Traffic & Weather

by Magnolia Robbins

  “One minute to air,” the producer announced. “Camera three, ready your shot.”

  “This is for real Dawn, don’t screw it up,” Liz said in my ear, and I fought the urge to fire a retort. Instead, I readied myself. Kate and I met eyes for a moment, and she gave me a dirty look.

  “5...4...3...2..” The producer gave the cue to Kate, and she erupted into a smile.

  “And an early good morning to you, Los Angeles,” Kate said brightly. “This is an exciting morning for us here at Rise and Shine. We have a brand new co-host today, which I’m sure many of you will recognize from her vast achievements in the journalism field. Dawn, it’s great to have you here today.”

  I nodded, looking down at the script in front of me. The news was next. Instead of returning the banter, I continued on. “In the news this morning. Police are still investigating the string of gang-related homicides in the city.”

  “Shit, Dawn,” I heard Liz’s voice in my ear as I spoke. “Fade in the graphics, hurry please.” I continued on, ignoring them. Before Kate could intervene with the next news story, I continued on until I’d finished with all of them. The camera cut back out to the two of us together, and Kate cleared her throat.

  “Thank you for our local news updates,” Kate said, forcing a smile. “When we come back, a look at the forecast and then some latest celebrity gossip from reporter Jenny Fraiser.”

  As soon as we cut to commercial, I saw Liz storm out from the control room. Kate was already yelling before she even got to me. “I see Dawn has decided to fly solo with the news,” she said, directing her focus on Liz.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Liz said to me, and I shrugged.

  “Reporting the news,” I replied, looking down to the scripts again.

  “Please cooperate,” Liz said calmly, placing her hand on the desk. I gave her a casual glance but didn’t respond. Seeing her all hot and bothered gave me a sense of satisfaction. I fought the urge to egg her on more. Finally, she turned and walked back behind the glass windows of the control room. I watched her walk away, lusting after her. Not the least bit phased by her anger.

  The rest of the show went about as I expected to. It was littered with ridiculous filler and cringe-worthy segments I wanted nothing to do with. For the most part, I let Kate do the talking. Even when we were supposed to be bantering back and forth, I found I had very little to say. Mostly I just nodded along.

  When the shows ended, I could tell my decisions had stressed out the majority of the production team but I didn’t really care.

  “I can’t work like this!” Kate yelled loudly to the control room as she removed her lapel. As soon as she had, she stormed off the set without another word.

  Liz stood in the hallway, glaring at me. “Your dressing room. Now.”

  I removed my lapel and set it on the desk before I skirted around it. I made sure to take my time as I made my way to Liz. She looked annoyed as she could be. We walked together in silence to my room, and after she followed in behind me, she slammed the door.

  There was a cake sitting on a cart in the center of the room. It read “Welcome Dawn!” in bright obnoxious blue letters. Probably a terrible tasting sheet cake from a grocery chain nearby. I wouldn’t dare eat it.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Liz said as I turned around to meet her glance. The two of us stood with the cake separating us. I’d never seen her look so angry in the short time I’d known her.

  “I told you, I had some issues with the script,” I replied, calmly.

  “Your ‘issues’ with the script do not warrant your terrible behavior out there,” Liz said firmly. “We have a show to do. I swear, I’ve never seen someone act so childish in my life.”

  “Childish?” I scoffed, feeling slightly offended. “This whole terrible excuse of a news show is what’s childish.”

  “I don’t care what you think about it, you’re here to do a job. You’re required to do your job. Whether you agree with it or not.” When she looked at me, I couldn’t help but stare at her pursed lips.

  “I’m a news reporter,” I replied. “I’m a Pulitzer, Peabody, and Emmy winning news reporter. I refused to be demeaned to this bottom of the barrel trash television.”

  “What did you just say?” Liz glared at me.

  “I said I refuse to be demeaned to this bottom of the barrel trash television.”

