too.” His mother set her lip gloss into her purse and snapped the clutch closed. “After the holidays, you can sign up with Daphne. Then you can have your own Christmas love story next year.”
The only thing Theo wanted for Christmas was a flawless wedding for his sister and a profitable year-end.
His admin, Fran, opened the office door. Her face never twitched at his mother’s bridal outfit. Fran was a consummate professional. “Your nine o’clock is waiting in your office. Should I tell them you’re running late?”
“It’s Tuesday. Today is the meeting with the TV producers.” His mother’s unwavering gaze pinned Theo in place. “I’m just in time.”
Theo blanched. He knew that nothing good would happen if his mother joined him for the meeting. “I’ll be right there.”
His admin slipped out of the room and disappeared. Now Theo needed his mother to disappear. At the last production meeting with the network, Theo had insisted the Taylor family was nothing to showcase on the company’s new TV series. His mother in her wedding paraphernalia could prove just the opposite.
Theo left his mother’s office and searched the hallway. Mia stepped from Adriana’s office, a camera clutched in her hand. He forced himself to lessen the panic in his tone. “Mia. I have a small situation and need your help.”
More like an all hands on deck situation to distract his mother.
Mia Reid, one of his best contract photographers, waved and headed toward him.
Theo adjusted his smile. He was certain from the slight tilt of Mia’s head that desperation widened his eyes and distorted his face. He ushered Mia into his mother’s office and stationed himself in the doorway. “Mia, I was hoping you could take several pictures of my mother in her wedding gown.”
Mia’s eyebrows pulled together in slow motion as her sharp gaze shifted from his mother to Theo.
“I’m not in my full ensemble,” his mother protested. “What about my veil?”
“But you should see the gown from all angles. You might want to pick a different length, or style of veil.” Theo scrambled to latch onto reasonable arguments, then glanced down the hall at his closed office door. What if it opened? What if one of the TV producers stepped out for more coffee…? His words tripped out in a rush. “Mother, you want the perfect veil.”
“You don’t want your gown to command the entire frame—it’ll take away from you, the bride.” Mia jumped in as if accomplished mind reader was listed on her résumé. “After all, it’s your wedding day, not the gown’s.”
“That’s a valid point.” His mother smoothed her hands over her waist and straightened. “Where should I stand?”
Theo owed Mia a bonus. If she hadn’t already returned from her honeymoon last week, he’d have offered to pay for it. He mouthed a silent thank-you to Mia and slipped out.
Twenty minutes later, Theo stopped believing he’d convinced the TV producers that the Taylor family was nothing to showcase on the new series.
Caitlyn, one of the younger producers, who probably considered 80s music ancient, slipped on a pair of trendy reading glasses. The tortoiseshell frames that flared at the temples gave her a cat-woman vibe. “The show needs drama to push it to the next level.”
Theo sat forward in his chair. “You all agreed the design elements speak to the show’s aesthetic.” And protected the brand he’d worked hard to build. A brand that did not include showcasing the shaky foundation—the imperfect side—of the Taylor family.
“It’s still flat.” Cat Woman narrowed her gaze on the slides spread out across the table. “We don’t want the Coast to Coast Living program to be like every other design show on TV.”
“There’s little profit or longevity in that.” Foster, the oldest producer, barely had five years on Theo. But the gentleman always wore a well-tailored suit and bow tie, and was fluent in numbers.
Turning a profit was Theo’s skill. The TV network had assured Theo a TV series would benefit his company’s profit line. Theo intended to hold the network to their word. “So, how do we make the show unique and make a profit?”
“We infuse the show with the Taylors.” Cat Woman grinned, revealing all her very white, very straight teeth. “The real Taylors. For instance, Adriana has had quite the whirlwind romance—one reportedly not without its hiccups.”
Theo folded his hands together and slowly set them on the table, waiting for his abrasive response to stop whiplashing through him. Settled, he stretched his smile wide and lied. “The Taylors are already reflected in the show’s products and room makeovers. We are the brand.”
“Yes. Of course.” Foster adjusted his bow tie. “But audiences like the behind-the-scenes peeks into families like yours. An inside view into your world.”
This time a curse whiplashed through Theo. An inside view—reality—would ruin everything that Theo had built. Reality would prove their brand wasn’t flawless and shrink their profits, not build them up.
After all, the Taylor family hardly lived the lifestyle the Coast to Coast Living brand embodied. The Taylor family was everything the brand was not. And everything Theo had always wished they’d been. He’d built an entire company around his childhood daydreams. From the positive response, customers wanted the same things: witty throw pillows, fast-paced game nights and harmony inside their homes. “I never agreed to a reality TV show.”
“It’s not a reality TV show per se.” Foster fiddled with the end of his bow tie.
“We’ll do preliminary footage here at the offices and around town to help determine the full cast,” Cat Woman purred. “Then meet later this week to review the footage with you.”
“You can set up that meeting with my admin.” Theo stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I have another meeting.”
A meeting with a certain photographer and his mother. He needed his mother off the premises before she gave the producers even more ideas. Or, worse, proved their suspicions correct. Theo walked toward his mother’s office and rubbed his forehead.
He’d transformed his father’s local lifestyle newspaper insert into a national magazine and expanded the brand into over a dozen successful retail stores across the country. Surely he could control one TV series and capitalize on the audience to widen their brand’s reach. And all without succumbing to the usual reality-TV mayhem. He had to.
He’d been pretending his family was perfect, like a sitcom, since he was a child. He’d built a business on those same fabrications, creating an image of the ideal family he’d been deprived of and transforming the Taylor family into a household brand. If he misstepped now, the brand would suffer. But success was all that mattered. All that people wanted from Theo.
Don’t make me regret giving you the family business. The weight of his father’s expectations still snagged into Theo’s shoulders like iron hooks. It was a daily reminder that everything he did was for his family.
Theo stepped into his mother’s office. Only Mia remained. She was sitting on the couch, her feet propped up on the coffee table. Worry seeped through him. “Where’s my mother?”
“She
