time she looked at him, she couldn’t help but remember Meredith Guidry’s confession that she’d been in love with him in college, he knew it, and he’d dated and then married her roommate. “Hey, Brent.”
“Alaine, fifteen second promo in six ... five ... four...”
She pasted on a smile and looked into the glass in front of the camera lens that reflected the teleprompter feed. “Tomorrow on Inside Bonneterre, go green with energy saving ideas for the home from a local contractor. Veterinarian Andrew Blakeley will be here to take your calls and answer questions about keeping your pets healthy in this heat. Plus, LeShon Murphy, founder of Let’s Do Coffee, will be here to talk about relationships and dating. See you at noon.”
After recording a five-second spot and a “Today on Inside Bonneterre” spot that would run the next morning, Alaine went around behind the backdrop and gave her hair, makeup, and wardrobe one final check in the full-length mirror.
Pricilla entered the studio with two interns on her heels. “Guests are all here, and the remote that Jeff did for us this morning just came out of editing and is ready to roll after the third break.”
“I think we need to start doing a regular legal-advice segment. We already have a pediatrician and a veterinarian coming in regularly.”
“Because they’re married to people who work here.”
“That’s beside the point.” Alaine applied a little more lipstick, then checked her teeth to make sure none had transferred. “I would imagine someone here is related or married to a lawyer who could come in and take calls.” Forbes Guidry would send her viewers into a frenzy. But she couldn’t allow herself to think about him; she had a show to do and couldn’t afford the distraction.
An hour later, Alaine fought frustration at the near-flubs and minor mistakes she’d made all through the program because her concentration kept lapsing. A virus named Forbes Guidry had infected her brain.
When she tossed to the news anchor for a quick update at five minutes till one o’clock, Alaine took several deep breaths to try to compose herself before giving the tease for the next day’s show and the bye-bye.
As soon as she was clear, she closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry, everyone. I don’t know where my brain is today.” She looked around at the three cameramen, Rebekka Blakeley, and Brent, knowing everyone in the control room could hear her as well. “I promise I’ll be back on form tomorrow.”
Bekka shrugged and gave her an understanding smile. “It’s a Monday. We all have those kinds of days.” She crossed the small studio, carefully avoiding tripping over the thick cables snaking all over the floor, and perched on the edge of the chair beside Alaine’s. “Is everything okay? Anything I can do?”
Alaine could have hugged the newscaster. Bekka Blakeley had been one of the sports reporters when Alaine first started at the station. In fact, watching Bekka rise from reporter to weekend sports anchor to morning news anchor to her current position as the sole anchor of the noon news updates and the five o’clock news hour encouraged Alaine’s dreams to move into real news reporting, too.
And Bekka was the only person at the station who was shorter than Alaine ... by a whole inch. That thought brought her a genuine smile for the first time in twenty-four hours. “Like you said—it’s just one of those days.” She stood and removed her microphone and IFB box and earpiece. “Bekka, since you were kind enough to let us use your husband for the veterinarian Q&A segment, you don’t happen to have a relative who’s a lawyer, do you?”
“I do—a cousin—but she lives in Tennessee. I’ll ask around for you, if you want me to.”
“No, I need to work out the idea for the segment before I start looking for someone, I guess.”
“Okay, just let me know if—” Her eyes went vague for a second, a sure indication someone was
“Alaine, fifteen second promo in six ... five ... four...”
She pasted on a smile and looked into the glass in front of the camera lens that reflected the teleprompter feed. “Tomorrow on Inside Bonneterre, go green with energy saving ideas for the home from a local contractor. Veterinarian Andrew Blakeley will be here to take your calls and answer questions about keeping your pets healthy in this heat. Plus, LeShon Murphy, founder of Let’s Do Coffee, will be here to talk about relationships and dating. See you at noon.”
After recording a five-second spot and a “Today on Inside Bonneterre” spot that would run the next morning, Alaine went around behind the backdrop and gave her hair, makeup, and wardrobe one final check in the full-length mirror.
Pricilla entered the studio with two interns on her heels. “Guests are all here, and the remote that Jeff did for us this morning just came out of editing and is ready to roll after the third break.”
“I think we need to start doing a regular legal-advice segment. We already have a pediatrician and a veterinarian coming in regularly.”
“Because they’re married to people who work here.”
“That’s beside the point.” Alaine applied a little more lipstick, then checked her teeth to make sure none had transferred. “I would imagine someone here is related or married to a lawyer who could come in and take calls.” Forbes Guidry would send her viewers into a frenzy. But she couldn’t allow herself to think about him; she had a show to do and couldn’t afford the distraction.
An hour later, Alaine fought frustration at the near-flubs and minor mistakes she’d made all through the program because her concentration kept lapsing. A virus named Forbes Guidry had infected her brain.
When she tossed to the news anchor for a quick update at five minutes till one o’clock, Alaine took several deep breaths to try to compose herself before giving the tease for the next day’s show and the bye-bye.
As soon as she was clear, she closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry, everyone. I don’t know where my brain is today.” She looked around at the three cameramen, Rebekka Blakeley, and Brent, knowing everyone in the control room could hear her as well. “I promise I’ll be back on form tomorrow.”
Bekka shrugged and gave her an understanding smile. “It’s a Monday. We all have those kinds of days.” She crossed the small studio, carefully avoiding tripping over the thick cables snaking all over the floor, and perched on the edge of the chair beside Alaine’s. “Is everything okay? Anything I can do?”
Alaine could have hugged the newscaster. Bekka Blakeley had been one of the sports reporters when Alaine first started at the station. In fact, watching Bekka rise from reporter to weekend sports anchor to morning news anchor to her current position as the sole anchor of the noon news updates and the five o’clock news hour encouraged Alaine’s dreams to move into real news reporting, too.
And Bekka was the only person at the station who was shorter than Alaine ... by a whole inch. That thought brought her a genuine smile for the first time in twenty-four hours. “Like you said—it’s just one of those days.” She stood and removed her microphone and IFB box and earpiece. “Bekka, since you were kind enough to let us use your husband for the veterinarian Q&A segment, you don’t happen to have a relative who’s a lawyer, do you?”
“I do—a cousin—but she lives in Tennessee. I’ll ask around for you, if you want me to.”
“No, I need to work out the idea for the segment before I start looking for someone, I guess.”
“Okay, just let me know if—” Her eyes went vague for a second, a sure indication someone was
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