Stay Tuned

Chapter 61

“Great job.” I heard someone say.

The praise was followed by a chorus of other voices. “Wonderful story.”

“Strong live shot.”

“Loved it.”

Over the noise of everyone talking at once in the newsroom, the telephones rang louder. Drew clapped his hands to get attention.

“People!” he yelled. “Do not send every single call to my office. If it’s someone from the national media, NBC, ABC, or the mayor’s office, I will take it. Otherwise, do your best to answer the person’s questions and if need be, take a message. I will call them back.”

Drew rubbed his forehead and motioned for me to come into his office. He shut the door behind me.

The deafening noise from the newsroom was instantly cut in half.

“Whew!” he said, and flopped down into his chair. “What a day! So, your mother? Is she really all right?”

I sank into the chair across from Drew’s desk. “She’s lucky. They got her out just before the explosion. Once they release her from the hospital, Mother’s going to stay at my house for right now.”

My thoughts immediately jerked back to Sharice. And Darius. What would happen to her little boy?

Drew tapped his fingers on his desk. “Helluva day. We all set for the six?”

“I think so. I’ll go talk to Rick. We have quite a few fresh sound bites, comments from family members and neighbors. Our contact at the fire department is supposed to check in if he gets any new information. One of reporters will go back for the six o’clock live shot, or I can do it.”

Drew surveyed my disheveled outfit.

“I know,” I twisted my mouth. “Should’ve changed into something more presentable.”

He brightened. “Not at all. They loved it. You connected with viewers. The no makeup, jeans-on approach was brilliant. It made you real. Like the news story was more important than anything else. That’s the ‘something special’ I’ve been looking for.”

I glowed from the praise. “Drew, I used to think this job was just reading off the teleprompter. That it was all fluff. But, it’s so much more—it can be, anyway. I think it’s about relating to viewers because you care about the stories and the people whose lives are wrapped up in crisis. It’s about stories like today. Being out there in the community.”

Drew absorbed my explanation. “You’re right, Mel. You’ve finally got it.”

“Thanks,” I said softly.

The cell phone on Drew’s desk buzzed. He grabbed it. “Hello? Yes? Yes.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “I think we can handle that. Let me check with our engineer and I’ll give you a call back. Give me your extension and the satellite coordinates?” Drew jotted down some numbers on a piece of paper.

“All right, I’ll get back to you in a bit.” Drew hung up and stared at the phone. “Well, I’ll be damned!”

“Who was that?”

“Fox News. They want a satellite feed of video of your story.” Drew snatched up the scrap of paper he’d scribbled on and stood up. “CNN already called. They’re sending someone down from Atlanta to do cut-ins.”
 
My eyes widened.

“Don’t look so surprised.” Drew winked at me. “You did good work. And your mother was in there. That puts a personal twist on the story. They may want a comment from you. Think about it.” He paused.

“Anyway, they want all of the video. And they want it now, of course.”

I leaned back in the chair and stretched my arms over my head. “Shoot. And after we finish, how about a month-long vacation in Hawaii?”

“Fat chance, Moore.” Drew snapped his fingers. “Hey, wasn’t there something you wanted to ask me? Didn’t we have a meeting at noon? What did you need?”

I sat up straight. “Do you have a sec?”

Drew shrugged his shoulders. “Not really, but there’s no time like the present. No telling what’ll happen in five minutes. The way this day is going, a hurricane might blow through Macon and wipe out the studio.”

I crossed my arms, trying to think of how best to explain.

Just say it, Melissa.

“I need to know if you’ve made a decision.”

Drew shot me a puzzled look.

“About who’s going to anchor with Rick?”

“If that’s what you’re talking about, Melissa, you’ve got it.” He grinned and rubbed his hands together like he was sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner. “Full-time. Six and ten news, of course. I’ll even find you a producer,” he added. “It’ll free you and Rick up to do more promotional events. And I’ll give you all of five minutes to think about it.”

I was stunned. And elated.

It’s happening. It’s finally happening.

“By the way, Macon PD found Alyssa.”

“Really?”

“I put out some feelers, talked to some friends in the business. They connected with some cops in Montana, of all places. She and Tim are getting married, doing a six and ten gig up in Bozeman.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Serious as a heart attack.” Drew started to walk away.

“Drew—” I wanted to ask if he knew what might happen to Darius. If he didn’t know, who would?

“Melissa, look.” Drew waved the piece of paper with Fox News’s number in front of my face. “I’ve got to run and take care of this. You take your time deciding. I do want you to anchor. Just give me your answer as soon as possible. Like tomorrow.”
    
He put his hand on the door to leave. “Melissa, if it matters, I believe you can do it.” Drew opened the door. “You just have to believe in yourself, too.”