billion book
Chapter 59
As soon as those words left Tony's mouth, the room fell silent in shock.
"A five-year advertising deal with Moncada International? I think their annual ad budget runs into the tens of millions. Linda, you're incredible."
"Linda, I'm starting to think you're secretly married to someone at Moncada International. Your boyfriend's name is Lucas, and the heir to Moncada International is also named Lucas. Last time, you said it was just a coincidence, but now what's your excuse?"
"Linda's just modest. Unlike some people here who would shout from the rooftops about landing a mere hundred-thousand-dollar deal."
The boardroom erupted in praise for Linda.
Moncada International was one of the top companies in Riverbrook, and their ad budget was worth more than dozens of smaller companies combined. Linda had locked them in for five years.
Even thework president would probably pop open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
Clearly, Linda was on her way to becoming the future Mrs. Moncada. Cozying up to her would definitely have its perks. So, for a while, nobody paid Chloe any mind.
Chloe knew this place ran on cold, hard self-interest.
After the meeting, Tony came over to offer some token comfort. "Chloe, I still believe in you. Your show's always had our highest ratings. I'm confident you won't lose to Linda in this hosting competition. It's just a formality."
He had a point.
Over the next week, Chloe and Linda alternated hosting the prime-time slot.
Thework also launched a popularity vote for the prime-time host. Today was Sunday, the final day of their competition.
Both had hosted the prime-time news for three days. Based on the data, Chloe was crushing Linda.
Today, the station had them co-hosting. The audience would vote to decide who would become the prime-time host.
By all measures, Chloe had it in the
bag. She was flawless in both
appearance and professionalism. She'd even built a fanbase from her previous gig anchoring the noon news. So, from the start of the
broadcast, Chloe's votes were way ahead of Linda's.
Just as everyone thought Chloe had the prime-time slot nailed down, something unexpected happened.
During their broadcast, a trending
topic shot to the top of Twitter. The hashtag
#PrimeTimeHostChloe's MurdererMo
took the inte by storm.
It turned out Chloe's mother was named Ann, and she was the prime suspect in a high-profile husband murder case three years ago.
The inte exploded, and criticism of Chloe began pouring in.
[A murderer's daughter as a prime-time host? How is she fit for that?]
[Her mom's the murderer, not her. Why can't people get that?]
[If the parent's bad, the child can't be any better. Her mom killed her dad. Wouldn't that mess up a kid's mind?]
[I can't watch the news knowing the host's mom is a killer. It'd mess with my head.]
Within ten minutes, the voting took a sharp turn. Chloe's votes almost stopped going up. Linda's votes, however, skyrocketed.
Chloe could see the voting results
during the broadcast. Given the
sudden change, she knew
something was up, but stayed calm
and professional until the end.
After the broadcast, Chloe and Linda walked out of the studio. Everyone stared at Chloe with a mix of pity and curiosity. "What's going on?" Chloe asked.
Cameraman Kyle spoke up, "Chloe, you should check Twitter's trending topics."