Free The Hating Game by Talli Roland Page B

biggie.’
    ‘ There must be more to it than that,’ Jess said. ‘Otherwise, they wouldn’t be making such a big fuss. Haven’t you seen those big billboards on the M4? It’s a new spin on dating .’ Jess lowered her voice dramatically.
    ‘ Oh Jesus.’ Mattie couldn’t think of anything worse than being splattered across a giant board next to a motorway. Next thing she knew she’d be on Page Three! Thank God her mother was safely out of the way in the middle of the Indian Ocean. For the amount of fuss they were making about the series, you’d have thought it was freaking Top Boot or whatever that silly car show was called.
    ‘ I wonder what the spin is?’ Jess asked.
    ‘ I hope it’s that they’ve found the last few intelligent men left in the world. They definitely seem to be a rare species.’ Mattie shoved the remaining tendrils of hair into the bun on top of her head.
    Jess sat up. ‘What if there is a really cool man there? You know – someone clever and handsome, with a good job? Maybe you can meet someone!’
    ‘ I’m not there to meet men,’ Mattie said, shaking her head at her friend’s naivety. ‘I’m there for one thing: the money. The men can be convicts for all I care.’ Maybe that was the twist – a dating game show in a prison, where she had to choose from a selection of criminals. She could just imagine it: Date an Inmate . Hopefully they’d kit out the cells with all the mod cons.
    ‘ Shame you’re going to miss the reunion,’ Jess said. ‘But I guess everyone there can just watch you on TV!’
    Mattie groaned as she pictured all those secondary-school losers watching her every move on the small screen, night after night. She took a deep breath. It would be fine, though. She’d go through the motions, get the money, and leave those rejects behind in the dust just like she had when she’d escaped from Staines all those years ago.
    Whatever she had to deal with in the coming weeks, it would be worth it in the end.
     

 
     
     
    CHAPTER NINE
     
     
     
     
    Three in five women say wearing a new item of clothing boosts their confidence on a first date.
     
    Two in three men admit they rarely notice a date’s attire.
     
     
     
    ONE HOUR LEFT UNTIL THE LIVE KICK-OFF show and Fabio’s slut machine was in full gear. Mattie had entered the studio without a stitch of make-up, her hair pulled back to within an inch of its synthetic life. Minutes later and it was teased into a beehive high enough to accommodate half the Earth’s insect population. Her face was slathered with so much oily make-up spots were already forming, and her eyelids struggled to support the sparkly green shadow that would make her ‘eyes pop’, according to her new frienemy – the teeny, tiny Cyndi Lauper lookalike from the other day.
    Taking a deep breath, Mattie rubbed her shaking hands together. She wasn’t nervous; she’d just had too much coffee earlier and not enough to eat. Her stomach shifted uncomfortably. She wished she’d thought more about what this ‘spin’ might be, rather than just brushing it off. What if they made her pole-dance or something equally embarrassing? Thank God Jess would be in the studio audience so there’d be one friendly face.
    ‘ Here’s your wardrobe, honey.’ The nas al tone of one of Fabio’s minions pulled her back to the dressing room.
    Mattie stared at the low-cut sequined top and the short skirt on the rack in front of her. ‘What, I can’t wear this?’ she asked, plucking at her best silk Aquascutum top.
    The stylist snorted. ‘Maybe if you were going to a make-believe tea party at Kensington Palace. This is a reality show, babe. Time to get real.’
    ‘ All set?’ Nate burst into the dressing room. He stared at Mattie in horror. ‘What are you wearing? You need to get dressed!’
    Nate’s cheeks were flushed and his hair was standing even more on end than usual, thanks to what looked to be at least half a tube of gel. He’d ditched his usual