A/N: Hello Lovely Readers! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. There is more to come. This is one of my favorites and I hope you like it too. As always reviews or notes are appreciated.
Ch 2: The Ugly Truth
After her phone call with Killian Jones the night before she felt like she needed to look extra pretty. She wasn't a dog, she was beautiful. She couldn't help it if she had high standards and she wasn't going to let some blowhard from cable access sway her confidence.
She dressed in a pair of black slacks, a white scoop neck blouse and a light blue sweater. She also wore her favorite boots that gave her extra confidence when she needed it. She walked with her head held high through the station. She carefully filled her coffee mug and walked to the meeting with her team.
"Hey Emma, How was your date?"asked Ruby intercepting her around the bend.
"I liked the restaurant, it was a nice choice but that's about it. Other than that it was probably the worst date I've been on in awhile."
Ruby frowned."Really? He was so cute though?"
She smiled at her friend. "I whole heartedly give you my permission to call him. I think he might actually be perfect for you."
"Hmm, Maybe I will."
They walked into the room and sat down with the others waiting for Robin to get their daily meeting started. Mary Margaret, David, Belle, Grumpy, and Ruby sat around the table sharing ideas for new segments and specials for the show. She created a list of ideas that she wanted to share for sweeps week in hopes of getting their ratings up.
Robin came bounding into the office with a big grin on his face. "Good Morning everyone! I have something to show you and I'm really excited about it. Please take a look at the monitor."
Everyone sat back and looked up to watch the show. Emma's mouth opened wide with shock. It was Killian Jones and The Ugly Truth blaring at them. His Ugly alarm going off in front of him in all its blaring glory and then her voice coming through saying I'm not ugly. She reached for the remote control and quickly turned off the show.
She felt flustered and a blush was creeping over her cheeks. "Why are we watching this?"
"Say Hello to our new guest commentator. I'm starting him off at two segments a week. Three minutes a pop." said Robin smiling.
"Are you kidding me?"asked Emma.
"Who the hell is this guy?"asked Grumpy.
"His name is Killian Jones. "said Robin.
She huffed out a breath. "He's an uber moron misogynist who represents everything that is wrong with television and society."
"I get crap every time I suggest something remotely fluffy or fashionable but this is OK." said Belle.
Robin began pacing around the table smiling at each member of the team. "Aww Come on, he's got a point of view. We don't have to like it. We're news people, we're objective. Archie Hopper of SBNC interviews villains but that doesn't mean he likes them. He does it for the ratings. "
She stood up from the table and shook her head. "I have a whole list of ideas right here to help us boost the ratings. You're going to love it. We don't need him."
The rest of the table was also in agreement with her. No one wanted to give up time for their own segments in favor of offering a newcomer their beloved space.
Robin looked over her list and grimaced. "An Intimate profile of the mayor?"
"Yeah, Regina is intriguing."
"Yeah, I like how she dresses." said Belle.
"Unless you can get her pole dancing at the Rabbit Hole and turning tricks in the back nobody is going to give a shite." said Killian. The bastard had a smug look on his face as he sipped coffee out of a mug with the station logo on it.
He was dressed in a casual pair of jeans, a light blue body hugging T-shirt and a black running jacket unzipped down to the center. It also appeared that he'd already been hired as he had an entry badge hanging around his neck.
Everyone at the table was staring in shock. She couldn't help but stare him down. If she could shoot daggers from her eyes she would at that moment. She took a deep breath and pretended to look over her list. She sat back at the table and gathered up her pages.
Robin was laughing and patting him on the back. Clearly Killian had already become his new pet project and she was going to have to deal with the corporate pressure whether she liked it or not.
"What did I tell you, isn't this guy great?"asked Robin smiling.
"Thanks Boss." said Killing patting Robin on the back.
She couldn't hold it in any longer. "You already hired him?"
Killian walked towards her and she felt his eyes crawl all over her."Who's this delightful creature?"
"I'm your producer." She said smugly.
He extended his hand and she reached out to shake but he pulled it up to his lips pressing a light kiss against it.
