Suddenly Sexy (22 page)

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Authors: Linda Francis Lee

Tags: #Women television journalists, #Man-woman relationships, #Single women, #Contemporary, #General, #Romance, #Adult, #Fiction, #Athletes, #Texas, #Love stories

BOOK: Suddenly Sexy
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To: Julia Boudreaux
From: Katherine Bloom

Subject: re: Meeting
Julia, give
me a second. I have a
quick e-mail to send. Then I'll be
there.
K
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To: Vern Leeper

From: Katherine Bloom @
ktextv.com>
Subject: Golf tournament
DearVern:
As I recall, Jesse Chapman played in a tournament several weeks
ago.
The Westchester Open,
I believe. Could you get me any video of Jesse at
that event?
I'd greatly appreciate it.
Best, Kate
Katherine C. Bloom
News Anchor, KTEX TV West Texas
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

EIGHTEEN
"Kate, I'm really sorry about this."
Kate felt dizzy as she absorbed the words.
"But we have no choice but to cancel
Getting
Real with Kate
."
Pride forced Kate not to clutch the arms of the chair while she sat
through every long ticking minute
of explanation as to why her show was
being canceled. "I know you are, Julia," she managed.
"The auditors were breathing down my neck—"
"Julia, really, you've explained. And I know you wouldn't do this if
you didn't feel it absolutely necessary."
Her best friend sat across from her, looking worried and equally
devastated by the turn of events. Thankfully, the phone rang, and when
the owner of KTEX TV answered it, Kate used it as an excuse
to leave.
She stood and walked with measured control out of the office, only
hesitating when she saw Chloe.
The station manager looked at her with concern. Chloe had known. Kate
saw it
in her eyes.
Feeling a flash of betrayal that they had been talking about her behind
her back, Kate headed for the
door, not stopping when Chloe called
after her.
Deep down Kate understood that the owner and station manager would talk
business, had to talk business. But not quite so deep down, at a
shallow place, she felt like the odd man left out.
Wanting a distraction, needing a distraction, she whispered the names
of the presidents.
"Washington, George. Adams, John." Concentrating on the names, she
caught her not-so-sensible high heel in a crack in the parking lot,
then fumbled with her key in the car lock. She got to "Monroe, James"
before she fell into the sensible velour bucket seat of her sensible,
no-nonsense vehicle—like falling back into the place she had been
before Jesse came home.
It had finally happened. The cut swift and startling, though ultimately
not surprising. She really had failed. The viewing audience hadn't
liked her when she was serious. They liked her even less when she was
wnserious. Which left her with the not so great thought that they
didn't like her at all.
She refused to sink into self-pity, so she forced herself on to listing
state capitals. She started with Alaska— both for its geographic
location and its appealingly ordered first letter of A. She wouldn't go
to a mall or smother her misery in a huge plate of barbecue and cole
slaw. She would go home.
She needed to get her thoughts in order. Because she realized that
Julia hadn't said anything about what would come next. Had the pity in
Chloe's eyes been because it was more than just canceling
Getting Real.
Were they firing her?
Kate thought she might get sick right there in the parking lot. But she
wouldn't go down without doing everything in her power to survive.
There had to be something that could save her job. And the only
way to
do that was to come up with an alternate plan. Something that she could
do and that would work on local television.
Her fingers curled around the steering wheel as she stared beyond the
windshield, not seeing anything
but the churn of thoughts in her mind.
What would El Paso want to see? What did she know enough about to
showcase convincingly? Who could she find that met both of these
criteria?
It hit her then, bright and clear like a West Texas summer sky. She
understood what she could do.
Her answer.
The solution, and it lay with Jesse Chapman.
A shiver of concern raced through her when she thought about the fact
that she had told Jesse that she loved him—and he hadn't responded. Was
she deluding herself that things could work out?
She couldn't worry about that right now. She had a job to save.
Sliding the sedan into gear, she wheeled out of the KTEX TV parking
lot, taking I-10 instead of Mesa Street, making it home in record time.
But when she pulled into the driveway, Jesse's Jeep wasn't there.
She threw the gearshift into reverse, then drove to the golf course.
When she didn't find him there, she drove to a golf supply store. She
even wheeled through the Home
Depot parking lot, looking for his black Jeep. But Jesse was nowhere to
be found.
With every mile she drove, she thought of how Jesse had told Travis
that he needed to be himself. And that was exactly what she needed to
do. She had to be herself. As silly and trite as it sounded, that was
exactly what she had to start doing.
She felt almost giddy at the realization that she had to stop trying to
be sexy or smart or any of the things she wrapped around herself so she
didn't have to dig deep to find out who she really was. Kate Bloom.
A
newswoman who could give Julia her ratings, help Travis with his
friends, and at the same time give
the public sports programs the
funding they deserved.
She just had to convince Julia. She also had to convince El Paso's very
own prodigal son of the part she needed him to play in her plan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To: Julia Boudreaux
From: Katherine Bloom

