Page 103 of Pity Pact

“Go on.”

“WhenMidwestern Matchmakersigned on to film the show at the country club, I briefly crossed paths with your parents.” Thetiny hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Your mother mentioned it was too bad there wasn’t room for you on the show.”

I interrupt by guessing, “And then she told you all about me and Eva.”

“Yes,” she confirms. “It was clear how much she loves you and how worried she’s been for you. I don’t think she was trying to get you on the show this season. But I think she was putting out feelers for next season.”

I start pacing from one end of the small room to the other. “And you couldn’t resist such a titillating story, so you bounced Decker. Is that it?”

She sits down at the small table, so I don’t run her over. “I could resist, but it turns out the executive producer couldn’t.”

“So you were just the lackey doing what you were told.”

She nods her head once. “Pretty much. Having said that, I know it’s my fault for sharing what your mother told me.”

I stop moving as the truth of the situation hits me. “My mom set me up for the biggest embarrassment of my life.”

“She had no idea what was in store for you,” Trina says. “She thought you’d be like every other guest on the show.”

As if I couldn’t already guess, I ask, “Why have you gone so far out of your way to make me look bad?”

“We weren’t trying to make you look bad, but I can see why you might think that. We were only trying to amp up the drama to build ratings. We went into this season knowing that if something spectacular didn’t happen, our show wouldn’t be picked up.”

I drop down into the chair across from her. “So, you decided to sacrifice me at the altar of ratings.”

Her voice is so low that if I wasn’t watching her lips move, I might not have known what she said. “Yes.”

Resting my elbows on the dinged brown table, I tell her, “I’m sure you’ll be on the air for years to come after last night’s fiasco.”

“Maybe, but I told the producers that if this is the way they plan on going forward, I won’t be renewing my contract.”

That’s surprising but I’m not sure I believe her. “Why?”

She blinks while taking a deep breath. On the exhale, she says, “When I pitched this show, I wanted it to be likeTheGreat British Bake Offof dating shows.”

“I don’t know what that means,” I tell her. “What do baking British people have to do with matchmaking in America?”

“Reality cooking shows have become so overly dramatized and hostile that they have little to do with the actual craft of cooking. The hosts are mean and aggressive, and they do whatever they can to push the drama.” She pauses before explaining, “The Great British Bake Offis the exception. Even when the judges are telling you that your creation is a disaster, they always soften their comments with kindness. You could feed them an astroturf cookie and they’d tell you what a lovely color green it is before saying it was inedible. Do you see what I’m saying?” she asks.

“That’s the kind of reputationMidwestern Matchmakerhas had,” I tell her. “So if you’ve been so successful, why change it now?”

“Because it’s getting harder and harder to please viewers with a nice, sweet show. They want to see some figurative bloodshed.”

“That’s not saying a lot for your viewers,” I tell her.

“Unfortunately, that’s the world we live in.”

Gesturing around her dingy motel room, I ask, “So why are we here?”

Trina stands up and looks out the window facing the parking lot before answering. “The producers know there’s no show without me, but they aren’t just going to let me have my way without some bargaining.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“I’m going to offer to let them produce the show they’ve been wanting to do with me for three years already,ifthey let me have final say on what footage gets used on this season.”

“Why haven’t you done the show they wanted to do with you before now?” I ask her.

“Because I’m the target.”

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