The next day, Alec arrived at theGood Day USAset at 4:00 AM and went through his routine of hair and makeup. His co-hosts, Tilly Ann and Renata, were their usual flurry of conversation. They didn’t typically pay attention to Alec until the cameras were rolling, which was perfectly fine with him.
Halfway through that morning’s segment on the importance of washing produce, Alec noticed Georgia Carle, network exec overseeing the news division, and occasional meddler inGood Day USA, lurking in the shadows behind the cameras. The hot aroma of brimstone filled the studio. His spine stiffened, his palms started to sweat. Georgia was the key to the career shift Alec was so eager to make, but she was like a fire-breathing dragon in heels.
“Alec. Can I speak to you for a moment?” Georgia asked as soon as the cameras had cut away.
Alec glanced over at his producer, who nodded silently. He jumped out from behind the set’s demo kitchen and jogged back to where Georgia was standing. He reached out and shook her hand, always surprised by her icy grip. Weren’t dragons supposed to have hot skin? “It’s nice to see you. What can I do for you?”
Georgia was holding a small navy blue box with metallic gold trim. “My husband received this in the mail yesterday. So did a lot of other men, apparently. It’s all over social media.”
“I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I must have missed it.” Alec avoided Twitter and Facebook like the plague. Those were not safe spaces for a television personality.
Georgia handed over the box. “Go ahead. Open it. Read the note inside.”
As soon as Alec had it in his hands, he knew this had to do with Brooklyn and Posh Post. The lid was emblazoned with the message:Hi, Handsome. You have Posh Male.Inside sat a letter atop a neat row of men’s skincare products. The minute he started reading, Brooklyn’s voice popped into his head. He tried hard not to smile at the way she said certain things, likeyou know you’re going to love it. But then he saw the post script and nearly threw up.
P.S. If any of you hot men are single and interested in helping out an overworked CEO and would like to get her pregnant, send Brooklyn Monroe an email at [email protected].
“Bold, huh?” Georgia asked, allowing one corner of her mouth to turn up.
Alec was thinking more ballsy than bold. It was downright shocking, especially given Alec’s close call with Brooklyn the other night. And to think he’d worried he’d been too hard on her. Now he was thinking he’d dodged a bullet. He knew she was serious about getting pregnant, but he had no idea the lengths to which she would go to make it happen. “You aren’t thinking about doing a story on this, are you? Seems a little pulpy.”
“I’d say it’s more juicy and intriguing. It’s also what gets people to click and watch,” Georgia continued. “The news team has made multiple phone calls to the Posh Post offices and Ms. Monroe won’t speak to anyone.”
Now Alec had an idea of where this was going. “And you want me to help you get to her.”
“You two have a relationship, don’t you?”
“She’s my ex. We’re friends.”I think.
“I’d call that a relationship. The reality is that everyone is racing for this story and you’re the one with a direct line to it. We’d like you to leverage it if you’re willing.”
Alec couldn’t help but feel like this was a real chance at something more professionally, but would it be worth it? The idea of speaking to Brooklyn about this subject, in front of a camera, was horrendous. How would he ever separate his feelings from the story?
“Well?” Georgia asked when Alec still hadn’t responded. “The network would prefer it air onGood Day, given the massive female viewership, but I would have a hand in it. It would give us a chance to work together.”
That changed everything, making it easier to answer. “If I do this, I need your assurance that it’s my interview. And if it goes well, I want a real shot at correspondent forThe Sunday News Hour.”
Georgia grinned with a bit too much self-satisfaction. Meanwhile, Alec was hoping this was the right move. “Deal,” she said. “But you need to nail it down today.”
“Alec, we have sixty until we’re back on,” his producer said, with more than a hint of strain in his voice. They hated it when the on-camera folks strayed off set.
“I have to go.”
“Do we have a deal?”
“Yes. I’ll call her as soon as we wrap the show.”
Chapter Six
All hell had officially brokenloose, and Brooklyn was so stunned, she didn’t know how to label what she was feeling. Horror came to mind. Abject and complete horror.
“I’ll never be able to express how sorry I am.” Tom from the art department wrung his hands while standing in front of Brooklyn’s desk. The skin behind his wiry red eyebrows had gone crimson.
“It’s okay, Tom. Really,” Brooklyn said. Yes, she was miserable and embarrassed, but she didn’t want everyone else to be, too.
“Tell me again how this happened.” Virginia paced Brooklyn’s office like a military general in the war room.
“Will you two please sit down?” Brooklyn pled. “You’re both making me sick to my stomach.”
