WLUV Box Set: Ignited, Consumed, Burned (37 page)

 “I’ll try
to call you tomorrow.” he said and then he was gone. What had just happened?
After he’d showed up at her mother’s, Fawn thought she’d be fending him off.
Since she’d told him about the miscarriage it seemed he couldn’t get out fast
enough. Here she was saying goodnight. She was surprisingly disappointed by
that fact.

Maybe Fawn
had finally succeeded, brilliantly, at getting through to Brick. Saying no
hadn’t seemed to work, but telling him about the long ago baby threw cold water
on the situation. She had never been more confused in her entire life.

And it was
all too familiar, this disappointment in Brick. He was about to fail her again.
She had always known it was going to go badly, that it would end up this way,
she’d just let herself forget it while they were in Belize.

Brick

“You are
an idiot.”

He’d
called Dara to the mansion before his day of meetings began. After leaving
Fawn’s house, Brick had been overwhelmed at how terribly he’d hurt her. Who was
this awful person that let the woman he loved down so completely? He didn’t
like this person.

The number
of ways in which he’d hurt Fawn was almost too many to count. But he did count
them, and he listed them all for his sister. He needed her as a sounding board
and knew she’d give it to him straight. 

Dara could
always be counted on not to pull her punches. His big sister was nearly a foot
shorter than him and barely weighed a buck twenty, but she could put him in his
place like no one else.  “This house is going to need some updates, by the way.
It’s a moldy old mess. I can help you get underwriting for it. You can redo it
to period and then have free tours.”

 “Can you
stay focused here? We’ll deal with this mayor’s haunted mansion situation
later. Right now I need you to tell me what to do with Fawn.”

“Well, it
appears to me that the woman forgives you already. Did she kick you out last
night or did you bolt?”

“I
bolted.”

“This is
why you are an idiot.” Dara’s cane clicked on his kitchen floor as she
continued to appraise the space. The former prima ballerina knew style and she
had an unrelenting eye for details. She’d come over after his SOS, but it
appeared she was there to gloat at the mess that he’d made of his love life.

“What?”

“You
failed her terribly, there’s no doubt, and you know it. You’re upset because
you don’t want to be that man, the one that talked out of turn and left her in
a huge mess. So if you’re out of the relationship, you don’t have to face that
you fucked up. And it was an incredibly huge fuck-up.” She was not feeling
sorry for Brick and his predicament. “If you stay away from Fawn, you can be
the hero once again. No evidence that you’re just a regular old idiot, like she
knows you are.”

“Thanks.”

“You ran
from a mistake you didn’t even know you made. Now go back there and fix it,
little brother.” Dara pinched his cheek and was off.

Fawn

There was
a hubbub in the WLUV newsroom. Gordon had defected to the competition and he’d
taken Chud with him!

Fawn had
no idea how he pulled it off. He was a has-been at WLUV and yet, somehow, he’d
made the leap to WBPN, the perennial number one. Sure, their team had been
coming after WBPN, and even nipped their heels sometimes, but the other station
was still at the top of the heap in Grand City news.

“I don’t
know either, but honestly? Good riddance.” Wes was talking to Macy before Fawn
was set to go on the evening news.

“He’d been
working without a contract for six months, and I was debating what to do next.”
Macy explained, “Sure, I would have liked a head’s up, but I’m not going to
miss his attitude either. Besides, he hasn’t turned in a good story in a year.”

“They
probably just hired him to get to us. It’s a compliment. They’re noticing what
we’re doing and trying to stop it.” Fawn added.

Macy stood
up and used her remote control to turn up the volume on the television she had
tuned to WBPN. “Or there’s a blockbuster story he took with him.”

The deep
voice of a booth announcer blared as quick scenes flashed by, promoting an
upcoming “expose.”

“A
powerful man…”

“A famous
woman…”

“And an
illicit affair that could rock Grand City. Tune in at six as respected Grand
City newsman Gordon Chancelor comes to WBPN with a story so scandalous he could
only tell it on The News Leader…”

The screen
was packed with stock shots of high heels, a men’s necktie, and a quick shot of
city hall. Fawn filled with dread. What the hell was this?

