Another bottle of wine, she thought and reached her hand out. But when she raised the bottle to her lips it was dry and devoid of even a single drop of wine. Rachel frowned in the dark. Oh well, there should be more wine in the cottage bar. But walking on one bare foot and one socked foot, she realized there was no redemption for her. She had cleared out the bar in just two days. She looked around the bar shelves and cupboards until she found a small bottle of something. Oh well might be something lethal but who cares if she lived anymore? Who?
No one, that’s who!
The newspaper had scrambled for the hot news, every magazine had her on the front covers in the unflattering images taken when she had crashed the studio the other day. And as always, everyone believed Jacob and the stories he wound about her history of craziness. Her phone was blowing off the hook. People wanted to feature her on their shows, and magazines and not because they wanted to make her a star, oh no! They wanted to embarrass her further because that was the rule of the game. Now that she was fallen- even though it was all lies - she was far more interesting than when she was in the business of interviewing fallen celebrities and politicians and multi-mega billionaires. So far her phone was bursting with messages and the old-fashioned answering machine she had kept for sentimental reasons was blinking red lights faster than a prison with an escaped convict.
At 10 the next morning Larry visited her and was none too happy to see his favorite client struggling to stand on her feet.
“How do I look?” Rachel had asked him when he turned his nose up at her appearance.
“What I imagine your liver will look like,” was his dry response.
“Pretty then.” She wiped the foul-tasting liquid from the small bottle off her lips. “What do my prospects look like?”
“Everyone wants to gawk at the paragon of virtue who fell from grace to grass, luckily you didn’t fall from the Gopher tower” – the equivalent of the Eiffel tower. “So far so good I don’t think any channel is going to be scouting for you any time soon.”
Rachel took that information with a gulp of the wine Larry brought with him, when he snatched the bottle from her she proceeded to wallow in more misery. Her husband was out there enjoying a life free of mockery and gossip even though he was the guilty party. Dana was enjoying the spotlight and here she was looking for more wine and something salty to eat. Her public image was crushed to dust.
At 3 a loyal friend from the ABN channel came to visit her at the cottage bearing more wine and some food. Larry proceeded to seize the wine and empty its content into the kitchen sink. Rachel made a snide comment and took a seat in front of the TV with a box of the chicken and fries Mark, her loyal friend brought while they gossiped.
“Word around the office is that Dana must have gone down on the Allen Brothers in more ways than one to get the position as host so soon. I always knew she envied you, I just didn’t think she would go so far to destroy you.”
Rachel who was still reeling from all that had happened in her life in the last 56 hours didn’t even know who or what to trust anymore.
“I guess I always knew she had something against me,” she confessed after a while. “Her smile never quite reached her eyes when we went on air, especially when the guests paid more attention to me.”
“That’s probably because you’re hot and their eyes were glued to your thighs and boobs and lips if I do say so myself.”
Rachel sighed. “I don't appreciate you objectifying me. Besides, I don’t feel sexy anymore. Who knew two days of drinking could cause my skin to sag?” she sighed again. “I need another wine.”
“What you need is a life and publicity.”
Mark dropped the empty box of chicken he as chomped on the last bit of chicken. “And a job.”
“How is the show’s rating since I was unceremoniously displaced.”
“Not good actually but the Brothers are pretending everything is alright. Everyone thinks they have something to do with Dana’s conspiracy to replace you. You never got on well with them sometimes, especially when you asked direct questions.”
“They hate the truth that’s what. Anyways I’m not surprised Dana is doing so terribly. She never was the sharpest tool in the shed…”
“But she has a publicity agent, I hear she’s planning some photoshoots with some lifestyle magazines to boost her career.”
“Larry you told me I didn’t need a publicity agent!”
“An oversight on my part,” he apologized. “Anyways, I’ll do my best to find you a new job. You can always start from somewhere again and work your way up.”
“Yeah, when I’m fifty perhaps.”
“Keep your fingers crossed, heathen, and be hopeful,” Larry advised.
But no matter how hopeful she tried to be, her worst fear became even worse when in the next five days Jacob Henderson announced a public divorce which meant in addition to getting her reputation dragged in the mud she would also have her name soiled more than it already was. The way Rachel saw it if any lawyer was going to take her case and fight for her in court, they would probably do it for the clout or the pay, not because they thought she was the cheated party.
And the bastard Jacob wasn’t just divorcing her, he was also taking away everything she ever worked for. No wonder he had asked that they opened a joint account. He was probably going to spend their money on more under-aged girls. The only thing he was leaving her with was the cottage she was now residing in. And he had mentioned it in the newspapers which was why on the sixth day she found herself locking the doors and windows of the cottage to keep the bloody cameramen and reporters out.
After one week of holing herself up in the cottage, sneaking out only at night to get boxes of food and more wine, she finally got news from Larry. But it wasn’t the kind of news she was expecting.
It all started on the afternoon of Monday. Larry had managed to get her to open the door to him after wiggling his way through the ever-persistent media crew still waiting to hear something from Rachel Rivers. One cameraman had even tried to break in through the back door and had only stopped when Rachel threatened to sue him.
“I have great news for you, although I don’t know how great you might consider it since it’s quite unusual.”
“Out with it,” Rachel drawled, picking through her wild curly red hair. It was a miracle it wasn't fizzy and breaking already since it hadn’t seen a shampoo drop since her misfortune started. She couldn’t even get out to buy the shampoo.
“So someone is offering the promise of a lifetime. He’s going to clear your name. Are you listening, Rachel?”
“Of course I am,” she yawned. “Who is this mysterious saviour?”
“He wants to meet you on Wednesday to discuss. His name is Nate Madden.”
Rachel sat straight on the sofa that was loaded with empty boxes of fast food and stains.
It definitely wasn’t the kind of news she was expecting.