Tyree spoke as they all grabbed a seat at the dining room table, to which some folding chairs had been added to make room for everybody. "I want to say how grateful I am--we are," he amended, indicating Reece and Brent and Jenna, "that you're doing the show. It's not something I would have thought of, but I've got to say I can see how it could bring in the customers. And that's my bottom line these days."
"And our bottom line is viewers," Molly said. "So it works out well for us, too. Your bar has a great look, and yet it can benefit from a remodel. And you have the Man of the Month contest going on. I won't deny that was a big part of our decision-making process."
Across the table, Jenna buffed her nails on her chest, making Reece laugh. Brooke had never asked, but she assumed the calendar contest was Jenna's idea.
"Shouldn't Andy be here?" Brooke asked, suddenly realizing that only Molly was representing the network. "For that matter, shouldn't the crew be here as well?"
Molly shook her head. "Andy's back in LA, so I'll be your in-town contact. And as for the crew, we like to do reality shows with as limited a crew as possible, and no interaction from the on-camera talent. That means that I'm not even going to introduce you to our camera guys--and they'll be using very unobtrusive handhelds for the most part." She turned to Tyree. "I would like to set up a few permanent cameras, if that's okay. Mount them near the ceiling, maybe a few eye-level locations. We can pull footage as needed."
The big man held up his hands. "Whatever you need."
"One of the regulars asked me about being an intern," Brooke said.
"That must be Mina," Reece guessed. "She works for Griffin, but has less to do when he's between seasons."
"I'm guessing the answer is no since there's a limited crew?"
Molly lifted a shoulder. "We can give her a camera. The more footage the better. And there are minor jobs that will need to be done. Give her my number and I'll talk to her."
"Thanks," Brooke said, already feeling proprietary about the eager grad student.
"That's all for me," Molly said, holding up her hands. "Brooke, do you want to run through what the plan is for the renovation and how it breaks down into our episodes?"
"Sure." She shot a quick glance to Spencer. "I put together a lot of this before you were on board. If you have changes or--"
"I'm sure it's fine. Dive in. I'll comment if I have something to say."
"And this is where I feel guilty again," Brent said. "I'm sure this would be much easier if we were in the actual bar."
Brooke waved a hand, dismissing his words. "Nobody knows the place better than you do, and if you guys can't figure out what I'm talking about from my sketches, then I need to work on my presentation skills."
She opened her portfolio and began to pull out her mock-ups, starting with the stage. "Since you use the stage for the contest and for performances, I'd like to completely demo what's in place now and put in a larger stage, only in removable sections, like this." She pulled out a few other sheets, showing how the pieces of the envisioned stage would fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
"We can do the same thing with seating, too. Have some tables that fold and combine to be either two or four tops, some even combining to seat eight. Basically the idea is to maximize as much space as possible. The more customers the better, right?"
She looked up to meet all their eyes and saw that everyone was looking back at her with interest. Except for Spencer--his eyes were full of pride, and she felt a surge of pleasure at having impressed him.
So much that it knocked her off her game, just a little bit.
His lips twitched--the bastard knew he'd thrown her--but she laughed, delighted with the turn of events. Of the feeling of fitting with him again.
With a little start, she realized the others were waiting for her to continue. She cleared her throat. "Right. Moving on. I also want to update the interior a bit--not a lot, actually. It has such a great vibe. But I think we can declutter the back of the bar so you can see more of what's happening in the mirror behind the shelving. And I'd like to add a smaller, free-standing bar over near the stage for when the place is really hopping. I bet that could up your drink income significantly."
"No argument from me," Tyree said. "Show me what you have in mind."
She did, then moved on to how the specific renovation projects would work into the schedule for the show. "The truth is, we could finish easily before the end of the contest, especially as the contest for each guy is spaced out every two weeks."
"But that doesn't work with our plans," Molly added. "So we'd like to do some work on that smaller bar area you have in the back as well. It wasn't part of the original proposal, and we know it won't be used for the contest, but we hope that providing materials and labor will be incentive."
Jenna and the men exchanged glances. "I think we'll all be just fine with that," Tyree said.
Molly laughed. "We thought you probably would be. There's just one other thing..." She t
railed off, her eyes aimed at Spencer. "Andy and I would like to add a bit of whimsy to the show."
"Whimsy?" Reece repeated. "Like what?"
"We want Spencer to be a contestant."