Winning Texas (15 page)

“
I
’
m giving you my two-week notice,
”
Maggie said.
“
I
’
m moving to Austin for a new job.
”

“
Oh? What
’
s the job?
”

“
I
’
m going to be a morning anchor on WFAB-TV, the Fox station. I
’
ll make almost twice what I
’
m making here and won
’
t have to worry about these stupid layoffs.
”

“
Congratulations,
”
Annie said, resenting her triumphal air.
“
We
’
ll miss you, but it sounds like a good opportunity. You haven
’
t done TV before, have you?
”

“
No, but Senator Jake Satterfield thinks I
’
m a natural,
”
Maggie said.
“
He knows the station
’
s owner in Dallas and put in a good word for me.
”

Annie felt as if she
’
d been slapped, just hearing her former fianc
é’
s name come out of the mouth of the preening prima donna. She kept a neutral look on her face and tried to sound normal.

“
Jake knows practically every big donor in Texas. He
’
s hit up most of them for money.
”

“
I know you and he were an item once,
”
Maggie said.
“
How could you give up that gorgeous guy?
”

Annie bristled, angry with the reporter for trying to make it personal. Why was Maggie tormenting her? Annie vowed to remember this encounter if she ever had to write the self-obsessed sexpot a recommendation.

“
That
’
s a rather rude question, Maggie. Why are you asking?
”

“
Sorry,
”
Maggie said.
“
I just wondered, since he
’
s a free man again. Says he
’
s getting a divorce.
”

“
I
’
ve heard that before. But it
’
s really not my business or yours, is it?
”

“
You could say I
’
m making it my business,
”
Maggie smiled.
“
Jake and I are seeing each other. That
’
s one reason I
’
m moving.
”

Again, Maggie
’
s words felt like a sucker punch to her chest, but she wasn
’
t going to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. She couldn
’
t resist a barb.

“
Well, best of luck. You
’
ll need it with Jake.
”

Annie got up and extended her hand across the desk, wanting to end the meeting and lick her wounds privately. Maggie stood and shook her hand daintily.

“
You
’
re not upset, I hope?
”

Talk about twisting the knife, Annie thought. What an obnoxious bitch she is. Don
’
t stoop to her level.

“
Of course not,
”
she said.
“
As you said, there
’
s probably another layoff coming. It
’
s good that you
’
re leaving
–
you
’
ll probably save someone else
’
s job.
”

“
That
’
s one reason I
’
ve been looking. This is such a depressing place and newspapers are a dying industry. Television is a much better platform for me.
”

“
You
’
re probably right,
”
Annie agreed. She walked Maggie to the door.
“
It
’
s getting late, so I
’
ll catch up with you next week on the details.
”

Annie shut the door more emphatically than she
’
d intended. She sat quietly, giving herself time to calm down. She felt like putting her head down on her desk and wailing like a kindergartner deprived of a nap. But she resisted, knowing that any change in her behavior would stir gossip among the reporters on the other side of the glass wall. That was the down side of having a fishbowl office
–
lower-level staffers were always watching, trying to decipher the office politics.

Just the mention of Jake had made her chest tighten. She was furious that he was seeing Maggie, but she hoped she
’
d masked her feelings.

She walked out with a smile, her back ramrod straight, and looked for Greg Barnett. Formerly her investigative editor and still her boss as managing editor, he
’
d need to know the news about Maggie right away. She spotted his lanky frame leaning into a reporter
’
s desk, discussing a story. She stood nearby and waited.

“
Want to get a cup of coffee in the tunnel?
”
She asked him in a low voice. They smiled their way through the newsroom, got on the elevator and descended to the row of shops underneath the building before he turned to her.
“
What
’
s going on, Price?
”

“
Maggie Mahaffey is leaving for Austin. Going to be the Fox station
’
s next blond It-Girl.
”

“
I should have guessed. She
’
s always been too much of a diva. Newspapering
’
s not quite glamorous enough for her.
”

“
She
’
s not a bad reporter,
”
Annie said.
“
When she
’
s not worrying about her hair or her manicure, she can turn out a halfway decent story.
”

“
Meow, Annie,
”
Greg smiled.
“
That
’
s the cattiest thing I
’
ve ever heard from you.
”

“
Guess I have my reasons,
”
Annie said.

