Thrill Me. Susan Mallery

EIGHTEEN

       CHAPTER NINETEEN

       CHAPTER TWENTY

       Extract

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      MAYA FARLOW TOLD herself there was a perfectly good explanation for the mayor of Fool’s Gold to have a picture of a man’s naked butt on her computer screen. At least she really hoped there was. She’d always liked Mayor Marsha and didn’t want to find out something more than a little icky about the woman who was now her boss.

      Mayor Marsha sighed heavily and pointed to the screen. “You’re not going to believe this,” she said, and tapped a key. The picture moved as the video played and the audio started up.

      “The contest closes on Friday at noon. Text your guess to this number.”

      Maya stared at the computer. When the picture stopped again, she studied the phone number on-screen, the seventy-something female host frozen midgesture and the picture of the naked butt behind her. The naked, male butt, Maya corrected mentally, not sure the gender mattered as much as the nakedness.

      “Okay,” Maya said slowly, knowing that she would be expected to say something else. Possibly something, you know, intelligent. But honestly, she couldn’t think of what that could be. How on earth was she supposed to make an old lady in a tracksuit talking about a naked butt contest make sense? Of course, that was a much happier concern than finding out Mayor Marsha watched porn.

      Mayor Marsha pushed a couple of buttons on her computer and the image disappeared. “You can see the problem we’re having with Eddie and Gladys’s cable access show.”

      “Too many naked butts?” Maya asked before she could help herself. Stating the obvious was never helpful, but what on earth else was there to say?

      Mayor Marsha Tilson was California’s longest serving mayor. She looked exactly as she had twelve years ago when Maya had been a nervous sixteen-year-old, moving to a strange little town and hoping to fit in. The mayor still wore classically tailored suits and elegant pearls. Her white hair had been swept up in a tidy chignon. As a teenager, Maya hadn’t known what to make of the mayor. Today, she thought the other woman was someone to be admired. Mayor Marsha ran her town with a firm but fair hand. Even more important to Maya, the mayor had offered her a job right when Maya had known she had to make a change in her life.

      So here she was, the shiny new communications director for Fool’s Gold, California. And the old lady with the naked butt contest was apparently now her problem.

      “Eddie and Gladys have always been colorful,” Mayor Marsha said with a sigh. “I admire their zest for life.”

      “And interest in younger men,” Maya murmured.

      “You have no idea. Their cable access show is extremely popular with locals and tourists alike, but we’ve been getting some emails and phone calls about some of the content.”

      “You need me to rein them in.”

      “I’m not sure if that’s possible, but yes. We don’t want to have to deal with the FCC. I know two of the commissioners and I don’t want to be fielding calls from friends in high places, so to speak.” The older woman shuddered. “Or explain what on earth is going on in this town.”

      After seeing a clip of the show, Maya would have guessed there was nothing anyone could say for the rest of the day that would surprise her more than a woman pushing eighty showing a naked butt on television and inviting viewers to text in their guess on which famous local celebrity it might be. Maya would have been wrong. Mayor Marsha personally knowing an FCC commissioner or two beat naked butts hands down.

      So to speak.

      She made a few more notes on her tablet. “Okay. I’ll talk to Eddie and Gladys and explain about the indecency restrictions for broadcast shows.”

      She had a good idea what the requirements were but would have to look up the specifics. She had a feeling the TV duo were not the types to be intimidated by vague rumblings of FCC rules. She would have to go into the discussion armed.

      “You are getting thrown in the deep end, aren’t you?” Mayor Marsha smiled at her. “This is only your second day. I hope you’re not regretting your decision to take the job.”

      “I’m not,” Maya assured her. “I love a good challenge.”

      “Then consider yourself blessed.” The mayor glanced at her notepad. “Next up we need to discuss our new video campaign. The city council wants a two-pronged approach. The first set of videos will be about our town slogan. Fool’s Gold: A destination for romance. The second set will be in support of general tourism.”

      They’d discussed the new campaign at Maya’s interview. “I have a lot of ideas for both,” she said eagerly.

      “Good. We’re still coming up with more ways to use the videos. They’ll be put on the town’s website, of course. But we’ll also want them to be used for commercials. Both on the internet and television.”

      Maya nodded as she typed on her tablet. “So thirty-second spots for sure, with additional cuts of the material in one-and two-minute lengths? The message varying, depending on the target audience?”

      “I’ll leave the technical aspects of it to you, Maya. Also, any ideas you have for increasing viewership of the videos would be appreciated. The city council is a dynamic group, but we’re not tech savvy. You’re going to have to lead the way on that.”

      “Happy to.”

      She had some contacts, she thought. Not anyone at the FCC, but friends in advertising who would be happy to brainstorm ideas. It would be easy to edit material so that it appealed to different interests. Focus on the outdoor activities the town had to offer on ESPN and sports websites. Show family-friendly things to do on cable channels more traditionally watched by women, with links on websites that appealed to women with children.

      While this kind of work was different from what she was used to, she was excited by the possibilities. Her previous job, at a local TV station in Los Angeles, had become too comfortable. And her attempts to get hired by the network had failed, leaving her at loose ends. The job offer in Fool’s Gold had come along at exactly the right time.

      “You’re going to need some help,” Mayor Marsha told her. “There’s simply too much work for one person. Especially if we want the videos done by the end of summer.”

      Maya nodded in agreement. “I’d prefer to do the editing myself. There’s an art to it.” And trusting someone else with her content would be difficult. “But I could use someone to help preproduction and during the shoots.”

      “Yes. Plus an on-air talent person. Is that what it’s called? Or is host a better word?”

      Maya felt a minor twinge. After all, in a perfect world, she would be hosting the videos. But the truth was, the camera didn’t love her. It liked her well enough, but not so much with the love. And in the business that was any kind of recorded media, passion was required. Which meant they needed someone who dazzled on-screen.

      “Someone local?” she asked, thinking of all the sports celebrities in the area. Plus, she knew that action movie superstar Jonny Blaze had just bought a ranch outside of town. If she could get him, that would be a coup.

      “I had someone else in mind,” Mayor Marsha said.

      As if on cue, the mayor’s assistant knocked on the door and then stepped into the