The Wrong Girl by Zoe Foster Read Free Book Online

not to single anyone out, or show favourites, or even really acknowledge anyone outside of platitudes, so Lily had no idea what Sasha actually thought of her.
    â€˜Is Jack coming?’
    â€˜Yes, he knows to be —’ Eliza started, before something caught her eye at the door and her expression became the facial equivalent of a golden sunset over fields of luminous poppies.
    â€˜Here he is now,’ she said, beaming.
    Lily looked up from her worksheets and her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. It was
him.
The kettle thief. He, all arm muscles and dazzling blue eyes, walked into the meeting room and pulled out a chair next to Sasha.
    Instantly, the entire energy of the room changed. Eliza pepped up, and sat with what must have been extreme discomfort in a spectacularly straight position in her chair; Dale had flushed with nerves as he always did when someone new was in the same room/postcode; and Lily was busy swallowing back her annoyance at the new chef’s various forms of theft. Yeah, good one, Alice, she thought. He’s a
real
dreamboat. Just as polite and delightful as can be.
    â€˜Sorry I’m late. I had a bit of a . . . 
hiccup
in the test kitchen with the chicken.’
    Eliza giggled, hurling another hundred-watt smile at Jack and waiting for his return smile. He smiled at her briefly, eyebrows raised, nodding.
    The
test kitchen
! Lily had to clench her eyes closed for a second to prevent face-palming. It must have been him who’d made those awful friands, the ones she dissed when he asked about them. Oh well, she thought. Serves him right. They were horrible.
    â€˜Has everyone met . . . everyone?’ Sasha asked. ‘Shall we do that first?’
    â€˜As you know,’ Eliza began, as though she had been asked by the teacher to tell the class about her summer holiday, ‘last year I decided
The Daily
really needed a permanent, in-house chef.’
    Lily’s veins pulsed and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end –
you did
not
think of that, it was
my
idea!
She shot a look to Sasha to see if the boss would give her some kind of reassuring, ‘Relax, I know it was your idea’ nod, but it was fruitless. Lily crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. Razor-sharp thoughts of quitting pierced her brain, as they did each time Eliza frustrated her, or her work went unappreciated or uncredited. There was zero chance she was sticking around if she didn’t get promoted this year, she confirmed. Nada.
    â€˜We wanted someone for the audience to
really
bond with, and form a relationship with. Someone with impressive chops, as it were’ – tinkly laugh – ‘and the kind of obvious charm our audience goes really
wild
for. So, without further ah-
dyoo
, let me introduce you to the man who will fulfil all of these requirements and many more. Jack Winters!’ She gestured towards him with a flourish.
    â€˜Wow, what an introduction,’ he said, smiling shyly. ‘Thanks, Eliza. I’m looking forward to working with you guys, and trying this TV thing, and getting to know the city – all of it,’ he said, with a pure country-boy grin. Oh, give me a break, Lily thought. All that’s missing is the goddamn straw between his teeth.
    â€˜This is Lily, your segment producer, and this is the assistant producer, Dale. You’ll be working with them closely day to day,’ Eliza said, as an afterthought.
    Jack threw one of his enormous, tanned arms across the table towards Dale, ready to shake. Dale actually flinched.
    â€˜Hi Dale, nice to meet you.’
    Dale pulled his arm up to the table and tentatively shook the great walloping hand thrust before him, muttering a ‘Nice to meet you’ as he did so.
    Jack pulled his arm back and slowly turned his gaze to Lily, all deep-sea blue eyes and long black lashes.
    â€˜Lily, is it? Pleased to meet