“
We
’
ll need to think about this,
”
he said.
“
Obviously, we don
’
t have the money to replace her, but since you
’
ll be down to three reporters to supervise, we may have to change your job description.
”

“
Are you trying to tell me my position
’
s at risk?
”
Annie said.

“
You know as well as I do that we
’
re all at risk. I hope you
’
ll have a job here as long as you want,
”
Greg said.
“
But you
’
ll need to take on some reporting responsibility, as well as supervising the three reporters.
”

Annie looked at Greg for a moment, thinking. Her lips curved into her first genuine smile of the day.

“
Promise?
”

CHAPTER 14

Annie poured herself a glass of chardonnay. She needed a drink, and after her day, she deserved one. But just one, she said to herself, putting the cork back into the bottle and easing it to the back of the refrigerator, hiding it behind the milk carton. She no longer kept screw-top wine around because it was too easy to open and polish off the whole bottle.

She scooped out a can of smelly cat food for Marbles and Benjy, who thumped across the hardwood floors like baby mountain lions. She enjoyed watching them gobble their food while she sipped her wine. Her cats were good therapy after a tense day. Her parents were not, but she decided to call them anyway. Her father answered at their home in Blacksburg, Virginia.

“
Dad, are you there by yourself?
”

“
Yeah, your mother
’
s gone shopping. What
’
s going on with you?
”

“
How
’
s your column going?
”
Jeffrey Price, who
’
d retired five years ago, confined his journalistic efforts to a twice-a-week column for the
Blacksburg Sun
, the newspaper he once ran for a rapacious chain. Even though the newspaper business had changed drastically since he
’
d left it, he was the person she turned to for advice. She admired his passion for improving his community.

“
Just wrote a pretty good one for Sunday on pollution in the New River,
”
he said.
“
What
’
s happening in your newsroom?
”

“
One of my reporters just quit to go work for a TV station in Austin. Greg wants me to add some reporting to my editing job, since I
’
m losing someone.
”

“
How would that work?
”
She heard the skepticism in her father
’
s tone.

“
I
’
d keep editing my reporters
’
stuff, but also team up with them on bigger stories, to deepen the reporting. To tell the truth, I
’
m excited.
”

“
Honey, I know you
’
ve missed reporting, but can you do justice to essentially two jobs?
”

“
Don
’
t think I
’
ll have any choice, Dad.
”

“
I don
’
t want you to overwork,
”
Price said.
“
You need balance to stay healthy.
”

Annie knew that her father was obliquely expressing worry about her tendency to stress out and drink too much. She
’
d confided in him about her periodic efforts to cut back on alcohol and he kept that information confidential.

“
Don
’
t worry about me. I
’
m doing fine,
”
she said.
“
Reporting will get me out of the office, which will be great.
”

She spent another ten minutes talking about her brother and sister and their children and her mother. She hung up the phone, took another gulp of wine and tried to quiet her racing mind. Her doorbell
’
s retro chime startled her.

Who
’
d be ringing her doorbell at 8 p.m.? Her 1920s Heights neighborhood, still a little raw around its edges, was pretty safe, but occasionally things happened. She went to the craftsman-style door and peered through its four decorative panes at the top.

She was shocked to recognize the handsome, white-blond head of Tom Marr. What would bring this West Texan
–
cattle rancher, disgraced secessionist candidate for governor and almost-boyfriend
–
to her front door? She hadn
’
t seen him for four years.

She opened the door and he reached out to her, holding her tight against his tall torso. She basked in the thrill of his long arms, solid chest and clean Ivory-soap smell for a delicious half-minute before she broke away.

“
Tom,
”
she said.
“
What
’
re you doing here?
”

He smiled, but his face looked drawn, as if he
’
d been driving a lot and sleeping little.