Forecast (20 page)

Georgette didn’t need to think. “Okay … yes … YES! I’d love that.” She thought Petey was the most magnificent man she’d ever met.

They both grinned at Rowie, as though they were beginning the most fabulous adventure and she’d be thrilled for them.

Rowie forced a smile. “The Empire State … great,” was all she could manage.

Petey offered Georgette his arm and suggested they go for coffee first. He looked proud, handsome even, as he grinned at Rowie over his shoulder.

“Enjoy your coffee …” Rowie pulled herself together. It wasn’t her place to interfere with Petey’s destiny. And besides, Georgette may very well live. Love is the greatest healer.

Georgette would agree wholeheartedly. She left Second Site sure she would beat all the odds stacked against her. She had something to live for now.

Drew danced into Mac’s office like a character from a fifties musical. Well not quite, but that’s how it looked to Jess who was in the office alone and already seated near the window.

“Mac said he needed to see me.”

Jess nodded. “He’ll be here in a minute. Take a seat.” She watched as Drew collapsed into a chair with a huge grin on his face. What the hell was he so happy about? “Did I win?”

Drew looked confused. “Win?”

“The bet!”
You clown.
“Did you kiss her?

Drew plummeted to earth with a thud. “Oh, that. I … Yeah, I kissed her.”

Jess didn’t know whether to be thrilled or devastated. But at least her plan had worked. “Congratulations. You were right. I’ll give you the money later.”

Drew looked mortified at the prospect. “Don’t worry about it.”

“A bet’s a bet.”

“It’s only a hundred bucks.”

Jess stared at him for a moment. And then horror clawed at her gut as she realized: “You like her.”

Drew shrugged and tried to play down his feelings. “I guess I do.” He gave Jess an apologetic half-smile. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he also didn’t want to lie. “She’s different than what I expected, Jess. She’s … surprising.”

The door flung open and Mac entered, with Rowie following three steps behind.

Jess’ mouth pursed tightly as she glared at Drew. “Surprise!”

It certainly was. Rowie looked ‘surprised’ to see Drew, and he looked really surprised to see Rowie, but then they both smiled in shy delight.

“Hi Drew.”

“Hi Rowie.”

Hi Drew, hi Rowie … Goodnight John-Boy … how freakin’ Waltons.
Jess wanted to hurl all over them. She watched Rowie sit near Drew. Not right next to him, but it may as well have been on his lap, the energy between them was so obvious. Jess realized they’d done more than kiss. Way more! So much for Rowie not wasting time with someone else’s man. Still, she knew how persuasive Drew could be. The women at USBC didn’t call him
quick-Drew McGrew, the fastest pistol at the network
for nothing. Actually that’s what she’d called him and then spread the word, but it caught on quickly.

As long as Rowie had the prediction ready, then she’d be big enough to forgive them. If her year in Paris taught her anything it was that men will stray and women will look the other way. The French have so much class when it comes to infidelity, thought Jess.

Mac looked uncomfortable, but decided to get straight to the point. “I won’t drag this out. We have decided to keep Rowie in the primetime spot for now.”

Rowie and Drew looked equally floored. “What?”

“Effective immediately,” Mac added.

Drew looked devastated. “You can’t.”

Mac cringed. He hated this part of the job. “We can.”

“Her ratings are phenomenal, Drew,” Jess explained. “We’ve never seen anything like it.”

Drew was reeling. “What … better than mine?”

“Yup.”

Rowie finally found her voice. “But this is Drew’s job.”

“He still has a job,” said Mac. “He’ll be replacing Marc Price.”

Drew looked like he’d been told he had to wear spandex for the rest of his life. “I’m being demoted to late night?”

“It’s a solid spot,” said Mac.

Rowie placed a hand on her chest. This was turning out to be an awful day. First her grandmother, then Petey and Georgette, now this. She felt strange … like she couldn’t breath properly. This wasn’t what she expected, or wanted. Was it? “This isn’t right. Drew is a trained meteorologist. I’m just a …” She searched for the right word.

“Gimmick?” Drew offered.

Rowie glared at him. “Not quite the word I was looking for.”

Mac looked surprised. “Are you saying you don’t want the job, Rowie?”

