Bailey blinked back tears as the studio lights blinded her. They had come a long way from the beauty cam and lamp-lit video streams when they started. That was more than fifty million followers ago.
Sister Judy snapped her fingers in Bailey's face. "Earth to Bailey. Five minutes. Got it?"
Bailey nodded. Five minutes to take off her Bailey face and slap on her Lori Laker The Happy Homemaker face. Geez, she hated everything about The Happy Homemaker, from the fake smile to the motto, 'The secret to a successful marriage is an airtight business plan.' She hated even more that the longer she played the part, the less she felt like she would ever have the chance to be herself anywhere but in the privacy of her bedroom. Then she remembered last week when Judy invited a crew into her home for the Day in a Blissful Life episode.
Of course, a day in the life of a celebrity took more than a day to film. For seventy-two hours straight, she had to keep her game face on. Gone were the midnight snacks in bed, the fuzzy sleepers, and the bunny ears headband. The video game consoles were stashed in the back of the garage with her comic books, romance novels, and the punching bags and boxing gloves she used to work out the worst of her workday frustrations. None of those items fit into the Happy Homemaker image that Judy had created and nurtured. Lori did yoga, read literature and cookbooks, and spent her evenings doing volunteer work.
"Now remember," Judy said, "we've cut the statistical data about substantiating the cost-to-value ratio between hiring experts and trying to do DIY home repairs. Instead, Ren Wei from the home office asked us to address matchmaking and how that fits into the business plan."
Bailey shook her head. "Wait. What? When did this happen."
Judy took a hairbrush from the stylist and put some finishing touches on Bailey's hair. "I didn't tell you? Last night, the directive came down. I've been working with the staff to make the revisions."
"I'm part of the staff. An essential part, I'd think, since it's my words out of my mouth that sell this show. I spent hours prepping for the DIY show. I haven't done any research about matchmaking."
Judy sighed, hands on hips. "You're the talent, Bailey. All you have to do is read the teleprompter. We have people who do the research for you."
"If it's so easy, why aren't you doing it? Happy Homemaker is your brainchild after all." She added in a hushed voice, "I never wanted this. Not once in all these years have I ever felt good about faking my way through this fantasy you've created."
Judy had the good sense to look contrite. "You know why."
Bailey did know all the reasons why. She assessed Judy's appearance as she had done so many times when this topic had come up before. While they both had brown hair, Bailey's hair was full of body and framed her face naturally. Judy's hair was thin, and she wore it pulled back in a tight ponytail that left her broad forehead bare. Judy's face was angular. She had thin lips, and her eyes were too close together. She wore thick glasses, and she inevitably had circles under her eyes. Judy's body was round compared to Bailey's athletic form.
While Bailey looked like a young middle to upper-class housewife that any man would be happy to come home to, Judy's appearance would appeal to a very small minority. But the real problem wasn't Judy's looks. Judy could go through the same skincare treatments Bailey did. She could have plastic surgery and use makeup to contour her face into something more pleasing on camera. Judy could work out and watch her diet, but nothing they had tried since Judy was in high school could help her overcome her mind-numbing fear of public speaking or the stutter that overtook her speech pattern when under pressure.
And when they started, they needed the money. Orphaned when Bailey was fifteen and Judy was twenty-two, Judy had worked two jobs to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. When Judy came down with pneumonia, she lost both jobs. In no time, what meager savings she had managed to put aside was gone. They had no choice but to develop a creative means of supplementing the little bit of survivor benefits Bailey received from the government to live on.
From that desperation, The Happy Homemaker was born, and it had paid off over and over for the sisters. For that, Bailey was grateful. For the rest, like the glaring studio lights and kowtowing to the demands of a company like MGM Conglomerate, Bailey could do without. If it weren't for her sister's fear that they would be thrown back into poverty should the program ever close, Bailey would have walked away after she graduated college with a finance degree. But no matter what she said or how she presented their financial picture to Judy, the anxiety Judy felt was never sated.
This wasn't the first time MGM had insisted on a last-minute change to her program. The last time this happened, it was because the corporation had taken over a beauty brand, and they wanted to use her program as a platform for promoting beauty products. True, their demographic was heavy with women in the right age and income bracket, but selling beauty products to women who appreciated the show as an educational tool for improving their home lives felt like a betrayal.
Now they wanted her to sell matchmaking services. What was next? Selling high heels for the kitchen? Marketing boarding school options so parents would have more free time for socializing?
What was the point of fighting it? They had sold their souls to MGM for the next five years. Bailey swore for not the first time that she would rather be homeless than renew the contract one more day past the original contract. Judy would have to learn to cope.
With a sigh, Bailey asked for a copy of the script and set to reviewing it in the few minutes she had left. She had guessed right. They wanted her to sell matchmaking services. Did anyone understand most of her followers were married women? She wondered what it would take to sit down with the CEO for five minutes and share her opinions with him. Maybe she would get lucky after the very one-sided discussion that she envisioned. If she were very good—and by good, she meant bad—he might pull their contract for early release.
Someone cleared his voice in front of her. When Bailey looked up, Ren Wei stood before her with one hand in his tailored pants pocket. The other was held at an angle like a store mannequin posing. His looks would translate well into a mannequin. The slender man had broad shoulders. His dark hair was styled to best show off his perfect complexion. He wore round wire-framed glasses, and his expression did nothing to clue Bailey in on his opinion of her or the show. As the personal assistant to the CEO, this was as close to the big man himself as Bailey had ever gotten.
"Yes?" She asked, reticent to give up the security of the script until the very last second before they went on air.
"You're Ms. Laker, correct?"
"I am." This wasn't the first time they had met, so Bailey was a bit annoyed at the question.
"I've been sent to act as your guest."
Bailey panicked inside. The script said nothing about a guest. "Exactly what will you be speaking about, Mr. Wei?"
"Ms. Gallup suggested a man's perspective might be useful when discussing matchmaking."
Bailey shot eye daggers at her sister, who was hiding behind one of the monitors at the director's table. What other surprises did Judy have up her sleeve? It had better be very few because Bailey had about reached her limit. She wasn't a puppet on strings to be manipulated by others. Only she was, and she had been for far too long. At one time, she had thought she would do anything for her sister. Now she wasn't so sure.
She returned her attention to Ren Wei. With a sigh, she pasted on her best Lori Laker smile. "So nice to have you, Mr. Wei. Please have a seat. I'm so sorry I'm not better prepared for you. I received the script a few minutes ago. It says nothing about a question and answers sesh, so we will have to play it by ear. Is that okay with you?"
Ren nodded. "This isn't a live broadcast. Mistakes will be edited out before delivery."
Ah, another surprise from her sister dearest. Almost all of their shows broadcasted live. Judy could have told her that upfront instead of worrying her about the last-minute changes.
"What a terrific idea."
The director called out for filming count down.
Bailey patted the sofa seat beside her. "Join me, Mr. Wei, and good luck."
He would need the luck. They had wasted Bailey's time and treated her like an accessory instead of the star of this show. Now they would see what happens when The Happy Homemaker lost her happy.