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.Not someone who was.exciting.Not a beauty queen.And, for God s sake, what had Gus done? She d gone on the air andscrambled eggs. I could have at least done an omelette, she said to no one in particular.Maybe they were right.She sat down in front of a mirror and wiped off the heavy TV makeupfrom her face, dabbing on a little moisturizer and reapplying a neutrallipstick and a swipe of mascara.She glanced down at her blouse quickly,checking to make sure she hadn t rubbed any foundation on her.Then shestood, smoothing out her flat-fronted pants as she did so. I look just like GusSimpson, she sighed, noting her golden-brownish hair pinned loosely at theback of her head, the few tendrils of hair pulled loose to soften the look,the flowing style of her clothing, the chunky necklace with a pendant thatfell just above her breasts.She was always comfortably elegant.A viewer,a producer: everybody knew what they were getting when they ordered upGus.Maybe it really was time to think about a makeover.Take a page fromCarmen Vega s book.A quick check of her watch revealed it was just 10:20 AM.Perhaps shewouldn t head back to Westchester immediately, would stroll over the fewblocks from the NBC studios to Saks and poke around, buy somethingfresh.Gus zipped up her handbag and switched on her cell phone to check in.Her first call was to Porter. "co mf o r t f o o d 47 Hey, Gus.Did you get my message? He d been producing her programsever since her first stint on The Lunch Bunch. Look, since you re in thecity, I was wondering if you could come by? Marketing has just brought inthe results from a new focus group, and, well, I think we should just put ourheads together. Oh, Porter, it s bad, isn t it? Gus was worried. I know the ratingsweren t as strong last fall but Let s talk face-to-face.See you when you get here. And he was gone.There went her quiet day of shopping. upsetting the apple cart 5It had been Hannah s idea for Gus to call Troy and ask his advice.He was young and smart and he knew how to think on his feet.And Gusneeded the help.She hadn t been completely surprised by the news from herproducer that ratings were down again and the focus groups were favoringlive shows over taped programs like Cooking with Gusto! What she hadn texpected to hear was that her season was going to be cut short or, possibly,pulled completely to make way for a mid-season replacement.Just like that.Twelve years on the CookingChannel and suddenly, just like anyone else,she was being told to put up or shut up. I ll call Alan and get this straightened out, she told Porter, with confi-dence. He may be the president but you and I have been with him since thebeginning.There s been some mistake. Porter had sat there quietly as Gus borrowed his office phone to place thecall.She watched as he tapped his dark-skinned fingers on the desk, point-edly avoiding her gaze.Giving her privacy even though she was mere feetaway. "52 kat e j ac ob sAlan, she d been told slowly and repeatedly by his administrative assis-tant, was in a meeting.A meeting that was going to last all week, appar-ently.Gus held on to the handset long after the assistant had clicked off.Business can seem so very personal, when you re all friends sitting arounda table toasting the latest success.But, in the end, business is just that.It sbusiness.Gus Simpson could have her show canceled just like anyone else.Andit hurt.Porter, after breaking off a piece of good Swiss chocolate from the stashin his desk and encouraging Gus to nibble, had stripped the situation bare:the Today show appearance had been a fluke.Carmen Vega had chickenpox and Rachael Ray, their first choice of replacement, was shooting theworld s first all-cooking movie up in Albany.Gus had been close enough totheir studio to make it on time.And she was a solid.Dependable.Enoughsaid.Not to mention, Porter explained, but he d heard that all the well-knowncooking personalities were retooling their programs on all the cable chan-nels: Nigella Lawson was doing a thirteen-episode series devoted to the bar-becue, that most un-English of meals, and while wearing designer tankinis,no less.Gus s longtime rival, the incomparable Barefoot Contessa, was turn-ing her program into a musical, sharing recipes set to lyric and score. You re joking? Gus, Ina Garten has an amazing range. Porter shrugged his shoulders. Everyone has a gimmick but you.And good food well prepared is snoringboring.Nobody s tuning in anymore
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