Page 4 of Dirty News
After a hot shower, another pot of coffee, and my morning Aleve, I headed out to see the barber who’d taken care of me since I’d moved to NewYork.
Jordan greeted me as I entered his little shop in Queens. “Yo, Duke. What’s the good news today, myfriend?”
Taking a seat in the empty chair, the loud clap of the cape Jordan snapped at his side echoed in the little place. “I might have an interview to be an anchorman,Jordan.”
“Oh, yeah?” He put the cape around me as he looked at me in the mirror in front of us. “For whichchannel?”
“A new one.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I want something nice and short on the sides, but leave a little for the girls to run their hands through on top, allright?”
“Got ya.” He looked at my beard. “In my opinion, this needs to go. I’ve never seen an anchorman with abeard.”
Running my hand over my beard, which I’d had for years, I hated to see it go. But go it must. “Yeah, you’re right. Get rid of itentirely.”
With a nod, he went on. “What’s this new channel called?” Spritzing my hair with scented water, Jordan got right to work on thatfirst.
“The network is called WOLF. I don’t know what channel it’s gonna be onthough.”
“WOLF? Now that’s gonna sound badass, man.” Jordan laughed. “And next up, Duke Cofield, WOLF’s toughest anchormanever.”
Laughing, I felt a bit of excitement growing inside me. It was the first time in forever I’d felt that, and I knew that meant something. It hadto.
My days had been blah since my retirement, humdrum, even. My family asked me to come back to New Orleans all the time. But leaving New York felt like I’d be losing the game. And I hated tolose.
It felt like eons had passed since I had moved to the big city. This might not have always been my home, but now it felt like it was. I had my favorite deli just five blocks from my apartment. The hot dog stand on the corner made the best in New York, in my opinion. And the atmosphere was electric all thetime.
Life just moved at a different pace in the city that never sleeps. I didn’t want to leave. I knew my life was meant to be spent here. So, I stayed, and kept looking for the next phase of my life tobegin.
My cell dinged. I had a message. Pulling it out of my pocket I found the address and time for the interview had been sent to me by Larry. “Finkelstein did it! I’ve got an interview at four thisafternoon.”
“Way to go!” Jordan nodded. “You’re gonna get it. I know you will. You’re a freakin’ former New York Jets linebacker, dude! You’ve gotta be more popular than anyone else who’s going up for this thing,right?”
All I could do was shrug. I had no idea who else would be going up for this. “All I can do is hope,right?”
And a few short hours later, I stood in front of the glass doors that I hoped I’d get to walk through every day. Seeing the word ‘WOLF’ on those doors gave me such a thrill. I wanted to be WOLF’s first anchorman—and what I wanted, I usuallygot.
My dress shoes clicked as I walked over the black and gray marble floor to the reception desk. A woman with dark hair pulled into a tight bun looked up at me. Her dark eyes lingered on my cleanly shaven face. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” I leaned my forearm on the top of the mahogany wood counter she stood behind. “I’m here for an interview. The anchor position, if I was correctly informed. Duke Cofield is thename.”
She licked her shiny red lips. “Yeah. Um, the boss is ready for you, I bet. Let me see real quick.” She looked away from me to pick up a phone. After a moment of mumbling, she hung up. “Brady’s coming to get you now. You were a football player,right?”
“Linebacker for the Jets. You a fan?” I ran my fingertip over the counter and her eyes followed my movements. I loved toying with the opposite sex. Making women all wiggly inside was myspecialty.
“I am.” She pulled her lower lip between her whiteteeth.
The sound of the elevator dinging had me looking away to find a little man stepping out of it. “Mr. Cofield, can you come withme?”
“Yeah.” I walked away as I looked over my shoulder. “Byenow.”
“Bye, Mr. Cofield. Oh, my name’s Gretchen, by the way.” She waved her little hand atme.
I nodded and got into the elevator as the little guy inside sighed. “Oh, that’s notgood.”
Choosing to ignore his comment, as I just didn’t really give a rat’s ass, I asked, “So, are youBrady?”
He nodded as I put my hand out to shake his. “Um, no. I’m not into shakinghands.”
Who the fuck’s not into shakinghands?
