Acquired Tastes Read Online Free PDF

she suspected he had already had more than one too many glasses of cheap champagne. Vanessa had just begun to make her excuses when yet another prize-winner joined the group.
    'Philip. Congratulations!' The man with the lopsided leer slapped the newcomer on the back, almost causing him to drop the bronze statuette he was carrying. 'If you keep this up you won't have any room left on your mantelpiece.'
    General laughter greeted this sally. They could afford to be generous, they were all winners tonight.
    Philip lifted his award aloft. It resembled a globe artichoke. 'Not quite the Golden Rose, but who knows, maybe next year,' he replied to more laughter.
    Vanessa surreptitiously studied the newcomer's appearance which teetered on the edge of flamboyance. He wore a pearl-grey suit, matching shoes, grey and pink paisley waistcoat and grey silk tie, all of which toned perfectly with his grey eyes and grey hair. Although not particularly tall, unlike the other men in the group, he had not let turning fifty go to his waistline, and his skin was firm and glowed with the effect of expensive skin care products.
    The man who had first greeted Philip put a conspiratorial hand on his arm. 'I never had you marked as one who would make a go of this independent production lark, but you certainly picked the right moment to get out of the BBC.' He relinquished his hold on Philip's arm and tapped the side of his nose with his forefinger. 'But then, rumour hath it that two years ago there were some nice little sweetheart deals on offer for those in the know.'
    Philip looked indignant at this. 'Leaving the Corporation was a choice about artistic freedom. My creative muse has not yet left me and I still felt there were some programmes that I had to make. If I had stayed, I felt I would have had to accept an executive position and unlike some, I have never been one to enjoy pushing bits of paper about.'
    'Oh, but they say there's money to be made if you know how.' The speaker was not to be deterred. 'Have you heard about Tony - he left at about the same time as you didn't he? Word has it that his company is doing so well, he's traded in his trusty Volvo for a Porsche and has been seen power breakfasting in LA.'
    'Well, he would, wouldn't he,' joined in one of the other members of the group. 'Porsches are so
vulgar
, I wouldn't be seen dead in one. They are the yuppy equivalent of a Cortina.'
    'I think Tony's a little too old to be described as young and upwardly mobile, don't you?' added another member of the group.
    Everybody laughed, united in jealousy against a former friend’s good fortune.
    'Some of us want to make quality television, others just want to make money,' Philip added, glad that the uncomfortable probing had stopped.
    'And some of us succeed in doing both,' said Philip's inquisitor, slipping an arm around Vanessa's waist and puller her closer. Vanessa could feel his sweaty palm through her paper thin silk dress. She gave him a saccharine-sweet smile.
    'We'd all better watch out for this little lady,' he said, 'she'll soon be snapping at our heels. A little bird told me that she was one of the team that came up with LTV's latest success,
Camera Shy.
The format's already been sold to about twenty different countries, including the States.'
    The group all looked at Vanessa with renewed interest. She smiled demurely. She hadn't said she had
actually
come up with the idea for the series, but she
had
been at the meeting where it was proposed, so saying she was part of the team was not strictly a lie. All the same, she didn't want anyone asking awkward questions so she disentangled herself from the arm encircling her waist with a playful slap, and held out her hand to Philip.
    'I'm such a great admirer of your work, Mr Pryce,' she said, trying to remember if she had ever seen one of his programmes. 'I thought your last series was wonderful.'
    Philip's chest visibly swelled and he cradled his award a little tighter. 'Thank you. The