Jackpot! (33 page)

“Shit!” I heard Richard say, but I couldn’t see him because I was lip locked. I found out later, Richard jumped out of his seat and quickly got behind the camera to take over Drew’s job. The next thing I heard was applause. The entire crew started clapping and cheering.

“Sign off!” Richard shouted.

I broke away from the embrace, held the mic up, and said to the audience, struggling not to giggle too much, “Sorry about that. Have a wonderful day. For WGB, I’m Jamie Jacobson.”

“Go to credits!” shouted Richard.

“Forgive me?” I asked Drew.

“You bet,” he said with a big grin.

Although deathly afraid to look at the temporary camera man, I did. Surprisingly, Richard smiled and gave me a wink. When he walked out of the studio, I said to Drew, “Think they’ll give me my job back?”

“Of course. You just gave Chicago some outstanding live drama. Watch out. Our ratings are about to explode!”

“I don’t care about ratings,” I said with a grin, “All I care about is you.”

Drew kissed me again and at that moment, I realized something. I was the one who just won the lottery.

From
The Chicago Tribune, Faces and Places section, October 15, 2011.

 

LOVE IS ON THE AIR

 

Local Lottery Host Declares Love for camera operator on air

 

Jamie Jacobson, WGB’s mid-day lottery host, whose mother won the lottery a few weeks ago shocked viewers with her announcement at the end of yesterday’s lottery drawing that she was in love with Drew Conrad, the camera operator she works with…

Chapter 40

“Let’s go back to your place and have make-up sex,” Drew whispered in my ear while we walked back to my office after the lottery.

We wanted to be alone. We had so much to talk about, and we had no privacy at the station since everyone had begun swarming us, congratulating us and asking us questions about how we ended up together.

A few minutes later we managed to sneak out of WGB. We hailed a cab and made out in the back seat the entire way to my apartment. The kissing even continued while we walked through the lobby.

“Jamie, nice going!” Rick, the doorman called to me as we passed the front desk.

“Thanks, Rick!” I shouted with a giggle. Then I went right back to mauling Drew. We got into the elevator and kissed all the way up to my apartment. My home phone was ringing when we walked in.

“I think we should get right down to business,” said Drew, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder, “Let’s get the sex out of the way and then we can talk.”

“I totally agree,” I said with a giggle, having a hard time talking while upside down.

We had crazy, mad, passionate, love hate sex (although the hate part was just for dramatic purposes. We didn’t hate each other, obviously.) And then we talked. I told Drew about my mother’s breast cancer and how I’d found out about it.

“Is she going to be okay?” he asked.

“Yes, and she’s going to want to meet you, so get ready.”

“I’m up for it. The girl you marry turns into her mother as she ages. So, it’s important to see what I’m going to get.”

“So you think you’re going to marry me?”

“Yup,” he said with a smile, “Unless I hate your mother.”

“You won’t,” I answered, tears now in my eyes, “You won’t.”

We fell asleep in each other’s arms for awhile, and when I woke up I was so happy that this whole day wasn’t a dream. What had happened at the station was real. Getting Drew back was real.

Feeling more relaxed and at peace than I could ever remember, I slipped into an old pair of jeans and a sweater, and snuck out of the bedroom so I wouldn’t wake up Drew. I retrieved my
Blackberry
from my purse and giggled when I saw I had eighteen missed calls.

Frankie took the lead, attempting to phone me eight times. Danny was next with four attempts, and the rest were from friends and reporters.

I called my mother back first. “Hi, Ma…”

“Oh my God! Honey, I’m so happy for you!” The drama queen was in her glory.

“Thank you, Ma,” I giggled.

“He’s so cute! When do I get to meet him?”

“Soon Ma, soon.”

“How about tonight?”

“Give me a couple days,” I requested, “There’s something else I need to take care of.”

I talked to her a little while longer, asking how she was feeling and if she needed anything, to which she replied, “Yes, I need a wedding!”

My next call was to Danny. “Holy shit, Jamie!” was how he answered his phone.

“Can you believe it?”

“I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks,” I smiled.

“Listen, I’ve gotten some calls from reporters.”

“I knew you would. I hope you’re saying ‘no comment.’”

“I have to,” he said, “If I say one word to anyone, there’s absolutely no chance Courtney will ever come around.”

“I understand,” I said, “Have you talked to her? Did she get the flowers?”

“I’m sure she did, but she still won’t call me back. I’ve left so many messages,” he said sadly.

“Keep trying.”

“I am. Actually, I’m at the
Hallmark
store right now. Do you think those cards with the songs in them are stupid?”

I smiled sadly. My poor brother… “No, I don’t.”

“Thanks.”

