Page 6 of Dirty News
I, however, didn’t seem to affect him much at all. He seemed like the kind of guy who’d had plenty of women in his time, no doubt. Why would I affecthim?
When we entered the meeting room, I found a white dry-erase board with a chart on it. My name was next to a box that had the words, “Nightly News Weather” in it. Other names were in other areas. Duke’s attention was on his own name, which was written next to “Evening NewsSports.”
My jaw dropped when I saw what was at the very top of the board. “Morning News Anchor” had both of our names in the place next to it. Both were followed by questionmarks.
“As you can see, we’d like to welcome you both to WOLF,” Mr. Wolfe said as he took aseat.
Duke looked at me for a moment with no expression at all on his handsome face, before he looked at our new boss. “And what do the question marks mean,Artimus?”
“Sit, you two,” Artimus urged us. After we’d taken seats across the table from where he and Mrs. Baker sat, he went on. “You see, we like you both for that position. We think what it will come down to is you showing us who would be better for that position. Then we can make a finaldecision.”
“Like a competition?” My nails bit into my palms as I waited for theanswer.
“Sure, you can look at it like that.” Mrs. Baker put packets in front of us both. “We’ll need you to sign these papers. It’s your normal new hire paperwork.” She pulled out the first sheets in each packet. “On these, you’ll find your salary for the positions you’ve been hired for. Whoever gets the anchor spot will get another paper to sign for that job. Of course, that job comes with three times the pay as the positions we’re offering you right now. We’re financially transparent here at WOLF. No matter what gender you happen to be, each job pays the same for men and women. We’re hoping to set a precedent for othernetworks.”
Duke looked stunned. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he actually said, “You want me to compete? Withher?”
“You don’t have to look at it like that if you don’t want to,” Artimus informed him. “You both have qualities that we like, but we just want to be sure we’re making the right choice before making anythingfinal.”
Mrs. Baker took over. “I’d like you both to think about what being an anchor really means. It means doing great interviews. It means doing things in the community that show how much you care about our city and ourpeople.”
Artimus added, “Being an anchor is more than just reading things off the prompters or cue cards. It’s about being the face of our new network. The morning show is what will start it all off when we go on-air. We have very high expectations for thatposition.”
“I feel confident that I can handle that responsibility, Artimus.” Duke looked at me with a weak smile. “Not to offend you in any way, but you’re not even from here. I don’t think people will connect with you as quickly as they will with me. Nooffense.”
“None taken.” My hands lay in my lap as I tried to put on my best face. “And I see what you’re saying, but I have to say that I am the fresh face they’re after. The new look of a new network. WOLF is about people who are new to thisindustry.”
“And I am.” Duke looked at Artimus. “I am new to this. My face isn’t a television staple. It’s been hidden behind a football helmet most of thetime.”
“He’s right,” Artimus agreed. “He’s just as fresh a face as youare.”
Mrs. Baker seemed set on making us understand what the hell they were doing to us. “Look, you’re both perfect for that position. But we only want one. So, we need you both to use the rest of this week to make us some videos. Do some community work and interviews. Anything you can think of to show us who you are and what you can do forWOLF.”
“Can I ask how I’m supposed to make videos? I don’t have a camera here in New York.” I looked at Duke and found himnodding.
“Yeah, how are we to go about doing that?” He chewed his lower lip. That made him look nervous to me, which I rather likedseeing.
If he was nervous, then he thought I stood a chance. I could beat him. If I tried hard enough, I could doit.
So what if he was the manliest man I’d ever seen in real life? He could be beaten—his nerves told me so. Being devastatingly muscular and sexy didn’t automatically mean he’d be the best man for thejob.
Artimus answered our question, “You can use our crews. All you have to do is call the producer, Ashton Lange.” He pulled two business cards out of his breast pocket and pushed them across the table to us. They were Ashton Lange’s business cards. “He’ll get the crew out to wherever you need them tobe.”
I still had questions. “And if the person I find to interview doesn’t reside in NewYork?”
“WOLF has a private jet.” Artemis gave me a brilliant smile. “Call me, and I’ll set that up if needbe.”
So we had it all at our fingertips. Both of us did. Everything we’d need to show them why each of us was thebest.
The only problem was that I had no idea what I had that would be better than what Duke Cofield of the New York Jets could offer. Or former New York Jet. Whatever the hell he was, he was better known by New Yorkers than Iwas.
How will I make them loveme?
“Start by doing a video here today,” Mrs. Baker told us as she gave us each a pen to start working on the mountain of paperwork in the packets. “The crew will be in the studio after lunch. They can film you telling the people of New York good morning for the first time, introducing yourself to them all. The same way you’ll have to do when we first golive.”
Introducemyself?
Already this was proving harder than I knew it would be. My only saving grace was that Duke seemed just as worried as Iwas.
