One Wild Night

"Thomas Hank, it's a pleasure to meet you in person finally," Eric Howells, producer and host of the number one television talk show in the country, rose from his seat as Tom and Harry walked into his office.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice," Tom said as he extended his hand to the middle-aged man.

He had asked Harry to put a call across to Eric on their way to his office, asking if he would be able to meet with them on short notice, and he had agreed without a moment's hesitation.

"Are you kidding me? For years now, I've been pleading with Mr. Jonas here to help me get an audience with you, and now you reach out to me first? Even if I were on the verge of ejaculation, I would have pulled out just to meet with you," He said with a grin, and Tom laughed as he shook hands with him.

"I can see why your show is so successful," Tom said as he withdrew his hand while Harry and Eric exchanged pleasantries.

"Please sit comfortably. What can I offer you? Name it, and I will have it served," he promised excitedly.

"Your time. I need you to do something for me. Something I believe will be of benefit to you and your show. And in return, I will grant you an exclusive interview," Tom said, and Eric's eyes shone with delight.

"An exclusive interview? With your girlfriend?" He asked hopefully, "Everyone is curious about her and your relationship with her. I am too," Eric said, and Tom paused.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. My Jewel doesn't like to be under public scrutiny. An interview with just me will be enough. I can answer your questions, so you don't need her there," Tom assured him.

Eric looked slightly disappointed, but having Tom volunteer to appear on his show was already more than he had hoped for, so he nodded, "Okay. What is it that you want me to do for you?" Eric asked curiously, and Tom turned to Harry, giving him a nod to speak.

"There is a family we want you to feature on your show," Harry said, making Eric's brows pull together.

"Who are they? And why do you need me to invite them? You do realize that not just anyone can appear in Live With Eric Howells, right?" Eric asked, not happy that he was going to miss a chance to feature Tom on his show.

"Oh, don't worry about that! They are not nobodies. We are talking about Rebekah Miller and her daughters. You know who she is, don't you?" Harry asked, and Eric nodded.

"Of course. I know who she is. But there is hardly anything interesting about her life outside the fact that she's a socialite and her daughters are married to influential men. What could she possibly be doing on my show?" Eric asked, and Harry smirked.

"Trust us, she is one verrrrrry interesting woman. Emphasis on very. There is a lot of exclusive juicy gossip that would remind everyone why you are still number one in the talkshow business," Harry said, and Eric's eyes twitched greedily.

"Juicy gossip?" He asked, and Harry nodded.

"Very juicy gossip. And we will make the show worth your while, trust us," Harry said, and Eric watched Tom curiously.

This whole time he had been looking for every means to have Tom feature in his show, and here was Tom offering himself voluntarily. Why? What could the family have done to make Tom want to get involved in something like this?

"May I ask why?" He asked, and Tom nodded.

"You deserve to know that much. They were behind the scandal involving my girlfriend and my brother. I want to give them a taste of their own medicine, but on live television, especially on a show as popular as yours. They seem to want fame, so I would love to turn their moment of pride and fame into the most disgraceful moment of their life," Tom explained, and surprise flickered in Eric's eyes.

"They were behind that? Why would they do that? How do you know they are responsible for that?" Eric asked, and Tom held his gaze.

"I can trust that you won't try to play a smart one, right?" Tom asked, and Eric gave him a nod.

"I pick my enemies wisely. You are not an enemy I would want to have. Besides, I'm sure you know you can trust me, else you wouldn't have said anything until you asked that question in the first place," Eric said, and Tom gave Harry a nod.

Harry placed an iPad on the desk and showed Eric the receipts and evidence they had gathered to prove that Anita had paid the people who started Lucy's scandal, as well as Simon, who sold the news of Bryan's false engagement to the press.

"Wow! You guys work really fast," Eric said with undisguised admiration.

"Will you do it?" Harry asked as he recovered his phone from Eric.