Just as I hung up the phone, I felt Drew’s arms wrap around my waist. “What should we do for dinner?” he asked, “I’m starved.”

“Listen, Drew, I have to go somewhere.”

“Where?”

“I’ll explain later. It’s really important. Will you stay here and be here when I get back?”

“Sure,” he smiled.

Fifteen minutes later, I was standing on Armitage Avenue, looking into the window of
You Sexy Thing, You
. It was almost 6:00 and the store would be closing then. I watched Courtney working. She was showing a woman several different bras. I could tell she was trying to act happy, but she didn’t fool me. She was acting robotically, seeming depressed, defeated almost.

I took a deep breath and walked in. When the door opened, Courtney turned around to greet who she thought was a last minute customer. When she saw it was me standing in the doorway, however, her pleasant welcoming smile instantly turned to a cold frown. Her eyes got smaller and it made me scared of her.

I smiled nervously and waved. She ignored me. I felt like she hated me. Could I blame her? I wondered if she’d seen or heard about the lottery earlier. If so, it obviously didn’t change her opinion of me.

An older guy approached her. “I like this, but two hundred dollars? Come on…” he said, holding up a nightgown.

“How much did you want to spend?” Courtney asked politely.

“Less than a hundred.”

“What a cheapskate,” I mumbled under my breath, feeling sorry for the girl who was getting a gift from this guy. I waited while Courtney showed him some other options. A few minutes later, Big Bucks finally decided on a white cotton tank top and pants that were on sale for seventy nine dollars. I felt like telling him he was making a huge mistake, but for my own good I kept my mouth shut while Courtney rang up the sale and said good-bye. The second the guy was out the door, her gracious demeanor turned ice-cold.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. It was hard to believe that this was the same girl, who just a few nights earlier had said to me, “I’m so glad we ran into you guys! I had so much fun!” She had gone from treating me like a really good friend, to acting like the sight of me disgusted her.

“I was hoping we could talk,” I said.

“What’s there to talk about? All I have to do is read the tabloids tomorrow and I can find out all about you.”

“I take it you saw the lottery.”

“It’s all over facebook.”

“Really?”

“It doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

“I understand. Can I talk to you about Danny?”

“Why bother? He’s a liar, just like you.”

Ouch. This was worse than I thought.

“Look,” Courtney continued, “Save yourself the time and energy. I have no interest in associating with you or your brother ever again. You both disgust me.”

I stood there not knowing what to do. And then, it got worse. Horrifying, actually. Courtney put her head down and began to sob. I wondered if I should hug her, but I was afraid.

“Please, just leave me alone,” she managed to say through tears.

I turned to go. It was over. We had hurt this girl too much for her to ever let it go.

“I’m really sorry,” I said softly. Then I walked out, feeling helplessness and defeat like never before. And that’s when I saw John walking toward me, waving and smiling. My ex-husband looked different. I barely recognized him, in fact. John, who was once a hot babe was now balding and a little on the chubby side.

“Hey! It’s Miss Celebrity!” he exclaimed. Then he hugged me.

I stood there frozen.

“Due, you’re all over YouTube. You look amazing, way better than when we were married!”

“Thanks,” I responded in an unemotional tone.

“When I saw the video I almost died!” He went on and on about how he was sure I would end up on Jay Leno, and how he hoped I wouldn’t talk about him because he had a reputation to protect.

I wasn’t really listening because all I could think about was Courtney, a wonderful woman who was just a few feet away from me, the girl my brother loved, and let’s be honest, the girl I loved, too. I had to do something. I had to get rid of this loser in front of me and run back in there.

“Listen, I don’t mean to be rude but I really have to go,” I said to John.

“Alright, but hey…” he grabbed my shoulders and that’s when I noticed a wedding ring on his left hand.

“Are you married again?” I asked.

“Oh…yeah” he said, nonchalantly, “But back to you. You’re something else! You’re famous! If you ever need a warm body in the middle of the night, I live on North Avenue and Damen, and I’m listed.” He added with a creepy chuckle, “My wife travels a lot.”

I was stunned for a moment, and then I got my second wind.

“John,” I said with a sugary smile.

“Yeah?” he flirted.

“You’re such a schmuck.” Then I rolled my shoulders back, held my head high, and marched back toward the door of
You Sexy Thing, You.

“Fame’s really gone to your head!” John shouted, “Bitch!”

I never turned around to respond. He wasn’t worth it. Instead, I opened the door to the store and walked back in. I looked around for Courtney and called her name. Her head popped up from across the room. She was sitting on the floor on the other side of the store folding some underwear and putting them in drawers. I noticed that she’d stopped crying, but her eyes were really red and her mascara was a little bit smeared. I walked over and knelt down beside her. Gently, I asked, “Will you go somewhere with me?”