Chapter 19

When Selena got off the elevator at the TV station Joe and a younger man in a suit were talking in front of the FNN logo on the wall. Joe turned and extended his arms and they hugged with Joe turning back to the other gentleman.

“Selena, I would like you to meet Seamus McHendry. He’s from Herzog, Morris, and McHendry. Mr. McHendry, my wife, Selena.” Joe said whisking his hand to each of them.

“Please, Seamus and Mr. McHendry are both all too formal, Call me Sam.” McHendry said as he took her hand and clasped it between his as a sort of handshake.

“Pleased to meet you, uh ... Sam. Is the Herzog possibly Will Herzog?” She asked.

“Why yes it is! Do you know him?”

“I believe he represents my firm, Wall Street Global Group.”

“Of course, of course, that was the major client he brought into the practice when we formed. When Joe said you worked for a Wall Street concern I never imagined. I do real estate and trusts, Will handles corporations, and Herschel Morris is our litigator.” Sam said.

“Do you think there’s any possible conflict here?” She said looking to Joe, but Sam cut in right away.

“No, not at all. Unless both parties benefit from a situation because of the relationship leaving a 3rd party wanting, or a law is broken, and that isn’t going to happen.” Sam said as Alexis came into the room.

“Can we all sit in a meeting room and pass around the pens?” Alexis said after a few handshakes and a hug to Selena.

“Ms. Konstantakis? No legal rep?” Sam asked.

“No, he read it over and showed me 3 things you might object to. I’ll initial the changes and that will be it.” Alexis said with a smile as they all sat at a table.

Alexis opened her copy and said, “I’ll go first, Page one, line 64?”

“Touché, we don’t prepay first and last, that’s for suburb dwellers.” Sam said seeing it was legal competition as both parties initialed.

“My turn now, Page 2 line 41?”

“Yup, that’s the one, Johnson’s don’t paint if we terminate after a year. It’s silly anyway, it’s all new now.” Alexis said with a chuckle as they initialed again. “Can I give you a hint on #3?” Sam said obviously in a flirting tone, amusing Selena knowing that Alexis was open to it.

“Page 4?” Sam added.

“Line... 24?” Alexis teased.

“Yes, the Fox lawyer must have been a classmate of mine, “If EITHER party (get that word either in there and initial) does not exercise option to terminate between the 25th and 30th day to the end of the lease, said option is enforced.” Sam said emphatically.

“Seamus McHendry, if you want to form a legal team someday, be sure to call me.” Alexis said jokingly, but with a definite serious flirt tone as she passed on her card.

Alexis’ phone rang and she just listened, her face tightening at whatever news was being passed to her. Quickly Alexis grabbed Selena to leave the two men talking.

“Come, I want to get you into make-up and do a read for me. We had to do a re-write of the last update for the West Coast and Nikki already left, maybe you can pull it off? If not, I’ll have to do it, but I’m going out afterward and I don’t want the make-up hassle.” Alexis said as they both rushed off.

“Whoa, Lex, this is quick, I’m not even sure if I’m going to do this.” Selena said hesitating.

“Come on, you owe me one for the time you didn’t shoot 9/11.” She said with a smile hoping for the favor.

“Cute, Lex. I’ll run through it and see if you think it’s presentable.”

Selena sat in the make-up chair while the aesthetician lit her face and worked her magic. Selena normally wore little or no make-up, but under the bright lights, her nine year hiatus from life might show a little. On the monitor screen she watched and read along to herself for 3 video playbacks of the report she was to re-do with proper changes for the later West Coast broadcast.

“Your skin is beautiful, Miss, you just need to tighten up a few places and you’ll pass for 20 years old. See how I’ve smoothed you out, and that was just with over the counter products.” The middle aged woman with the Middle Eastern accent said.

“Thank you, My name is Selena, and yours?”

“Myrah. I’m here in this studio every afternoon after 4:30. If you need me before then, I’m on the other side of the building. I teach the make-up girls there and work the live shows.” She said coolly, as if she had the most boring job ever.

Selena smiled and nodded and began to read the script in a low voice, along with the video tape. After a second run through Myrah fixed the tissue bib around her neck and turned down the lights pointing to a director with a clipboard who seemed to be impatiently waiting.