  I could see her snap when I said it. What I didn’t expect was the fist full of cake thrown at me. It hit my face and fell down to the floor in a giant glob. I could feel the sticky sugary icing clump on my cheek. “That’s what I think of your pretentious high-and-mighty attitude.”

  Another scoop of cake smooshed in my hand smacked on the side of her face. I smeared it down her cheek, feeling satisfied as the blue icing left a streak. “And that’s what I think about your garbage television show.”

  Liz scoffed at me, taking two hands full of cake and sliding them down the front of my clean white cotton blouse. There was an outfit I’d never wear again. I could feel my anger boiling to the surface. I reciprocated, leaving crumbles of the chalky white cake falling down her body.

  We stared at one another for a long moment, neither of us speaking. Liz pushed another handful of cake against the side of my face, rubbing it in. I moved swiftly around the cart.

  “I swear you make me crazy,” Liz said, staring into my eyes. Her gaze had softened slightly. We moved together seamlessly, or lips crashing together as our bodies fell down on the couch in my room. I could taste the obnoxiously sweet icing on her tongue, but I didn’t care. Our mouths stayed together until we both couldn’t breathe. When I finally broke for air, my lips trailed to the side of Liz’s neck.

  I heard her gasp as her hands roamed down my body. Her fingers raked through my skirt into the skin of my backside, somewhat aggressively. It only fueled me further, as I bit down into the flesh of her neck. She let out a soft moan.

  “Tell me how much I drive you crazy,” I said, whispering in her ear.

  “So much,” Liz said before our lips came together again. Our tongues chased one another for a moment before I felt Liz ripping at my blouse.

  Just as she did, there was a knock at the door. We scattered, quickly. Fighting the overwhelming heat in my loins, I moved swiftly to the door, opening it a crack. It was the producer from the show this morning. He studied me curiously for a moment. I tried my best to act casual, ignoring my disheveled state.

  “We’re about to shoot promos,” he replied. “Have you seen Liz?”

  “I think she went upstairs for a moment,” I said calmly, running a hand through my hair. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  After I’d shut the door again and turned back towards Liz, I noticed she was adjusting herself. She pulled a napkin and a bottled water off the tray with the cake, walking to the mirror to clean herself up. I watched her quietly, fighting the urge to walk straight back to her and take her right on the dresser. Instead, I refrained.

  When she finished a minute later, she turned to look at me. “Dawn,” she replied, her face as stoic as she could force it to be. I could tell by the look in her eyes that we were both fighting the same urges.

  “Liz,” I replied. And then I watched her in silence as she headed swiftly out the door. Just as she was about to shut it behind her, she turned to look at me.

  “Behave yourself,” she said firmly, and I couldn’t help but smirk as she left.

  Chapter 5

  Liz

  For the next few days, the only contact between Dawn and I was flirtatious glances and the occasional and likely intentional brush-bys on set. She’d seemed to become a little more cooperative as the days went by, settling into her role. There was still no banter between her and Kate, and she refused to give up announcing the news each hour. However, it was better than nothing, so I let it slide.

  Marty took my ideas into consideration, and we switched around some of the segments to try to create a better flow. It seemed as though it
was working and everyone was onboard.

  That was until I met with Tyler the following Monday.

  “The ratings aren’t improving,” he said flatly, showing me the paperwork. “We need them to improve Liz. There’s not a whole lot of time left on the clock before we give that time slot up to a national game show reruns and national talk shows. We don’t have the funding to keep it going.”

  “I need a little bit longer. I’m just getting started,” I argued, but he didn’t look convinced.

  “You have one more week,” he said. “I need to start seeing improvement, or I’m going to have to pull the plug. I’m sorry I brought you into a trainwreck. It really isn’t your fault.”

  “It’s not a trainwreck,” I argued, getting to my feet. “One week. You’ve got yourself a deal.” Even with my forced optimism, I was starting to feel truly worried.

