Woman of the Hour by Jane Lythell

for you. But Julius Jones is such an arse.’
    ‘He says you’ll be out if you don’t wear pastels next week,’ I said.
    I had put it as bluntly as I could. She needed to know the score. There was a pause on the other end of the line.
    ‘That man must have a very small penis.’
    It wasn’t Sal at her wittiest but I laughed to ease the tension between us.
    ‘Look, I don’t want to lose you. I love your item.’
    ‘Then let me go on being me ,’ she said.
    ‘We all have to make compromises, you know.’
    I left it there, hoping she would see sense. I had to make compromises every week. Honestly, there are times when I feel like slapping the presenters!
    *
    After lunch Julius sauntered into my office.
    ‘Did you speak to Sal?’
    ‘Yes. I made it clear.’
    ‘Good. She’s a stroppy cow. I need one of your researchers to come to a meeting with me now to take notes,’ he said.
    Julius has a PA, Martine. He’s the only one of us who does these days and I didn’t see why one of my team should do this for him.
    ‘I thought Martine took notes for you?’
    ‘She’s on leave today.’
    ‘We’re very busy. Is it essential?’
    ‘Yes it is; a potential new sponsor. Let Harriet take the notes.’
    ‘I was going to suggest Ziggy. I’m trying to give her more to do,’ I said.
    ‘No way. She’s far too scruffy.’
    ‘She’s very bright, Julius.’
    ‘No. Let Harriet come, she’s well turned out.’
    I stood up and called Harriet into the office. I explained she was needed to take notes at a sponsor meeting. I saw her flush with pleasure as she followed Julius out of my room. I stood at the threshold and watched the two of them walking away. Molly stopped her typing.
    ‘Where are they off to?’
    ‘A meeting with a sponsor; Julius needs a note-taker.’
    ‘Only we were right in the middle of doing work on the hospital shoot,’ she said.
    Molly can be abrasive at times but she has a good sense of humour when she relaxes. She has a broad flat face and dark blonde hair which she gets from her Dutch father. She wears jeans and Converse sneakers to the station most days, works hard and has a lot of integrity. I rarely put her on the celebrity interviews, though, as they don’t interest her at all.
    ‘How’s Harriet getting on?’ I asked.
    ‘She’s struggling. Did she have any experience of this work before?’
    ‘She worked in papers but never in TV. I’d appreciate it if you’d give her your support. I can see she needs some hand-holding.’
    ‘Sure. Is she going to be made permanent?’
    ‘Too early to say. Where’s Simon?’
    ‘He’s gone for a coffee with Betty. They’re doing her mail.’
    Betty adores Simon and always asks for him to go through her mail with her. She puts a lot of effort into her weekly advice slot and her stories come from viewers’ letters and emails. I went in search of them as I needed to build bridges with Betty after our last tense conversation. They were sitting in the Hub with a sheaf of printed emails on the table between them.
    ‘Can I get you guys anything?’ I asked.
    ‘I’d love another hot chocolate,’ Betty said.
    ‘Can I have a sparkling water please?’ Simon said.
    I queued for the drinks. Bob the news editor was sitting at a table by the window with Fizzy and she was laughing at something he was saying. I have my suspicions about those two. I think it more likely Fizzy is having a secret affair with Bob than with Julius. She claims they are good friends because they both come from Burnley. You would never guess that Fizzy was from Burnley, though she does mention it on air from time to time; talks about her love of the Football Club and how her dad took her to the games. Bob is married and has two teenage girls and you can tell straight away that he is from Burnley. He will make a point of showing he is a northern man in what he considers to be a southern softie set-up.
    I know a lot of people have this idea that TV stations are cauldrons of lust