“No—yes, it’s just …”

Jess felt now was the perfect time to stick to boot into Doris and Rock. “You seemed very keen when we spoke about this on Friday, Rowie.”

Drew turned to Rowie, betrayal etched on his face. “You knew about this? On Friday?”

“I didn’t realize …”

“This is the ‘loose ends’ you needed to tie up? God I’m a fool. You even admitted you wanted my job.”

“I was joking.”

“Obviously.”

Mac had no idea what was going on between Rowie and Drew, but they were starting to annoy him. “We need a decision now, Rowie. Do you want it or not?”

“Of course I do,” said Rowie, weakly. “But not this way.”

Drew shook his head in disgust. “No? How about I gift wrap it for you?”

Rowie stared at him, begging him to understand. “Drew, I …”

But it was obvious from the contempt in his voice that it was too late. “Don’t speak. I don’t want to waste one more second on you.” Drew stormed out and slammed the door.

Jess could barely conceal her delight. “That went well.”

“Excuse me,” Rowie mumbled, as she rushed out after Drew. She caught up with him near the elevators and grabbed his arm. “Drew, please, I’m sorry. You’ve got to believe me. I didn’t know.”

Drew looked at her in mock-surprise. “A psychic who didn’t know?”

“What about what happened on the weekend?” She was pleading with him to stop, so they could work this out. “What about us?”

Drew pushed her hand away. “Let me see. I predict … we’re over.”

Rowie watched helplessly as Drew stepped into the elevator and the doors closed between them.

Bill and Tina were in fine form, their dislike for each other obvious to everyone but the millions of viewers who adored them.

“The Japanese build great cars,” said Bill, referring to a Toyota SUV on the monitor behind them. “I wouldn’t mind a hybrid myself.”

Tina fluttered her eyelashes innocently. “Are you allowed to drive after that little D.U.I incident?”

Bill gave a loud, fake laugh. “And how about this weather? Chilly for this time of year. Has fall arrived early, Rowie?”

Rowie jumped when she heard her name. She’d been deep in depressed thought. “I … ah … the weather?”

Tina rolled her eyes (as usual) “Yes, Rowie, the weather. When you’re ready.”

Rowie gave a nod and turned to the Chromakey. “The temperature has certainly dropped in parts of the state, but it won’t last.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Nothing good ever lasts …”

*

Drew quietly slipped into the studio. He felt like a fool, but he had to see Rowie in action. What made her so popular? Yes she had … a certain … what would you call it? Presence? Star quality? He’d seen her night after night on television, but really needed to see her working live to put his finger on it.

Oh who was he kidding? He simply needed to see her. And he knew exactly why she was so popular, why everyone fell in love with her. He knew exactly why he had.

Which made her betrayal all the more hurtful.

She was in the middle of the national rundown and her attention was focused on the map. From where he stood, Drew could see the curve of creamy neck he’d been kissing a few hours before. Something stirred in his gut … and lower. He banished the thought and reminded himself that she had just screwed him over. How that hurt … Probably Delphine’s goddamn hieroglyphics burning into his chest.

Rowie was dressed in a slim fitting pink dress. So much for redheads never wearing pink. She looked born to carry off the color. Her hair was up in a ponytail that swung suggestively as she turned from monitor to map. Her voice was steady, smooth and warm. And that face!

He watched as she smiled, and joked, yet she wasn’t as bubbly as usual. She seemed sad. Good, thought Drew. Hopefully her guilty conscious was ripping her apart.

Drew felt completely betrayed by Rowie, yet on some masochistic level, he missed her already. He felt torn between wanting to be with her, and wanting to destroy her.

“I’m told more hot days are just around the corner. Let’s check.”

He watched as she moved into her psychic prediction pose. Her body relaxed and her chin lifted and those magnificent green eyes began to cloud over. But just as the veil began to lift, she noticed Drew and stopped. Her gaze locked with his, and for just a moment they both almost smiled. Almost. Then his face hardened and hers fell, and she broke the stare and returned to her report.

Only nothing happened.

Her body seemed tense. She shuffled slightly and tried to concentrate again. But something was bothering her and she looked close to tears. Mortified, she turned to the camera.