  The minute I got back to the studio that afternoon, I sat down at my desk, staring at the computer blankly for a while. Marty eventually walked by and tapped me on the shoulder.

  “Everything okay, kid?” He offered me a smile. After I explained what had happened at the meeting, he scratched the back of his neck. “Can’t say I’m all that surprised.”

  “I don’t know what we’re going to do,” I admitted, thumbing through a stack of new stories on my desk. “Tyler seems really hard-pressed to shut the show down. We’re going to have to have a miracle this week.”

  “Well, we’ll have to figure something out then,” Marty said matter-of-factly, sitting down in his cubicle next to mine.

  I spent the entire day working alongside Marty. Trying to figure out what we could do differently to draw in more viewers. Viewers who were likely watching all the other show. I watched reruns of old episodes from every other station in the LA area. I looked at every news story I could get my hands on. Called every resource I knew for people to interview on the show. Finally, after I’d exhausted all my options, it was going on dinnertime.

  “Alright Ms. Mudd, I’m headed out,” Marty said finally, giving up his efforts. I turned to look at him and smiled. “Don’t you have a boyfriend to go to dinner with or friends to meet or something?”

  “No girlfriend, not a lot of friends. One sister. She’ll be there when I get home.”

  “Girlfriend, ah, shouldn’t have assumed,” Marty smiled, scratching his chin.

  “You’re fine,” I returned the smile. “Just don’t have the time for all of that.”

  “You really should let yourself have a little fun y’know,” Marty said as he put on his jacket. “Life’s too short to work all the time. Gotta get out there and socialize.”

  “I love it,” I replied, letting my hands glaze over the stack of news reports on my desk. “I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

  Marty laughed and patted my shoulder as he headed out. The evening staff was diligently working to prepare for the five o’clock news. I continued working quietly at my desk. Just as I was about to give up for the night, the thought occurred to me. The thought that wouldn’t have come unless Marty had said something.

  “Social media!” I explained the next day at the production meeting. “I want to start using social media in our broadcasts. The other stations don’t use it. We can have viewers text in or use other social media to report news, thoughts, ideas.. I think it would be great. We can get them engaged with our show.”

  Everyone seemed to have perked up to the idea. Everyone except for Dawn, who looked completely unenthusiastic.

  “Shouldn’t we just report the news?” Dawn argued finally. “I don’t understand the need for all this fancy gadgetry having to be involved.”

  “It’s important,” I argued, but she didn’t seem satisfied. Finally, I couldn’t help myself. “Tyler is threatening to shut the show down at the end of this week if we don’t get our ratings up.” The room went quiet. I continued. “I’m resorting to drastic measures. I think this would help our ratings, so we’re doing it. End of story.”

  We exchanged glances briefly, and I couldn’t judge her expression. I turned to the rest of the room, who looked somewhat discouraged. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let us get shut down. We’re going to figure this out. Let’s give this a try and see how it works, okay?” The group seemed to be in agreement.

  As we drew close to the first show, I noticed that Dawn seemed to be in a stranger mood than normal. I couldn’t quite place a finger on it until the broadcast started and she’d started bantering with Kate.

  “Good morning Los Angeles! I’m Kate Walker.”

  “And I’m Dawn Reynolds. It’s looking as though it’s going to be a lovely day today in southern California, don’t you agree Kate?”

  Kate looked stunned for a moment, unsure of how to reply. Finally, she continued. The two chatted for a moment before Dawn started off the news segment. There was a silence after the first piece when she turned to look at Kate and nodded.

  The camera switched to Kate, and she read the second news story, completely baffled. I couldn’t take my eyes off Dawn nearly the entire broadcast. Every segment, she participated. Every news story, she shared with Kate. It was as if she’d turned into an entirely different person.

  At the end of the broadcast, the camera returned to Dawn and Kate, who closed out by introducing the new social media aspect of the show. “For the remainder of the week, we’ll be taking your suggestions on social media for news stories and segments you’d like to see. Your comments and ideas will have a chance to be featured on our show.” Dawn turned to Kate.