"I like a woman on top." he smiled at her with a wink.
She retracted her hand and blinked her eyes quickly with her mouth open at his incredulous behavior. She looked around the table and each woman including Ruby's expression matched her own.
"Oh My God" mouthed Ruby.
Emma nodded.
Robin was laughing at everything he said and did as he probably thought he was his salvation in this ratings race.
"Emma, he's just kidding." said Robin.
Killian walked over and grabbed a donut from the side table high fiving David as he walked by.
"Oh sure he is." said Emma smirking.
"Hey Killian did you see your office?"asked Robin.
"No, I didn't." said Killian with a mouth full of donut.
"Oh, come on. Let me show you. Everyone take five. I'll be right back." said Robin. Killian followed along with him out of the conference room.
"Were you all not there last year for our sexual harassment meeting?"asked Emma in an irritated tone.
"David, were you not there?"asked Mary-Margaret crossing her arms in front of her.
"He wasn't sexually harassing me." said David smiling.
The room was heightened with tension after Robin left. When he returned they had their normal daily meeting to go over station activities but she just didn't feel like herself. He had her flustered and the day just began. She was still not happy that corporate didn't trust her to make decisions for her show and went around her.
She retired to her office to collect her thoughts avoiding contact with the others who seemed to understand that she needed space. She was pacing her office reminding herself that she was an award winning news producer. She kept repeating it like a mantra. She could do whatever she needed to do to get things back on top again. Suddenly her door opened.
"You're an award winning news producer?"said Kilian smiling his blue eyes gleaming.
She raised an eyebrow and glared at him.
"Don't you knock?"she asked with a twinge of anger in her voice.
She knew what happened between them last night but he didn't know. She needed to be the professional that she was after all he was working there now. She tried to compose herself but it was very difficult with him looking at her as though she was a steak and he was a ravenous dog.
"I did knock but you didn't answer lass." said Killian in his smooth as silk voice.
"So essentially you're knock was completely negated by your lack of social etiquette that follows a knock. You should wait to be invited in before you barge in unannounced."
"Whoa, you're wound up like a fucking top."
She stared him down and decided to remind him about their discussion."Woof Woof. Remember the bark. A little phone conversation we had?"
His eyes widened in understanding. He relaxed his stance pointing in her direction."Aye, What do you know? You're not ugly at all."
She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, well imagine my relief."
"You know, I wanted to thank you for getting me this gig. I never would have gotten it without you. You and I we make quite the team." said Killian smiling and nodding at her.
She stood and placed her hands on the desk in front of her."You make imbecilic trash that is watched by house bound inbreds who are so busy with their hands down their pants that they can't change the channel."
He flashed her a toothy smile. "I hadn't really been picturing you that way but that's a nice image lass."
She felt her blood begin to boil. "I do not watch your program. My cat stepped on the remote."
He looked at her, his eyes shining brightly. "You want to thank your pussy for me then?"
She rolled her eyes and made a gagging noise as she walked away from him and out of her office. She needed to get away from him as soon as she could. She was so angry. Her composure went right out the window.
She needed to get rid of him. He was everything that compromised the integrity of the news that she loved. She looked over her shoulder to see him standing their smiling and watching her walk away. He waved and winked at her. She shook her head in disgust.
Emma met up with David and Mary-Margaret who were putting on their finishing touches back stage. David had those ridiculous white papers tucked into his collar so he didn't get any make up on his clothes. He had on a blue pin stripe suite with a blue and white striped tie over a crisp white button down shirt.
Mary-Margaret was wearing a body hugging blue dress that was very low cut in the front. Her dark hair was cropped short framing her face and her makeup was flawless. They were perfect compliments of each other. They still appeared to have a lot of tension between them as their body language suggested.
Emma was still fuming as she moved towards the stage area. She took a deep breath.
"Are you alright?"asked Mary Margaret.
"It's Killian Jones. He just gets under my skin. I don't want him here."
"He seems alright to me." said David looking up from his notes.
