’t feel even a little bit closer to him after tonight.
“We’re on in five!” The perky production assistant stuck her head around the corner. “Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” She stood up on shaky legs and smoothed out the skirt of her lavender dress.
“You can come sit in the green room. The president is chatting with Liam so you won’t meet him until we’re on air.”
“It’s going to be totally live?” There’d been some back and forth about whether it would be taped and then edited, but the ANS producer had reassured her that if it was live she was actually more in control of the final output than if it ended up in the hands of directors and editors. Apparently live was also better for ratings.
“Yup. No delay. No one expects either of you to start cursing or doing anything else that needs to be tweaked before it goes out.” The PA squeezed her arm. “You’ll be great. Just remember not to talk too fast and try not to look at the cameras.”
“Okay.” She said it to reassure herself as much as the PA. What if she froze and couldn’t speak? What if she passed out in a dead faint? Whatever happened would be seen live by millions of curious onlookers.
She followed the PA into the green room, which wasn’t green at all but mostly gray and had two sofas and some chairs. A jug of water, glasses and a basket of muffins. She certainly didn’t have any appetite. She sat on one of the sofas and smiled weakly.
The PA looked at a sheet of paper in her hand. “Barbara Carey will be going in first to introduce you, then the president will come in.” Celebrity journalist Barbara Carey was known for her ability to make all her interviewees cry. They’d probably picked her just for that reason. No matter what happened, Ariella was sure she wouldn’t cry. All she had to do was stay calm, be polite and survive the half-hour ordeal.
A light went on near the door marked Studio C. “Has the show started?”
“Yup, they’re taping. Get ready.” She ushered Ariella over to the door, and opened it quietly. The lights blinded her as she stepped onto a big sound stage with cameras on all sides. Barbara Carey was sitting in a set that looked a bit like a living room, with soft chairs and a potted plant. There was an empty chair on either side of her. In a few seconds she’d be sitting in one of those looking at her father.
Her heart clenched and unclenched and she tried to keep her breathing steady.
Barbara Carey’s voice filled the air. “…a young woman who’s been plucked out of obscurity and thrust onto the world stage by the startling revelation that her father is none other than the president of the United States. Ariella Winthrop.” The PA had maneuvered her just outside the scene, so she plunged forward. Barbara stood and she shook her hand, then she sat in the seat indicated. Where was the president? She fought the urge to look around to see if he was standing offstage somewhere.
“Did you have any idea at all that your father was Ted Morrow?” Up close Ariella could see that Barbara Carey was wearing a tremendous amount of makeup, including long false eyelashes.
“Not until I read it in the papers like everyone else.”
“Had your parents told you that you were adopted?” She leaned in, sincerity shining in her famous blue eyes.
“Oh, yes, I always knew that I was adopted. They told me my mother was unmarried and too young to provide for me and that she gave me up so that I could have a better life.” Her thoughts strayed to Eleanor, so