Page 11 of Hot Mic

Sienna tore off her headphones and let out a long, low groan. It wasn’t because the episode was going poorly, though it was a bit of a tepid one. The groans had been leaking out of her all week; every single time she remembered her terrible fate. Head vs Heart started recording tomorrow, and she was still bloody livid about it.

Sienna pushed her chair back and headed into the control room.

‘Six weeks, Pip,’ Sienna moaned, pacing the small, carpeted space while Pip carefully adjusted a gain slider on the board. ‘Six weeks! Six weeks with a woman who navigates life like a toddler with a sparkler.’

Pip nodded neutrally, her eyes remaining fixed on the soundboard.

‘I should look at my original contract,’ Sienna continued, crossing her arms tightly over her navy blazer. ‘Gemma thinks she can back us into a corner with veiled threats, but surely there’s some kind of loophole regarding, I don’t know, personal brand degradation?’

Sienna paused, waiting.

Pip slowly turned her head, pushed up her wire-rimmed glasses, and looked at Sienna. ‘Oh, this isn’t a monologue?’

‘No,’ Sienna said.

‘There’s been a lot this week,’ Pip said.

‘Well? What do you think?’ Sienna demanded.

‘Did you read the contract for the new show? Did you sign it?’ Pip asked quietly.

‘Yes and yes,’ Sienna admitted, her pacing slowing down slightly.

Pip hit a button on the mixing board, muttering under her breath, ‘Then you’re doing the show.’

‘It’s the principle of the matter!’ Sienna insisted, though the argument was already crumbling.

Pip spun around in her swivel chair, crossing her arms and looking Sienna squarely in the eye. ‘How many new subscribers did you gain after the panel?’

Sienna stiffened. ‘Fourteen thousand across platform feeds.’

‘What’s your average weekly acquisition?’

‘...Twelve hundred in a good week,’ Sienna muttered under her breath.

Pip held her gaze for three agonisingly quiet seconds before giving a single, subtle raise of her eyebrows. She didn’t need to say another word. The metrics didn’t lie. The show wasn’t just a punishment; it was the biggest promotion Dating by Design could hope for. The exposure was undeniable.

Sienna let out a long, defeated breath, dropping into a spare chair beside the console. ‘Stop being right. I don’t need right.’

Pip gave a tiny, victorious twitch of her mouth and tapped the digital clock. ‘Sixty seconds back to live. Sarah from Brighton is queued up.’

Sienna sighed, standing up and heading back into the recording booth. She sat down and nearly fell directly out of her chair.

Because standing in the hallway, looking through the glass panel in the door, was Robin Croft. When she noticed Sienna looking, Robin raised a hand and gave a big, theatrical wave.

Sienna’s jaw locked. She deliberately looked away.

‘Thirty seconds, Sienna,’ Pip said into her headphones.

Sienna settled back in her chair, adjusting her broadcast mic and taking three deep breaths.

The red light flicked back on.

‘Welcome back to Dating by Design,’ Sienna said into the mic, her voice instantly dropping into its professional tone. ‘We’ve got a caller waiting on line two. Sarah from Brighton, you’re on the air.’

‘Hi Sienna!’ a nervous voice echoed through her headphones. ‘So... I’ve been seeing someone for about two months. Everything is great, but last night she told me she loves me. I really, really like her, but according to you, expressing love before week twelve is a red flag. Should I step back? Is she love bombing me?’

Sienna knew the answer. Do not feel pressured to say it back to her. See if she keeps saying it even though you haven’t. If she does, step back. You’ve got a problem.