Emma and Mary-Margaret gave him a look of death.
"Ten minutes to air time!" Called the camera man.
"Listen, I need you to be the accomplished news people that you are today. I need you to skewer Killian Jones. I want him to go up in flames. I want Killian Jones to be nothing more than a pile of ash when you are done with him. I want the janitor to come in and vacuum him up and then I want him to throw the ashes into the dumpster. Then I want the rats and bugs to vomit and defecate on Killian Jones ashes. That still won't be good enough."
She could feel her nostrils flaring as her angry thoughts swirled around in her mind. Mary-Margaret was looking at her intently with a worried gaze nodding. David was grooming himself in his mini mirror and looked up nodding. She stormed to the control booth.
"Wow, I thought you were angry and bitter." said David rolling his eyes.
"No, David that would be my untouched vagina. "said Mary-Margaret smirking.
He was so excited to be going on live network television. Something good was finally happening for him. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to get a shot on one of the premier shows in Storybrooke. It might be small to others but it was big to him.
He entered the set that was mostly blue tones. It had a large blue desk in front with a Storybrooke logo on the front in white and blue. There were 3 chairs setup behind the desk and a flat screen TV monitor hung on the wall behind them. He rubbed his hands together and came forward taking the open seat next to Mary Margaret.
David and Mary-Margaret were bickering back and forth about some sort of bird being in David's dressing room. Mary-Margaret had an affinity to birds for some reason and they were always following her around. She claimed they could understand her and she liked talking to them. It wasn't her fault he left the window open and he should be more careful next time. David shook his head in frustration.
He shook his head thinking it couldn't get any weirder than those too. The control man gave them the signal that the countdown was beginning and the trio straightened up into their on air stance smiling brightly.
"3 . 2. 1" said the cameraman.
"Good Morning Storybrooke."said David.
"For years there have been worries about television lowering standards but this man and his local public access show have brought things to a new low. With that we welcome Killian Jones. "said Mary Margaret smiling.
Killian winked towards the camera and smiled.
"Good Morning."
"Killian how do you respond to people who say your show is offensive." Said David.
"Well it is, but then again so is the truth." said Killian.
"The truth about what Mr. Jones?" asked Mary Margaret in a serious tone.
"What relationships are really like; take Marriage for instance. It's about social pressure, status, and sex. If it weren't for these three things men and women wouldn't even speak."
"Oh Dear, it sounds to me like no one's ever loved you and you're taking it out on the female population." said Mary Margaret.
David laughed.
"Hmm, while we are making these observations Mary Margaret, you both project this image of the perfect couple when clearly it's a lie. "
"Excuse me." said David looking agasp.
"Come on David, you used to be this cool confident gentleman. You had a swagger that had women dropping at your feet and dropping their panties. What the hell happened, Mate?"
"I – I .."stammered David.
" And you Mary Margaret. This lass is no dummy. She knew the only way she was getting off the weekend shift was by hooking up with you. Lo and behold she became more popular than you did making twice your salary."
"Hold on pal, I'm very proud of my wife's success." said David.
"You are so full of bologna. You hated her success. You feel emasculated by her. That screws with your head. Which in turn screws with your manhood."
He got up and walked over behind David putting his hands on his shoulders.
"What's your point Mr. Jones?"asked Mary Margaret raising an eyebrow speaking through gritted teeth.
"Mary Margaret, my point is that your husband hasn't had sex with you in what three months?"
He looked at David for confirmation.
"That's not my fault." said David sheepishly.
"You're right, it's her fault."
"What am I supposed to do? Turn down the money so he can get an erection?"said Mary Margaret in defeat.
"I agree with you, but you've economically emasculated your husband to the point where he is afraid to want you. Sure you could dump his arse but have you seen the eligible men in Storybrooke? It's slim picking out there for a woman. "
Mary Margaret nodded her head and smiled at David.
Killian put his arms around both David and Mary Margaret standing in between them.
"You aren't going to do any better than David. You have to let him be a man."
"I've let him be a man. I've tried to let him be a man." said Mary Margaret.