  “We welcome any suggestions and hope that you will consider helping our show help you, the viewer.”

  “Till tomorrow, have a great day Los Angeles. Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye,” Kate echoed after Dawn before the camera cut to the flyout logo.

  The entire room erupted into applause. Dawn looked as if nothing had happened, that offput look to her face once more. I watched her as she undid her lapel and sat it on the desk. As she walked off the set towards her dressing room, my eyes wandered to her hips swaying and those long creamy white legs stuffed in flashy red high heels. It wasn’t long till I found myself wandering after her.

  I knocked on her dressing room door and heard her call out for me to come in. As soon as I met glances with her, she gave me a curious look. When I shut the door behind me, she looked even more perplexed. I moved towards her until we were standing nearly together, resting my hand on her vanity. It had been the first time in almost a week we had been alone. Ever since the cake incident.

  By the way she was looking at me, she’d come to the same conclusion. “Can I help you, Ms. Mudd?” There was the faintest curve of a smile to her lips when she spoke. I could almost feel her moving in closer to me, but it may have been my imagination.

  “I just wanted to say thank you,” I replied. I felt her fingers brush my hand when I spoke and it sent a shiver down my spine. I swallowed before I spoke again. “Thank you for today's show. It meant a lot to me.”

  “I have no earthly idea to what you are referring to, but you’re welcome.” By the look on her face, I could tell she knew exactly what I was talking about but was being modest. Again, she inched closer to me. “However, if you really want to thank me, I imagine you can do better than that.”

  My heart started to race a little in my chest. We met eyes, and she drew closer still. There was no space between us. I could feel her body just grazing on mine. Our faces were so close together I could feel her breath tickling my skin. Before I could stop myself, I leaned into her, pressing my lips against hers softly. I felt her tongue come into my mouth, and her hands wrap onto the side of my face. We pushed against one another. All at once, all I wanted was to feel her naked skin against mine, like it had been the week before.

  Instead, I settled for a surprisingly tender kiss. When we broke, I backed away from her a small bit, as much as I didn’t want to.

  “This isn’t happening again,” I replied, firmly. Suddenly the memory of be
ing abandoned came rushing back to me. “Not without a proper date.”

  “A date?” Dawn seemed almost perplexed at the idea. “I haven’t been on a date in years.”

  “It’s either a date or this stops. One or the other.”

  Dawn looked surprised, to say the least. She pondered for a moment and then broke away from me another step. When she didn’t answer, I figured I got my answer. It stung a little, but I wasn’t completely surprised.

  “Okay then,” I replied, turning partially towards her dressing room door. “I’m going to go.”

  Admittedly I was in a terrible mood the rest of the day. By the time I’d gotten back to the guest house that evening, I was actually relieved to be home. The previous weekend, Kathy and I had moved most of my things from my apartment in Santa Barbara to her guest house, deciding I’d stay there for a while until I got settled at the new job. Part of me didn’t want to get an apartment in Los Angeles, in fear this job would go south.

  Kathy met me at the door of the guest house. “I made dinner,” she replied, and I followed her through the back door of her house. It smelled divine. Baked chicken, one of my most favorite meals. “What’s the occasion?” I asked curiously.

  “You’ve just been working really hard, I thought I’d make a treat. There’s key lime pie for dessert, too.”

  “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

  We spent the majority of the evening chatting and eating. It was surprising how much better of a mood I was in by the time my stomach had some food, and I’d drank a couple glasses of wine.

  “How’s the one lady,” Kathy asked me. “Dawn? Is that her name?”

  The mention of her sent my stomach into fits. I nodded. “She’s fine.”

  “You two haven’t, y’know, hooked up again?” Kathy gave me a grin. When I didn’t give an enthusiastic response, she looked concerned. “That bad huh?”