Too Many Cooks Read Online Free PDF Page B

“I like what I’ve seen of your work, and François tells me you are professional and . . . shall we say . . . discreet?”
    â€œYes,” I say, wondering if she knows about his sous chef’s drug habit. “Absolutely.”
    â€œGood. That’s really important to me. For obvious reasons.”
    Obvious because she is who she is, but also because, aside from being a famous movie star who is married to a British MP, Natasha was once involved with another famous star named Matthew Rush, and the tabloids ran their relationship into the ground. “Mattasha,” as they were known, became such fixtures in gossip columns and magazines that they were stalked constantly by the paparazzi, appearing every day on Perez Hilton and People.com. Even someone like me, who doesn’t follow celebrity news, knew the ins and outs of their courtship, mostly thanks to Meg, who would regale me weekly with their ongoing saga. When Natasha’s maid eventually sold a story to Star about how Matthew was carrying on an affair with Natasha’s trainer, they broke up, and Natasha fired half her staff and went into hiding for six months. I can see why she would be careful about hiring new people.
    â€œSo let me tell you a bit about my project,” she says, after taking another sip of her drink. “I have a contract with a major publisher to write a cookbook. My editor said she could find me a ghostwriter, but I haven’t been impressed with any of the names she has given me. Some serious attitudes. You know what they say—too many cooks . . .”
    â€œSpoil the broth,” I say.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œToo many cooks spoil the broth. That’s the expression.”
    Silence.
    â€œ Anyway, ” she continues, “the point is, none of these other writers share my vision. I don’t want this to be any cookbook. I want it to be a landmark cookbook. A cookbook that will sit on people’s bookshelves, sandwiched between Martha Stewart and Julia Child. Can you help me write that kind of book?”
    I hesitate. “Sure.”
    â€œGreat. Because that’s the book I want to write.”
    â€œOkay . . . So what’s the hook? What’s the story tying everything together?”
    â€œ Exactly, ” Natasha says.
    Apparently she doesn’t realize those were actual questions. “I’d . . . need to know those things before we start testing recipes,” I say, “especially given that we’d be working on a lot of this long distance.”
    â€œLong distance?”
    â€œWell . . . yeah. You’re in London, and I’m in Chicago.”
    â€œOh, no. No, no—if we were to work together, you would obviously live here.”
    My eyes widen. “In London?”
    â€œOf course. Where else would you live?”
    â€œChicago.”
    â€œNo, that won’t work at all. You have to be here. How else would you be able to write as me?”
    She makes a valid point. Normally, when I ghostwrite for a chef, I spend hours with that person in and out of the kitchen, so that I can capture in writing how he or she speaks, cooks, and thinks. When the cook lives in Chicago—as most of my clients do—that isn’t a problem. When I’ve ghostwritten for a personality who lives elsewhere—Nashville, say, or St. Louis—I’ll often chat with that person on the phone extensively or even visit to ensure I get the voice just right. But moving? To another country? That has never happened before. I’ve never left the country, period.
    â€œI see what you’re saying, but . . . London isn’t exactly next door. How long do we have to write the book?”
    â€œWe’d have about five months until our deadline. But then I’d want you to stick around for another five or six months to help me prepare for the launch—media appearances, guest columns, things like that.”
    â€œYou’d want me to move to London