Most Hated

Most Hated Most Hated A Novel By Kara Alloway RE: Books Copyright © Kara Alloway. All rights reserved. www.rebooks.ca Published in Canada by RE: Books. ADDRESS: re:books 380 Macpherson Ave. Suite 306 Toronto ON M4V 3E3 www.rebooks.ca No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, without express written permission of the copyright holder. This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. First RE: Books Edition: May 2023 ISBN: 978-1-7386702-2-2 eBook ISBN: 978-1-7386702-3-9 RE: Books and all associated logos are trademarks and/or registered marks of RE: Books. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Title: Most hated : a novel / Kara Alloway. Names: Alloway, Kara, author. Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20230151590 | Canadiana (ebook) 20230151655 | ISBN 9781738670222 (softcover) | ISBN 9781738670239 (EPUB) Classification: LCC PS8601. L5535 M67 2023 | DDC C813/.6—dc23 Printed and bound in Canada. 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Cover design by: Jordan Lunn For my boys, Baron, Hunter & Christian, and my husband Graham. “Frankly, Mr. Shankly, this position I’ve held It pays my way and it corrodes my soul.” –The Smith’s “Frankly Mr. Shankly” Subject: FW: Casting Attractive, Wealthy, Glamourous women for TV Series From: fpoke@cpmedia. com> To: fpoke@cpmedia. com> CASTING CALL “ARE YOU THE TALK OF THE TOWN…” DO YOU LIVE A FABULOUS GLAMOROUS LIFE… A celebrated series about real women, living fabulous real lives, is currently casting. The hit docu-soap TV series will give viewers an inside look at the most glamorous women. For this version of the franchise, chosen participants will have the opportunity to work with an internationally acclaimed, award-winning director. We are looking for outgoing, exciting, strong, focused women who reside in New York City and want to share their lives with us—and the world. They should be lively and energetic, with defined opinions and views. The women will have busy lives, strong work ethic, an active social calendar, and an enjoyment of the good life. We love glamorous women who are self-confident and happy with who they are. This is FANTASTIC exposure for anyone involved. The women, their significant others, and their families must be open to sharing their experiences with the producers and the television audience. If you are interested, please reply to this email with your name, age, contact information, recent photos, and brief bio. 1 The woman was responsive. Beneath the non-rebreather mask, she was mumbling and moving her head from side to side. Her eyes blinked repeatedly—all good indicators the naloxone had done its job and she’d be okay. Despite the unknown quantity of Vicodin she’d ingested, she wasn’t going to die of an overdose. The paramedic silenced the volume on the cardiac monitor and spoke into his device. “Truck 7737, coming in with a female, conscious, opioid overdose. Narcan is onboard, patient on high oxygen and we have obtained IV access.” He tucked her arm, the one without the line, under the beige blanket and noticed it was very cold. Her low body temperature was not surprising. The boxy vehicle maneuvered through the streets of Upper Manhattan, battling the gridlock like the red plastic car in a sliding block puzzle, and took an aggressive corner. Items rattled and jostled in the storage cupboards behind him, and the paramedic reached to steady the IV bag atop the pole that emerged from the stretcher. Glancing over his shoulder, he peered out the small rear window to see where they were. He knew every bump, every building along the way. The pyramidical glass awning he spotted, looming over the entrance to the condo building on Fifth, indicated they were very close to the hospital. Back to his radio, he continued, “We’re about two minutes out. ETA….” Here he paused to look at his watch because those clocks in the rig were never correct “ETA 9:10.” Retuning the device to the holster on his uniform, he made eye contact with his passenger. They shared a look of reassurance before he continued his work documenting her vitals on his ePCR tablet. Empathy was an important but potentially 2 Zoe Eight Weeks Earlier Zoe shifted in her chair, untucked one leg, and checked the time on her laptop: 10:12 a.m. As the lead talent producer on Talk of the Town, this was her deal. The other production assistants she had hired, Fiona and Milo, were assembled around the table in this poorly furnished rental office that smelled like a dirty hamster cage. The film companies always rented the crappiest places for their staff to do pre-production. Zoe wondered if they got together with the network and determined it essential that the mental and physical abuse of the crew begin immediately once employment contracts were signed. The three were immersed in discussing the minutia of the candidates’ lives since the primary agenda for the day was to review possible filming locations and finalize casting for network approval. Potential cast members had delivered lists of restaurants they frequented, salons they visited, vacation properties they owned, their neighborhood cutesy coffee shops, boutiques where they were known (smaller ones were more agreeable and easier for filming), routes for their walks around the city, and any other camera-ready conceivable locales for their filming. Privileged bitches, Zoe thought. “Courtney P. is out.” Milo said as he read an email aloud in his best impression, “The fact that you would even consider asking me to postpone my important surgery to accommodate your filming schedule indicates to me that my health and well-being are of little consequence to your production company. And for that reason, I will not be signing the participant agreement. Your lucky…” “She did a Y-O-U-R here people,” Milo interjected, “…I’m not taking this to a lawyer to share with the Department of Labor.” “Wasn’t it fibroid surgery?” Zoe asked. Fiona shrugged. “I