“Really?”
“Shes here because of your mother. ”
Ruby took a long, stinging swallow. “Of course she is. ” She wished she had an olive to nibble on; she needed something to do with her hands. She turned Joan. “What do you want?”
“I work for Cache” magazine. Wed like you to write an expose on your mother. “ Joan smiled, showing a mouthful of smokers teeth. ”We could hire a ghostwriter if youd like, but Val tells me youre a first-rate writer.
A compliment. That felt good. Ruby settled back in her seat, eyeing Joan. “You want a daughters betrayal. ”
“Who betrayed whom?” Joan said. “Your mother has been telling America to honor commitments and put their children first. These photographs prove that shes a liar and a hypocrite, plain and simple. We checked the records. Nora was married to your father when those pictures were taken. People have a right to know who theyre taking advice from. ”
“Ah, the peoples right,” Ruby said, taking another sip of her martini.
“Its just an article, Ruby, not a book. No more than fifteen thousand words, and . . . ” Val said, “it could make you famous. ”
“Rich and famous,” Joan added.
Now that got Rubys attention. She set the glass down and looked at Joan. “How rich?”
“Fifty thousand dollars. Im prepared to pay you half of that amount right now, and the other half when you deliver the article. The only catch is: cant do any interviews until we publish. ”
“Fifty thousand dollars?” Ruby reached for her drink again, but she was too wound up to take a sip. For a few measly words . . .
And all she had to do was serve up her mothers life for public consumption.
She set her drink down. This wasn"t something to take lightly. She wished she had someone to ask about it, but Ruby had always had problems trusting people, and that made close friendships impossible. There was her dad, but he was so busy with his new family that he and Ruby werent as close as theyd once been. And her sister had spent the past decade trying to forgive their mother; there was no doubt shed tell Ruby to turn down the deal. Caro would despise the idea of airing their familys dirty laundry in public.
“I dont know my mother that well,” she said slowly, trying to think through it. “The last time I saw her was at my sisters wedding nine years ago. We didnt speak. ”
That wasnt entirely true. Ruby had spoken to her mother. Shed said, “And I thought the worst part of this day would be wearing pink polyester. ” Then shed walked away.
"We dont want cold facts and figures. We want your opinions, your thoughts on what kind of a person she is . . . what kind of a mother she was. ”
“Thats easy. Shed step on your grandmothers throat to get ahead. Nothing-and no one-matters to her; except herself. ”
You see?“ Joan said, eyes shining. ”Thats exactly the perspective we want. Now, Im sure youll understand that we need to go to press fast. While the scandals still hot. I brought the contract with me. Val has already had a literary agent look it over—and a check for twenty-five thousand dollars. " She reached into her black snakeskin (appropriate, Ruby thought) briefcase and pulled out
a stack of papers and a check. She slapped the papers down on the table, with the check on top.
Ruby stared down at all those zeros and swallowed hard. Shed never had that much money at one time. Hell, it was more than her salary for all of last year.
Joan smiled, a sharks grin. “Let me ask you this, Ruby. Would your mother turn down this offer if you were the subject of the article?”
The answer to that question came easily. Her mother had once had to make a choice like this. She could have chosen her husband and her daughters . . . or her career. Without a backward glance, Nora Bridge had chosen herself.
“This is your chance, Ruby,” Val said. "Think of the exposure. The networks will be fighting over you.
She felt flushed. There was this strange sensation that she was removed from her body, watching the scene unfurl from a distance. Slowly, she heard herself answer, “Im a good writer . . . ” That was one thing shed always believed. Now she knew that Val believed it, too. She bit her lower lip, worrying it. If the article made her famous, maybe she could parlay notoriety into a sitcom. “I certainly know the beginning of her career--who she may have fucked to get to the top and who she just plain screwed. ”
Joan was smiling now. “Weve tentatively booked you on The Sarah Purcell Show for a week from now . . . to promote the article. ”
The Sarah Purcell Show . . .
Ruby closed her eyes, wanting it so much her head hurt. Shed clawed and scratched through life for so long, been a nobody, a nothing . . .
She thought of all the reasons she should say no--the moral, ethical reasons--but none of them found a place to stick. Instead, she thought about those damned photos . . .
And all of her mothers lies.