"Yes, you have to let me be a man." said David.
"You have to let him be a man."
Killian pushed David's chair closer to Mary Margaret.
"Now you Frowny McFlacid kiss your wife."
"I'm not frowny." said David.
Mary Margaret huffed.
"Does that mean what I think it means? I'm not flacid." said David.
He his eyebrows and looked towards the camera. "Just kiss her mate!"
He could see Emma freaking out in the control booth up ahead and it just made him smile wider.
"Mary Margaret, damn it let me be a man." said David pulling her up from her seat and closing his mouth over hers for a deep body hugging kiss that lead to a make out session on camera.
He turned to the couple pointing at them with a shit eating grin plastered across his face. "And that my friends is the Ugly Truth."
David stood up from his chair, picked up Mary Margaret and threw her over his shoulder carrying her off the set.
"Let me be a man!"said David.
The pair were giggling as they left, clearly he'd gotten them back on track. He was smiling and he could see Emma in the booth waving her hands wildly above her. The on air light went off. He stood, raised his hand to his brow and saluted in her direction. She was looking back in anger arms crossed over her chest.
Emma watched the segment intently hoping that Killian would be tripped up and laughed off the stage but the man was fully at ease. He flowed back and forth stumping both anchors at each turn. He found their vulnerability and used it to create an upheaval right in front of her that Robin was eating up.
She was also distressed to find out that Robin and corporate overruled her command of the set and she was unable to cut the segment when things became inappropriate or heated. She just stood and watched teeth gritted and hopeful that her team would do her justice and tame this wild dog but it never happened. She looked around the booth and her team was smiling and enjoying the segment.
"Now that was some great TV! Great Job everyone." shouted Robin as he walked out of the control booth.
She let out an exaggerated breath and stormed out.
"Don't let him get to you Emma." said Ruby grabbing her arm and pulling her back.
"Do you know how hard I've worked to keep crap like that out of this show? He said erection on live tv! "
Ruby nodded furrowing her brow.
Emma's features softened towards her friend. "Of course you do. You are always there for me . If anyone knows how frustrating this is it's you. I'm sorry I yelled at you Ruby."
"No problem Emma. I understand." said Ruby.
"I just need some time to think." She gave her friend a sad smile and walked off.
She entered her office and closed the door. She lay back against the door and surveyed the room. She felt all the control she had this morning slipping away. She felt like she could get sick. She needed more of an escape so she moved towards her closet which would hide her from anyone walking by. Her office was basically a wall of windows with a door that didn't afford her too much privacy. She walked inside, closed the door behind her sliding down the wall and hugging her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes so she could think.
"I'm sure she's in here." called Ruby.
She woke with a start. She realized she was still sitting in her closet. She had no idea how long she'd been in there. She heard voices outside in her office and then the door knob turned and light came crashing in. She grimaced.
"Emma, are you alright?" asked Ruby extending her hand to help her up off the floor.
"We got 1148 calls, 300 emails, 53 percent of them were women. This guy is a lightening rod. "said Robin smiling.
She stared at him in shock."They liked him?"
"Liked him? They loved him! 93 percent of it was positive." said Robin grinning from ear to ear.
Ruby was smiling at her.
"How is that possible?"
"I don't know but I am scaling back the news and giving it to The Ugly Truth." said Robin.
"Robin, I really think this is a mistake. What do we even know about this guy? Who is he really?"
Ruby ran through her checklist. "Ah, he moved here with his father and sister when he was ten. He pitched two no hitters in little league championship games. That's cute. Voted most likely to get slapped in his High school year book. He spent three years in the Navy. He was once arrested for urinating out of a moving vehicle. That is actually incredibly challenging. He's never been married. He hates asparagus."
She nodded in disbelief.
"Look, let's just keep a smile on this guy's face and we'll both get our contracts renewed." said Robin giving thumbs up as he left her office.
"Congratulations." said Ruby hesitantly.
Emma walked back into the closet and closed the door as she thought about everything she worked for sliding into the gutter.