“The line seems to be busy,” she joked weakly. “I’ll just dial again.”

She returned to her pose, but remained silent. Still nothing.

“I think I just went to message bank.” Her voice was wobbly. Her eyes searched the studio for Drew. Her panic almost softened his resolve, but then he remembered how she’d lied to him, and turned his back on her and left the studio.

Rowie, defeated and humiliated, gazed into the camera. “I think the cold is here to stay.”

*

Rowie didn’t have to be psychic to know who was hammering on her dressing room door. “Come in, Jess.”

“Oh great. Now it works!” yelled Jess as she stormed in. “What the hell just happened?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where were your little voices?”

“I don’t hear voices.”

Jess put her hands on her boyish hips and glared at Rowie. “Whatever! You’re the ‘psychic’ weather woman. Not the ‘stand there like an idiot’ weather woman.”

Rowie was just about sick of Jess’ shit. “Thanks for clarifying.”

“Does this happen a lot?”

“It’s a first. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Jess calmed slightly. “Okay, you’ve had a lot going on, stealing Drew’s job and everything.”

“I didn’t –"

“You’re here aren’t you? I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it though. He’ll probably quit and go to another network. Did you see anything?”

It was hard keeping up with Jess. “When?”

“When you kissed him. In the spooky movie reel. What did you see?”

Oh that!
“Nothing.”

“No work stuff? What about his love life?” Jess gave Rowie a strange smile. “See anyone familiar starring?”

“I didn’t see anything, Jess.”

Jess’ eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you telling me you’ve lost your psychic powers?” If so, Mac was going to have a coronary. He’d been reluctant to replace Drew with Rowie, despite her ratings. He didn’t think they’d last. Jess knew he was right, but talked him into giving Rowie a shot. She’d sold it to him as a great business move, but deep down, Jess knew it was personal. And it was eating away at her. Rowie’s spot
had
to work, so she could justify what she’d done to herself.

Rowie started wiping her makeup off. She just wanted to go home. “No. They work fine when he’s not around.”

“Then why didn’t they work just now?”

“Drew was in the studio.”

“Let me get this straight,” muttered Jess through tightly clenched teeth. “When Drew’s near you … when you kissed him … nothing? No weird visions?”

“No.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

Jess stared at Rowie in utter disbelief. “You don’t expect me to believe he’s The One? The one you can’t read?”

Rowie shrugged. What could she say?

Jess glared at Rowie for a moment, and then spoke in a carefully measured voice. “I see. And if there was a movie … when you kissed him … You’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”

“Right now, more than anything, I wish I saw something. But I didn’t.”

Jess nodded. “Right. Well I guess we solved the problem of who Drew is meant to be with.”

“Free will still rules us, Jess. Even if we are meant to be together, it doesn’t mean we will be. Especially now.”

“Who knows what the future holds,” mumbled Jess, and then with an almost manic laugh as she stalked from the room. “Obviously not you anymore.”

Jess stacked her empty vodka glasses neatly on the bar in front of her. She waved the barman away each time he went to clear them. She needed to keep an eye on how much alcohol it took to forget Drew Henderson … just for future reference. She had a feeling it would take more than one night, or one bottle, to exorcise the bastard from her system.

Eva’s perfume wafted up beside her, followed by Eva herself. Great, thought Jess, all the bars in Manhattan and I run into another ex of Drew’s … although it would probably be a rare bar where I wouldn’t.

“Drinking alone?” Eva’s voice was as spicy as the fragrance she wore.

Jess barely glanced sideways. “Yep. You?”

Eva scanned the bar. “I’m meeting someone.”

“Girls like you never drink alone.”

“Lower your standards and you won’t either,” Eva chuckled.

Jess gave Eva an almost friendly smile. She admired the fact that Eva didn’t give a shit what anyone thought. It was something Jess herself aspired to. “Is that an insult to me, or an insight into you?”

“Your psychic movie plan didn’t work?”

“Apparently I wasn’t even an extra.” Jess emptied another glass. “Good ole Rowie gazumped me.”

“So what now?” asked Eva.

“I’m taking control of destiny, Eva.”

Eva glanced at the pile of empty glasses. “Good for you.”

A short man in an expensive suit entered and waved at Eva from across the room.