The Miss Gloria Hour: Is Taylor Swift Really Her Guest This Week?

“Trixie! What’s going on? Why are you calling me at three in the morning? I’ve gotta be up early. We have a big day.”

“I am so sorry, Jason. I just received a phone call from Debbie. She's at Cedar Sinai. She tried calling you twice but you didn’t answer. She left you a few voicemails. Gloria is in the hospital.”

“What? She can’t be. We’ve got our biggest show of the year today.”

“I know. This is a disaster. What are we going to do?”

“We’re driving to that hospital right now. We have to get her out of there by 5:00 AM.”

“Jason! She’s sick. She’s a sick lady. Have you no compassion?”

“Not when it comes to a multi‑million‑dollar show like Gloria’s. Being in the hospital is not part of her contract.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Jason, you have no morals.”

“I’ll have no morals when I hold your paycheck.”

Trixie winces at him. “Whatever. I’ll see you at the hospital.”

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Check-in at the ER

“My name is Jason Pooper. I need to see Gloria Cupidon.”

“How do you spell your last name, sir?”

Impatiently, Pooper responds, “P‑O‑O‑P‑E‑R.”

“She’s in room 44. Here’s your name tag.”

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Room 44

“Trixie, you’re here already.”

“Yes, I live just a few blocks away. Gloria is in bad shape right now.”

“Let’s talk with her. I’m sure she’s anxious to get out of here.”

As Pooper enters the room, he sees Debbie standing next to Gloria’s bed.

“Debbie,” he says.

“Oh, Jason.” She runs over to him and they embrace. “Gloria is very sick. They put her on an opioid for the extreme pain.”

“Well, we’ve gotta wake her up and get her out of here. It’s 4 AM and she needs to be in the studio by 5:30. Taylor Swift is our guest and we cannot botch this. I can’t let Oliver down.”

The hospital monitor beeped steadily in the background.

“Jason, she’s very sick.”

“It doesn’t matter, Debbie. Swift will be there at 6 AM and she will have only thirty minutes before she has to leave for her next engagement.”

Jason walks over to Gloria’s bed and begins to shake her. “Wake up, Gloria. Wake up. We gotta get you out of here. Today is the big show. Come on!”

Gloria groans faintly but doesn’t open her eyes.

“What’s wrong with her? Why isn’t she waking up?”

“We don’t know yet, Jason. The doctor should be in here any minute to give us the results of the CAT scan and bloodwork.”

“Well, we can’t wait that long. Let’s get someone to help us get her out of this bed so we can get her to the studio.”

Debbie’s face turned flush, “Jason, are you crazy? She is on her deathbed.”

“She can come back after the show’s finished.”

Trixie holds her expression as she watches Debbie and Jason argue back and forth.

“Jason, you need to get out of here before I call security.”

“Go ahead, Debbie. Call them.”

“Jason, just leave. Gloria is very sick.”

No one spoke as the tension in the room grew heavy.

At that moment, Dr. Julianne Gannon walks into the room. “Hello, I’m the doctor, and I’d like to go over the results with Gloria’s family or authorized representative.”

“That would be me,” Debbie says. “I’m her POA and her niece twice removed.”

“OK, yes, I do see you on the list. And how about the other two?”

“They’re business colleagues. They can stay.”

“Alright. Your aunt has what we call complicated diverticulitis. We found a large abscess in the CT scan.”

“Is this dangerous, doctor?” Debbie asks.

“It can be life‑threatening, but it is also very treatable.”

“How is it treated?”

“A radiologist will perform a drainage procedure. They’ll use a CT scan to guide a needle through the skin and place a small tube to drain the pocket directly.”

“Is this procedure done fairly quickly?”

“We usually keep the tube inside the patient until the output of pus slows.”

“How long does that take?”

“Ten days to two weeks. We’ve already started her on an antibiotic. Your Aunt will have to stay in the hospital the entire time the tube is inside her.”

“Well, Doctor,” Jason yells out, “I’m going to have to take her right now. I’ll have her back in four hours.”

“Sir, I’m sorry. That’s impossible.”

“Do you know who I am? I’m Jason Pooper. I’m an executive with Oliver Olivier Productions. It is now 4:30” he checks his watch—“and I have to get her to the studio by 5:30. So I gotta take her now. I don’t have time for this.”

“Jason,” Debbie hollers, “leave. Please.”

“Sir,” the doctor says, “Gloria is going nowhere for the next two weeks. She was in extreme pain when she arrived, and she is currently sedated. She will be out for the next five to seven hours.”

“This hospital will see my lawyer! This hospital will see my lawyer!” Jason cries as he storms out of the room.

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“Hello, Mr. Olivier,” Trixie says, answering a phone call from Oliver Olivier.

“Hello, Trixie. I’ve called Jason, Gloria, and Debbie. No one is answering their phone. Do you know what’s going on? Why isn’t anybody here at the studio?”

“Mr. Olivier, Gloria is here at Cedar Sinai. She’s very sick. She has complicated diverticulitis.”

“Oh no. My grandfather had that five years ago and he died. I’m going over to the hospital right now.”