"Are you kidding me? How can I let such an opportunity pass me by?" He asked and then paused when something else occurred to him, "What about their in-laws? Those families are powerful, and they could try to cover it up and make things difficult for me," Eric said, and Tom waved his concerns away.

"I've got it covered too. By the time I'm done, they will be too busy trying to cover their own ass to care about the Millers. They won't want to be associated with this, don't worry," Tom promised, and Eric nodded.

"Count me in."

"Thank you. I will send across the questions you are to ask them during the show. All you have to do is send Rebekah an invite, telling her you want her and her daughters on your show. I'm sure she would be delighted to appear on your show. Let's take it from there," Tom suggested, and Eric grinned as he rubbed his hands together.

"I'm looking forward to this show and seeing the questions you are going to send," Eric said, and Tom smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it too. Things might likely get very heated on that day, so I'll advise you to keep your precious pieces of equipment far from the scene," Harry said with a grin of his own, and Eric chuckled.

"I'll do just that. We can discuss your interview after I set up a date for theirs and send the invite to them. Will you like me to reserve a sit in the audience?" Eric asked, and Harry looked at Tom.

"Please do. I want my Jewel to be here to witness their first show of shame," Tom said, and Harry rolled his eyes at Tom's reference to Lucy as his Jewel for the second time. The man always looked for the slightest excuse to flaunt Lucy. No, he wasn't jealous.

"We would prefer to remain anonymous until we are done with them," Tom said as he stood up, and Eric nodded as he followed suit.

"Thank you very much for giving us your time. I look forward to working with you," Tom said as he extended his hand to Eric once again for a handshake.

"By the way, I would like to meet the lady who interviewed you. Her name is Alicia Hagin, am I right? How do you know her?" Eric asked, and Tom looked at him curiously.

"She is one of my people. I hope there is no problem?"

"Not at all. She handled the show so well, and for a moment, it felt like I was watching an Oprah show. I would love to speak with her and find out if she is interested in working with me," Eric said, and Tom smiled proudly, wondering what Alicia's reaction to the offer would be.

"Why don't I give her a call and let's find out?" Tom asked as he took out his phone and dialed Alicia's line.

"Hey, Tom! I was going to call you," Alicia said, reminding Tom that he was yet to get back to her about their discussion regarding him telling Lucy about the foundation.

"I beat you to it. I'm with Eric Howells at the moment, and he would like to have a word with you, do you mind?"

"Eric? Do you mean Eric Howells of Live With Eric Howells?" Alicia asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that Eric Howells," Tom said with a smile.

"And he wants to speak with me?" She asked, not sure she had heard him correctly.

"Yes. You."

"What are you waiting for? Pass him the phone already!" She screeched excitedly, and Tom chuckled as he passed the phone to Eric before sitting down.

"Hello! This is Eric Howells," Eric greeted politely.

"Hello! I'm Alicia. Alicia Hagin. I'm a huge fan of yours and an ardent follower of your show," Alicia said, and he smiled.

"Then you don't mind giving me your contact number so I can contact you, do you? I would love to discuss business with you over lunch at your convenience," he offered, and Alicia's insides almost burst with joy.

"No, I don't. I don't mind at all. I'll just ask Tom to do so now. And I won't mind having yours either."

He didn't miss the informal way in which Tom had spoken to her just now or how she referred to Tom like a casual friend. Apart from the fact that she would make a perfect supporting show host, he was curious about the relationship they had. How did someone like Thomas Hank become friends with a food blogger?

"That's fine. I'll return the phone to him now," Eric said before handing the phone to Tom.

"It's Tom," he said and listened to Alicia as she asked him to give Eric her contact number and take his too.

"We still have to talk, remember?" She asked, not forgetting the reason she had wanted to call him earlier.

"I already told her about it. I will give you the details later, or you can just hear it from her. I've got to go now," Tom said as he hung up.

After doing as she had requested, Tom and Harry left the office with a feeling of immense satisfaction. They were getting closer to their goal. Soon Rebekah Miller and her daughters would realize that not everyone was to be messed with.