Then her
cell phone began to buzz.

“Well that
was salacious as hell.” Wes said.

“No
kidding. Did he catch someone in the act?” Macy and Wes continued to banter
back and forth as Fawn headed out to the set for WLUV’s own newscast.

She
planned to air the last of her stories from Belize, this one explained the
process by which the sugar cane refinery would select a site for its operation,
and begin to pump investment into the economy of Grand City.

On the way
to the anchor desk, her phone buzzed again, it was Gordon. She answered.

“Hiya
Fawn. Just wanted to be sure you didn’t miss my story on WBPN tonight. I know
you’ll be on news desk so you might.”

“Gordon,
what the hell are you talking about?” Fawn clipped her microphone to her lapel
as she held the phone between her ear and shoulder.

“Don’t
worry, we’re going to put it online as well so everyone can see it— over and
over again. Chud got some great shots, sort of behind-the-scenes of Belize.
Enjoy anchoring tonight by the way. It might just be your final broadcast.”

“Gordon?”
The line went dead. He’d hung up.

Fawn did
what she could do better than anyone else: she ignored her emotions, her rising
panic, and her suspicions about Gordon’s big story, and anchored her own
broadcast flawlessly.

**

Brick sat
in his office with his advisors as the WBPN story played out on the flat screen
TV on the wall. The reporter, Gordon Chancelor, made him seem terrible,
criminal, evil.

“While the
public trusted Mayor Brick Cooper to fight for Grand City in his much-hyped
economic development trip to Belize, Cooper spent much of his time between the
sheets with local news anchor Fawn Clawson.”

A picture
of Fawn and Brick holding hands on the Victoria Peak flashed on the screen.
Another appeared of them hugging. Both were moments that they’d let their guard
down, both were moments accidentally captured on Chud’s camera.

Then a
tiled face with a disguised voice appeared for an interview with Gordon, it was
clearly Chud’s frame.

“I saw him
come out of her room multiple times and it was clear that he’d never left the
night before.”

“And this
video clearly shows the mayor leaving Fawn Clawson’s home just yesterday, well
after business hours.”

Gordon
appeared on the screen, then. He was at Grand City University with a professor.
“Should the taxpayer be concerned? Not even one month into his term Brick
Cooper is flying to a tropical resort under the guise of economic development when,
in fact, he’s having a tryst on our dime?”

Chancelor
cloaked himself as a crusading reporter,
defending the public against government waste. Fawn was depicted as a slut.
Cooper was the stereotypical skirt-chasing politician.

Gordon
also interviewed former News Director Allan Alder, who said “I had to let her
go for WBPN years ago for this same thing. It does show a pattern.”

“The mayor
is a grown man and entitled to his personal life, but, in this case, a junket
to a tropical country while supposedly on city business? Those are actions that
deserve answers. I’m Gordon Chancelor and Your News Leader will hold the
politician’s feet to the fire….”

A flaming
“Feet to the Fire” type logo appeared on the side of the screen and the WBPN
anchors were on.

“Great
report, Gordon, and welcome to WBPN. Mayor Brick Cooper is set to have a news
conference tomorrow at noon. We’ll be there covering it live. You can count on
Your News Leader to get the answers.”

Brick
turned off the television. “Where did he get all this? This wasn’t funded by
taxpayers at all! In fact, what wasn’t funded privately came out of my own
pocket, we explained that at the beginning.”

“No one
remembers that, Brick. What they remember is you and that tasty news anchor
Fawn Clawson.” Brick’s first partner and closest ally John Delany was now his
Chief of Staff.

“Don’t
talk about her that way.”

“So is it
true? Were you guys shacking up?”

“Yes. But
it’s not like that.” Brick didn’t know where to start with the mess he’d just
seen on WBPN.

“We’re
going to have to go over your responses at tomorrow’s news conference.”

“Let ‘em
ask me what they want.” Brick was already on the phone trying to get ahold of
Fawn.

No answer
on her cell, no answer at her house. Brick needed to get to her but didn’t know
how.