“Thank you, Mr. Olivier. We’ll see you soon.”

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Jason Pooper Arrives at the Studio

“Jason, where have you been?” Oliver asks, surprised as Jason enters his office.

“I’ve been at the hospital. Did you hear? Gloria is there.”

“Yes, I just found out five minutes ago. I’m on my way to see her. Why didn’t you call me to let me know what was happening?”

“Well, Oliver, time was running out. I had to get to the hospital quickly to get Gloria and bring her here. But they wouldn’t let me take her. I tried my best for the show and you.”

“Listen, Jason. Meet me at The Benjamin at noon. We’ll discuss this then. I’m going to go see Gloria now.”

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Later at The Benjamin

“Hello, Mr. Poo—uh, Jason. Mr. Olivier is on the patio. Let me take you.”

“Thank you.”

“Jason, have a seat. I ordered you a martini.”

“Thank you, Oliver.”

“So, I just finished spending a little more than five hours at the hospital. Gloria is very sick. While I was there, both Debbie and Trixie had a few things to say about your behavior. Tell me what happened, Jason.”

“Well, Oliver, it goes like this. Trixie called me at 3 AM—”

At that moment, Jason’s phone buzzes.

“It’s Debbie. Do you mind if I take it?”

“Go ahead. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got all afternoon.”

Jason gets up and walks to the other end of the patio. “Debbie, what’s up? I’m here at The Benjamin with Oliver.”

“I’ll make this quick. Jason, I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“What do you mean, Debbie?”

“You and me. I saw a very selfish and ugly side of you this morning.”

“Well, can we get together and talk about this tonight?”

“No, Jason. Trixie is still here, and Mr. Olivier was here for five hours. They were both here for Gloria. But you were here for business. You shook her to try and get her out of bed. You threatened Trixie. Jason, you are not the man I thought you were.”

“Debbie, everybody is stressed out right now. Maybe taking a little vacation will help. Acapulco is really nice this time of year.”

“No, Jason. You and I are finished.”

“Come on, Debbie. Our biggest show of the year just blew up in our faces. Give me some slack.”

“See? That’s it, Jason. It’s all about the show. All about money. You never once asked how Gloria is doing. I’m breaking up with you. I can’t be with someone who treats people like that.”

Debbie ends the call while Jason is still talking.

“Debbie, this is ridiculous. You and I have a good thing going. Debbie? Debbie, are you there?” He looks at his phone. “Ah, shoot. She hung up.”

Jason stares at his phone, trying to make sense of what just happened.

He tries calling her back but gets her voicemail, which says her mailbox is full.

Jason walks back to the table and sits down.

“Are you alright, Jason? You look like someone just punched you in the stomach.”

Jason downs the martini in front of him. “No, I’m not alright. Debbie just broke up with me.”

“Oh, that’s harsh. I’m sorry to hear that. Debbie is a really nice girl.”

“Yes, she is. I’ll get her back. I’ll buy her a dozen roses, a diamond bracelet, take her out to a nice restaurant.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Thank you.”

“Now, back to our conversation. You were saying Trixie called you at 3 AM.”

“Yes. She called to let me know Gloria was sick and in the hospital. We met there, and I did my best to get Gloria out of that hospital so we could go on with today’s show. But the doctor wouldn’t let me take her.”

“I hear you threatened to hold Trixie’s paycheck.”

“That was just a joke. I was feeling anxious at that moment.”

“She didn’t take it as a joke.”

“Well, you know women. They’re all sensitive.”

“I don’t see it that way, Jason. Let me ask you this: if you knew about this at 2 AM, why didn’t you call me? I should’ve been the first person you called.”

“Time was of the essence. We didn’t have much time to get Gloria out of that hospital and into the studio. So I got out of my apartment as quickly as I could and headed over there. I was looking out for the show.”

“Jason, this is a problem. You should have called me immediately. We had Taylor Swift taking her very valuable time to come to the studio. It was completely out of her way. She was doing this as a favor to me. She was coming from New Mexico and then heading to New York after the show. She wasn’t even in the area. She came to the studio for no reason. Had I known—had you called me—I could’ve contacted Taylor’s manager and let them know the unfortunate news. That way she wouldn’t have wasted her time.”

Oliver sits back, disappointed.

“You botched this on so many levels, Jason. When Taylor showed up to the studio I looked like a fool. I had no idea where my staff was. She was doing this as a personal favor to me. Do you think she’s going to want to come back? Probably not. But then you go and threaten Trixie, and you never took a moment to find out how Gloria, the star of the show, is doing.”

“I’m sorry, Oliver. But I’m sure you can see my side of this. I was afraid of letting you down.”

Oliver contains his professional composure, “No, Jason. Your behavior was irresponsible. This is not how an executive with Oliver Olivier Productions conducts business or personal matters.”

“What are you trying to tell me, Oliver?”

Oliver took a moment to gather his thoughts. “I have to let you go. This was too big of a mess for me to overlook. You can go down to the office. Joanne has your severance check.”

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Keep an eye out for the next Gloria episode to find out what happens with Gloria. Will Jason get Debbie back? Will he find a new job?

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With Love, RHC ❤️