Chapter 413 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

She would let her mother believe she still wanted Benne and allow her to do whatever she wanted with Celsie, and if that failed, she would do what needed to be done once and for all.

“Benedict Delgado, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person finally,” Eric Howells, producer and host of the number one television talk show in the country, rose from his seat as Benne and Harry walked into his office.

“Thanks for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice,” Benne said as he extended his hand to the middle-aged man.

He had asked Harry to put a call across to Eric on their way to his office, asking if he would be able to meet with them on short notice, and he had agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

“Are you kidding me? For years now, I’ve been pleading with Mr. Jonas here to help me get an audience with you, and now you reach out to me first? Even if I were on the verge of ejaculation, I would have pulled out just to meet with you,” He said with a grin, and Benne laughed as he shook hands with him.

“I can see why your show is so successful,” Benne said as he withdrew his hand while Harry and Eric exchanged pleasantries.

“Please sit comfortably. What can I offer you? Name it, and I will have it served,” he promised excitedly.

“Your time. I need you to do something for me. Something I believe will be of benefit to you and your show. And in return, I will grant you an exclusive interview,” Benne said, and Eric’s eyes shone with delight.

“An exclusive interview? With your girlfriend?” He asked hopefully, “Everyone is curious about her and your relationship with her. I am too,” Eric said, and Benne paused.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. My Jewel doesn’t like to be under public scrutiny. An interview with just me will be enough. I can answer your questions, so you don’t need her there,” Benne assured him.

Eric looked slightly disappointed, but having Benne volunteer to appear on his show was already more than he had hoped for, so he nodded, “Okay. What is it that you want me to do for you?” Eric asked curiously, and Benne turned to Harry, giving him a nod to speak.

“There is a family we want you to feature on your show,” Harry said, making Eric’s brows pull together.

“Who are they? And why do you need me to invite them? You do realize that not just anyone can appear in Live With Eric Howells, right?” Eric asked, not happy that he was going to miss a chance to feature Benne on his show.

“Oh, don’t worry about that! They are not nobodies. We are talking about Rebekah Miller and her daughters. You know who she is, don’t you?” Harry asked, and Eric nodded.

“Of course. I know who she is. But there is hardly anything interesting about her life outside the fact that she’s a socialite and her daughters are married to influential men. What could she possibly be doing on my show?” Eric asked, and Harry smirked.

“Trust us, she is one verrrrrry interesting woman. Emphasis on very. There is a lot of exclusive juicy gossip that would remind everyone why you are still number one in the talkshow business,” Harry said, and Eric’s eyes twitched greedily.

“Juicy gossip?” He asked, and Harry nodded.

“Very juicy gossip. And we will make the show worth your while, trust us,” Harry said, and Eric watched Benne curiously.

This whole time he had been looking for every means to have Benne feature in his show, and here was Benne offering himself voluntarily. Why? What could the family have done to make Benne want to get involved in something like this?

“May I ask why?” He asked, and Benne nodded.

“You deserve to know that much. They were behind the scandal involving my girlfriend and my brother. I want to give them a taste of their own medicine, but on live television, especially on a show as popular as yours. They seem to want fame, so I would love to turn their moment of pride and fame into the most disgraceful moment of their life,” Benne explained, and surprise flickered in Eric’s eyes.

“They were behind that? Why would they do that? How do you know they are responsible for that?” Eric asked, and Benne held his gaze.

“I can trust that you won’t try to play a smart one, right?” Benne asked, and Eric gave him a nod.

“I pick my enemies wisely. You are not an enemy I would want to have. Besides, I’m sure you know you can trust me, else you wouldn’t have said anything until you asked that question in the first place,” Eric said, and Benne gave Harry a nod.

Harry placed an iPad on the desk and showed Eric the receipts and evidence they had gathered to prove that Anita had paid the people who started Celsie’s scandal, as well as Simon, who sold the news of Bryan’s false engagement to the press.

“Wow! You guys work really fast,” Eric said with undisguised admiration.

“Will you do it?” Harry asked as he recovered his phone from Eric.

“Are you kidding me? How can I let such an opportunity pass me by?” He asked and then paused when something else occurred to him, “What about their in-laws? Those families are powerful, and they could try to cover it up and make things difficult for me,” Eric said, and Benne waved his concerns away.

“I’ve got it covered too. By the time I’m done, they will be too busy trying to cover their own ass to care about the Millers. They won’t want to be associated with this, don’t worry,” Benne promised, and Eric nodded.

“Count me in.”

“Thank you. I will send across the questions you are to ask them during the show. All you have to do is send Rebekah an invite, telling her you want her and her daughters on your show. I’m sure she would be delighted to appear on your show. Let’s take it from there,” Benne suggested, and Eric grinned as he rubbed his hands together.

“I’m looking forward to this show and seeing the questions you are going to send,” Eric said, and Benne smiled.

“I’m looking forward to it too. Things might likely get very heated on that day, so I’ll advise you to keep your precious pieces of equipment far from the scene,” Harry said with a grin of his own, and Eric chuckled.

“I’ll do just that. We can discuss your interview after I set up a date for theirs and send the invite to them. Will you like me to reserve a sit in the audience?” Eric asked, and Harry looked at Benne.

“Please do. I want my Jewel to be here to witness their first show of shame,” Benne said, and Harry rolled his eyes at Benne’s reference to Celsie as his Jewel for the second time. The man always looked for the slightest excuse to flaunt Celsie. No, he wasn’t jealous.

“We would prefer to remain anonymous until we are done with them,” Benne said as he stood up, and Eric nodded as he followed suit.

“Thank you very much for giving us your time. I look forward to working with you,” Benne said as he extended his hand to Eric once again for a handshake.

“By the way, I would like to meet the lady who interviewed you. Her name is Alicia Hagin, am I right? How do you know her?” Eric asked, and Benne looked at him curiously.

“She is one of my people. I hope there is no problem?”

“Not at all. She handled the show so well, and for a moment, it felt like I was watching an Oprah show. I would love to speak with her and find out if she is interested in working with me,” Eric said, and Benne smiled proudly, wondering what Alicia’s reaction to the offer would be.

“Why don’t I give her a call and let’s find out?” Benne asked as he took out his phone and dialed Alicia’s line.

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