Fawn

Fawn
watched the story on her WBPN smartphone app. WLUV didn’t have an app yet, and
they’d need to get one, she thought absently.

As she
watched the story on the little phone screen, she understood exactly what
Gordon had done, and somehow gotten Chud to do. She wasn’t surprised by Gordon,
the evil SOB, but she was hurt by Chud. Selling her out like that was a shitty
thing to do. She’d liked the kid. It was her own fault, though. He had only
worked at WLUV for a few short weeks, this was his first assignment. He had no
real loyalty to the station, or to her.

Fawn
didn’t head to the newsroom after her newscast was finished. Like always, she’d
brought her bag to the set, so she just made a beeline to the parking lot. She
didn’t want to face Macy, or Wes, or anyone.

She needed
to be gone, disappear. Of course, she was fired. Of course, this would all be
her fault. And of course, the Mayor would land on his feet. She started
wondering how she was going to support herself.  How would she pay for mom’s
care? It was her worst nightmare come to life, all over again. There was only
once place to go.

Her phone
buzzed and she ignored it. It was Brick’s number.

**

“Of course
we’re sending someone. And you can bet your ass we’re suing the hell out of
WBPN, that footage from the trip is our property. They’ve got no rights to it
whatsoever.” Macy Green was on the other end of the line the next day as Brick
Cooper called everyone he could think of to locate Fawn. She’d disappeared.

“I just
want to be sure you’re going to broadcast it live. It’s my only shot.”

“We are. 
Even if we’re also at the center of this story, we can’t ignore that you’re
going to have to address allegations. Unfortunately, it’s news.” Macy
explained.

“It’s just
if you know where Fawn is, please let her know I’m trying to reach her.”

“I wish I
did. She left me a message that she resigned, and she’s not returning my
calls.”

“Would she
be fired if she didn’t resign?” Brick asked. He didn’t want to believe he’d
cost Fawn her job a second time.

“I’ve
thought a lot about it in the last 24 hours, but no, certainly not. Her stories
were solid, packed with opposition to your plans. They were even, balanced
pieces. Do I wish you two didn’t hook up? Yes. Will I send her on any upcoming
trips with you? No.”

“That’s
good to know. She’s the best anchor in this town. Anywhere, really. And not
just because I’m biased.” Brick added.

“Yeah you
are. But you’re also right. Look for Bernie Manfred to be firing questions at
you today. I’m fresh out of reporters that you haven’t danced with, been
rumored to be having an affair with, or actually had an affair with. If you’ve
ever hooked up with Bernie maybe now’s the time to let me know.”

“Once, in
the 90s. We were drunk.”

“Mr.
Mayor, if you survive this term it will be a miracle.” Macy hung up.

At least
the stations were going to be covering this live. It was Brick’s only hope of
getting his message out, unfiltered, unedited, and unspun by any of them.

**

Mayor
Brick Cooper was still so damn handsome, why did that always pop into her mind?
Fawn, who prided herself at not falling for every handsome man, was just like
any other stupid teenage girl. Shame washed over her every few seconds.

Macy had
found Fawn at Bernie’s and had insisted she watch the news conference from the
live truck parked outside of city hall. Fawn had only agreed because Bernie
needed help. He was tasked with saving the reputation of WLUV when it came to
this mess of a story. She owed WLUV and miraculously, they wanted her help—
they’d insisted on it. But she drew the line at going on the air right now.

Macy had
earned Bernie’s trust, and in the end he was the one who’d given Fawn up. When
Macy appeared on the Manfred’s doorstep, Fawn had no choice but to listen.

It was
easy to see the network reporter in her boss in that the woman wouldn’t take no
for an answer. The last time this happened was the worst day of Fawn’s life.
This time, with Macy’s support, Fawn had a small ray of hope that her career
might be salvaged. Macy was not going to fire her, but Fawn still didn’t know
how she was supposed to anchor the news anymore after being the subject of it.
How could anyone trust her if they believed her to be the floozy sleeping with
the mayor? Her face flushed hot with embarrassment at what she imagined the
residents of Grand City thought of her now.