A Talent for Murder Read Free Page A

years. Then she dumped him.”
    Polly exhaled loudly and shook her head. “I’ll have no problem being the ‘nice’ judge compared to a guy who needs anger management classes, and probably a healing purple pill!”

Chapter 2
    W hen Polly, Tim, and Placenta arrived for the first
I’ll Do Anything to Become Famous
production meeting, the conference room in the Writers Building on the Sterling Studio’s lot was already crowded with network executives and the show’s judging panel.
    Standing in the doorway and posing as if she were on a red carpet entertaining paparazzi, Polly made her entrance. With her hands on her hips, her head tilted up at a forty-five-degree angle, and her camera-ready smile beaming toward Jupiter, Polly sang out, “I’m hee-er!” All eyes instantly focused on the lady in the red Armani pantsuit.
    Polly was effulgent. However, when she spied an impossibly handsome twenty-something young man occupying the chair at the head of the conference table, she suddenly felt like an ugly stepsister sentenced to the plus-size dress department at Neiman’s. Polly swallowed hard, as the poster boy for human genetic engineering stood and offered a wide and enthusiastic smile. “You’re the famous Polly Pepper. I’d recognize you anywhere.”
    “Please don’t tell me that you have grandparents who watched my show,” Polly teased, only half joking.
    He reached out to shake Polly’s hand and introduced himself as Richard Dartmouth, president of unscripted programming for the Sterling Network. “It’s so cool that you’re on our team,” he said.
    “Yes. Cool. And you’re …
muy caliente
!”
    “Mother!” Tim whispered harshly as he poked Polly’s ribs with his elbow.
    “I meant ‘tall,’“ Polly backtracked. “I’m learning Spanish. I get confused,” she said.
    Richard Dartmouth smiled and shrugged. “Gotta blame my otherwise perfect parents for something,” he said. “Let’s get this boring bit of business out of the way so you can do something more meaningful with your magical life.”
    Still blushing, Polly smiled broadly and finger-waved to everyone seated around the table. She took the one empty leather chair, while her entourage found seating in the back of the room.
    “I’ll keep this short.” Richard Dartmouth began his meeting. “I just wanted you to get to know each other before the first show on Friday. I’ll start by saying that I have complete trust that
I’ll Do Anything to Become Famous
is going to be a ratings winner. I expect that we’ll be picked up for a full season after we end our summer run in September. Of course we have to be a hit from the get-go, but with the media blitz, plus our amazing contestants, and of course the luminous Polly Pepper”— he nodded to the star—”as well as the charming Brian Smith”—he acknowledged the second judge—”Thane Cornwall, and our host, Steven Benjamin”—he smiled at both men—”we’re going to be a Friday night fave.”
    Polly tried not to stare at Dartmouth. That, however,was impossible. Not only was he articulate and bright, but he presented an air of absolute confidence. He also wore a neatly trimmed shadow of a beard, and an amazing mane of dark, feather-soft hair, which he frequently tossed with an unconscious whip of his head. Without looking over her shoulder, Polly knew that Tim and Placenta were equally rapt.
    Polly surreptitiously looked at the ring finger of Richard Dartmouth’s left hand. It was bare.
No one that good looking is single
, Polly thought to herself as she looked at his green eyes. Then she heard her name and realized that she hadn’t been paying attention to what was being discussed. Polly intuited that introductions were being made, so she reanimated her smile and modestly thanked Richard and the others for the opportunity to join their show.
    Dartmouth continued the introductions, giving brief comments about each person at the table. “You all remember Brian Smith from his