Subject: Idea
Julia! I
have an idea. A great
idea for a new segment. Something that
will please us all. Just give
me one last chance and I promise to
deliver.
Kate
Katherine C. Bloom
News Anchor, KTEX TV West Texas (Hopefully still)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To: Chloe Sinclair @
ktextv.com>
From: Julia Boudreaux

Subject: Relief
Chloe, I
just heard from Kate. She
hasn't gone off and done something
drastic, as you feared,
but she actually sounds excited about some new plan of hers. Can you
buy us some time with
the
auditors?
Jules
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To: Julia Boudreaux
From: Chloe Sinclair

Subject: Excitement?
About what?
Whatever it is, don't
screw it up, Jules. And yes, I can
eke out a bit of time.
Chloe Sinclair
Station Manager
Award-winning KTEXTV
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To: Katherine Bloom
From: Julia Boudreaux

Subject: Idea?
What is it,
Kate? What kind of
idea? If you want to talk in person, why
don't we go to dinner tonight?
xo, j
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To: Julia Boudreaux
From: Katherine Bloom

Subject: Can't
... do
dinner, but thanks anyway.
Too much to do. As to my idea, I
mentioned it because I didn't want you writing me off too soon. Let me
put it together first. Then I'll surprise you. Also, have
you heard
from Jesse recently? I've looked all over for him, but can't find him.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

To: Katherine Bloom
From: Julia Boudreaux

Subject: Fine
I guess
I'll be the one who has to
endure the surprise this time.
Serves me right. As to Jesse,
I heard he was meeting with
Bobby Mac today at Bobby's Place.
Keep me posted,
xo, j
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

