Jess Under Pressure

Chapter One

1. The Player

The black lettered sign hanging over the audience flashed off and on, prompting the carefully pre-selected demographic to obey. Enthusiasm dominated the crowd as they clapped and smiled, trying to outdo each other with unnaturally toothy grins while keeping their curious gazes away from the camera overhead. It whooshed over them, capturing audience shots while suspended on a wire like some weird metal bird, no doubt operated by a control room director hidden in the shadows of the studio. Like a well-choreographed dance, the decorum of the studio was disrupted by people flying out of every corner, scurrying to get their respective jobs done before the commercial break ended.

Dr. Jessica Britton was standing in the wings of the Nora Wilde Show, looking calculatedly posh in her Escada business suit, her palms a salty river of sweat, lapel microphone in place, ready to give the interview of her life opposite one of the most powerful and influential media magnates of the decade. This was truly a PR coup d'états, a cherry on the cake of the best year of her career, the climax of long hours of research and hard work, juxtaposed with humbling conversations in the company of puffed-up peacock department heads in order to have her theories heard. At long last, her dues were paid, and she would duly reap the rewards.

Interview requests began trickling in soon after her book catapulted to the top of the New York Times' best seller list within weeks of its release. Then, they poured in like a dam breach once the local interviews were picked up by network morning shows that catered to her target audience:

a) Powerful, single women, with their fingers on the pulse of the latest trend in self help, too busy to cultivate a relationship with a partner and thereby produce a much desired offspring. Women who are on the cusp of outliving their biological clock and desperate to either adopt a child or become pregnant by the next best thing to a male partner via a fertility clinic

b) Insecure, low on self-esteem, stay-at-home moms who are pining to re-enter the workforce and are passionately receptive to the promise of a more balanced, fulfilling, giving, and generous commitment to their children and/or husband while cultivating their inner needs and desires simultaneously to achieve a greater sense of purpose without guilt and resentment.

A woman really could do and have it all, according to Dr. Jessica Britton. The quest for mommy-woman utopia was over for those who dared to want it. She had laid it all out for them like a lavish banquet before ravenous wanna be and bored caregivers, straddling the ever-present line between the need to procreate and the desire to have lots of stuff.

Canada AM and The Morning Show had been the tipping point, after that, it was full friggin' throttle – and now, Nora Wilde.

Jessica felt a familiar sensation: a tingling of pins and needles across her chest. Her scalp and the back of her neck prickled as her nerves jumped to attention, to which she responded with a series of deep breathing exercises – a trick she learned in first year psychology to dupe the brain into thinking that it's calm. After this "commercial message" she was the next guest on the most widely viewed afternoon talk show in the country.

Nora Wilde sat unruffled in the midst of the studio madness. She was right at home on her elegantly decorated set, perched on her signature red leather couch, encircled by all things tasteful and trendy. She was handed Jessica's book by a stagehand, which she accepted gracefully as the make-up girl touched up her lipstick. Her hair was impeccable, but a hairdresser insisted on preening it, anyway. Nora skimmed over her notes, which were strategically tucked in the inner sleeve of the book, and patiently kept one eye on the floor manager who was positioned behind camera three. His hand touched his earpiece for a moment, then began the countdown, out loud at first and then with his fingers for three – two – one... with a swish of his hand and a point of his finger, Nora was on the air.

APPLAUSE – APPLAUSE – APPLAUSE

"And we are back." Nora nodded, acknowledging the audience's ardour with a big smile. She drew in a breath and began the intro. "So, today, we are genuinely blessed, ladies and gentlemen, because here – today..." she paused dramatically, "... is a woman I would call a visionary. Now, you know I don't throw that term around lightly, but our next guest has been credited with potentially revolutionizing and reforming the way that women do their jobs both at home and in the workplace." She spoke to the audience in a conversational tone, more suited to a friendly coffee date than the stage. "Dr. Jessica Britton is a professor of Psychology and Sociology involving Women's Studies at the University of Toronto. All over the country, women claim that her book, Give More, Do More, Be Better, has given them attainable and sustainable strategies to – as they say – have it all. A recent review described reading her book as akin to 'going out with your friends and chatting about issues over mojitos, cheesecake, and coffee. You just feel good after you do it.'" Nora stood and raised her hand in Jessica's direction. "Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome, Doctor Jessica Britton."

Nora brought her hands together and applauded her guest onto the stage with gusto, encouraging the audience followed suit.

Jessica felt a quick rush of red flush her face. Courage is grace under pressure, courage is grace under pressure, she chanted to herself, eyes half-closed, barely aware of the two stage hands standing nearby, who pretended not to notice that she was talking to herself. This was it – her time to bask. This was her culminating moment. She smiled triumphantly as the stage hands deftly pulled a giant mural of a flowered meadow aside to let her through.

.