NINETEEN
Kate wheeled along Mesa Street. She drove up the undulating hills as
fast as she could. Mount Franklin rose to her left, craggy and
beginning its afternoon turn to red as the sun started beating into it.
To her right, she could make out Mount Cristo Rey, with its towering
cross peak, and the Sierra Madres in Mexico just beyond, forming a
valley that cradled the west side of El Paso.
Turning into the parking lot of Bobby's Place, she threw the car in
park, then hurried to the door. She saw Jesse the minute she stepped
inside.
A rush of heat mixed with a settling calm washed through her at the
sight. He sat with Bobby Mac,
Jesse's shoulders wide and braced as he
leaned forward, his elbows on the table, a beer in front of each man.
Both men were handsome, but it was Jesse who filled her mind and her
heart.
Jesse hadn't come home last night before she had gone to bed, but his
Jeep had been there when she woke in the morning. Though he had left
again by the time she got out of the shower.
Now he looked tired, as if he hadn't slept at all. His expression was
grim as he talked to Bobby Mac.
But when he looked up and saw her, he
smiled. Just that, enough to reassure her that everything was going to
be all right.
She all but ran over to the table.
"Kate," Bobby said, surprised, as he stood.
Jesse studied her for long seconds before his smile broadened and he
rose slowly. "Kate," he acknowledged.
She wanted him to reach out and take her hand. But he didn't. Instead,
he held her chair like a perfect gentleman.
"I hope I'm not interrupting," she said, and even she could hear that
she sounded like a giddy schoolgirl.
"You're not," Bobby said. "Jesse and I were just talking about how
being a father isn't so easy. Kids
don't come with instruction books."
"Jesse's doing a better job than he realizes," she defended.
"I'm sure he is."
Jesse just shook his head.
"What can we do for you?" Bobby asked.
Kate blinked as his question sank in, or rather as a single word sank
in. We. As in Jesse and Bobby.
The unexpected insight cleared her thoughts, and suddenly her plan
shifted and expanded. Not only
was Jesse a professional golfer, but
Bobby Mac was an ex-quarterback for the Texas Lone Stars.
This would be
great.
"I have a proposition to make."
Jesse's smile quirked devilishly. "You? A proposition?"
Kate felt embarrassment rush to her hairline as the men appreciated the
humor. "Funny."
"I try."
She leaned forward, planting her elbows on the table in her enthusiasm.
"I've been thinking about the
fact that Travis's golf camp needs money.
I did some research on the Internet and made some calls
before I drove
over here. I learned that most public sports programs in the area need
help. No surprise really, and I wanted to do something about it."
Bobby chuckled. Jesse did not.
"What did you have in mind?" the ex-football player asked.
"Well..." She glanced back and forth between them. "I was thinking of a
golf showdown of sorts."
The smile on Jesse's face froze. "And who did you see
showing
down?"
"Well, um, you and Bobby Mac."
The change happened so quickly that it felt like her head spun. Jesse's
jaw visibly tensed and his grip on the beer mug tightened so hard his
knuckles went white. Confused, she rushed on.
"It makes all the sense in the world! El Paso's two most famous sports
stars playing for charity. Jesse Chapman versus Bobby Mac McIntyre. It
would be great."
"You know," Bobby said with a laugh, "now that I'm not out on the
field, I've been playing some
serious golf. I wouldn't mind a friendly
matchup for charity."
Jesse still hadn't moved. His forearms were still planted on the table,
the muscles taut and well defined. She felt light-headed from keeping
herself from reaching out to him.
"It's not a bad idea," Bobby continued.
"It will be great!" Kate cheered, as much for the distraction as for
the idea that Bobby was on board.
"Not only will the proceeds go to
public programs, but it will bring more awareness to the problem. And
the two of you will prove that you truly are hometown heroes."
She realized that she sounded no better than Tommy Davis, who wanted to
do an expose on Jesse. But this was different, wasn't it? Granted, it
would save her job, but it would help a good cause in the
process. If
she told him how much this meant to her, how she needed this to stay
employed, surely he would agree.
"What's in it for you?" Jesse asked.
Not exactly the response she was looking for.
"Fair enough." She clasped her hands in front of her. "I want to tape
the event for
Getting Real with Kate
.
And yes, I need this, I admit it.
But it also showcases both of you and helps the sports programs.
I'll
televise the event. Of course, it won't be a full eighteen holes. We'll
come up with a mini version of
the game that will be fun and
competitive. I'll walk along with a cameraman and a mike and interview
both of you as we go. Then I'll edit it in the studio to fit a one-hour
format."
Bobby considered. "Where will the winner's money come from?"
"The whole thing just came to me today. So I don't have all the details
ironed out yet. But as I see it,
we get local businesses to sponsor the
event. They get great exposure, plus goodwill in the community and
among viewers who are going to go out and buy their products, all in
return for delivering a big
check to the winner's chosen sports
program. For example, Bobby, you could play for football
programs.
Jesse could play for golf programs. Whoever wins, wins for their
particular activity."
"And whoever loses?" Bobby persisted with a chuckle. "What happens to
him?"
"Second place will get money as well, just not as much. A win-win for
everyone!"
Kate glanced at Jesse, who sat back. He hadn't agreed, but he hadn't
said no, either. Optimistically,
she plunged ahead.
"It won't be anything fancy, and it will have to be soon since I think
it has to be done in the summer to highlight summer sports programs. If
you agree, I'll start making plans immediately. I'm sure I can get
the
El Paso Country Club to let us use the course. It will be great!"
"I like it," Bobby pronounced. "What do you say, Jesse?"
Jesse stared not at Bobby but at her with an unfathomable darkness. "I
don't know how I can say no."
"Then it's settled," Bobby stated, and pushed up from his chair. "Let's
go back to my office and start working out the details."
Jesse stood up as well and shook Bobby's hand. "Can't. I've got to go.
But thanks for lunch."
Bobby slapped him on the back. "I'm going to give you a run for your
money, my friend."
With a tight smile, and without a single glance at Kate, Jesse started
to leave.
"Jesse?"
He turned back, his eyes blazing. But after a second he relaxed, and
his smile grew genuine. "You have plans to make. I'll see you later."
Then he was gone.

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