“This way sweetie, sit there and look right into the camera. You’ll seem to be sitting low, the camera likes you like that. Put your script aside, the prompter will feed it to you.” He said as if he was bored.

“Hey! I’m NOT your sweetie and I’m here as a favor to Alexis and FNN. I don’t need the money and I can usually find better things to do with my time. Can we get clear on that? If not, you’ll be reading the West Coast feed yourself. OK?” She barked at him, getting short at his brusque treatment.

“Yes, ma’am I’m clear. Sorry, it’s been a tough day and I’ve had to set up 6 other readers and each was as bad as the next. Hopefully you’ll be the one, Um ... Miss Johnson.” He said slightly apologetically.

Suddenly an intercom opened on the set and Alexis’ voice boomed out loudly. “George, do we have a problem down there? I can send you back to the all night shift.”

“No, Miss Konstantakis.” The director said rolling his eyes. “It’s been a long day and a long line of ... well, you heard them.”

“Let’s not lose our nice ways, OK? Ms. Johnson is a friend of FNN and me.” She responded.

He looked at Selena and gave her a quick smile. “I’m sorry, there’ll be better days, I promise.”

As Selena sat back down, with full crew moving on set, different from what she thought she would do, just an audition read through. A set manager of some sort went behind her and said “Arms down” and took off the make-up bib Myrah had tucked on. “Look in the camera,” He instructed as he held a light meter near her face.

“Be cheery; be happy, you can do this, Ms Johnson. Don’t drop your chin, face up” He said to encourage her as he walked away and nodded to George.

George hollered for quiet and then lights and began the count as Selena searched for her spot on the prompter. Once George pointed to her, the words flowed like peanut butter onto warm toast, feeling natural and remembering to be professional. At the break for the commercial drop-in George looked at her and said “Remember to smile big going out and coming in. Otherwise, you might have to reshoot and... 7, 6, 5,”

George’s countdown and slashing finger cued her to finish the read, remembering to smile in and out. After she said the last word there was a pause before George shouted out “OK, that’s a wrap. Honey you, ... I’m sorry, Miss Johnson, please stay put until they screen it.”

Some 5 minutes later he apparently got an OK over the headset and told Selena she was done as he walked toward her.

“That was aces Miss Johnson, you did great. Where have you read before?” George asked, his demeanor suddenly changing.

“Here, 9 years ago, but I never got on.” She answered.

“Well, you should have. Your producer must have had a rough day.” George said, oblivious.

“Yeah, we all did that day.” Selena said as her voice faded.

She went back to Myrah’s chair and sat as Myrah let the back down.

“Close your eyes, dear.” Myrah said as she brought a large white cloth to her face.

Myrah gently used the dampened cloth to remove anything she had put on for the camera and lights saying, “There you’ve got that heavy stuff off and I can see your pretty face naturally. You have very nice features. I’m going to give you a couple bottles of cream that will tighten up a few of your worry lines. You really have a young face if you tighten up those lines.”

“Thank you Myrah, I’ll try them.” Selena said as she got up from the chair and saw Alexis walking toward her.

“I knew you’d be great, I want to use that for the West Coast. You’ll sign a one day contract, won’t you? Then tomorrow we’ll set up the agent and get you on a couple nights a week.”

“I’m leaving town for 2 weeks in a few days, we need a little stress relief and recharge since the ordeal ended, but, OK, I’ll do it. I’ll just have to kick George’s ass the next time he calls me sweetie.” Selena said with a chuckle.

Alexis leaned in so only Selena would hear, “He’s actually very good, the best director I’ve had since Manny left. He just gets bitchy when he’s either tired or just sick of the lines of bimbo’s we get sometimes. He’s been doing 5 or 6 auditions a day for a week now. Between Nikki Provost, who’s been on a lot lately, and you, I think I have a team and I’ve decided I’ll be the backup. I’ve used the weather girl from the local Fox affiliate once a week, but her agent doesn’t like it. I’ve worked myself into a good gig here and I’ve wasted so much time trying to fill this with interviews and auditions that I’ve let a few things skate, so I’m done. I was hired to help write copy for ALL of the news division and financial editorial for here. Instead, they’ve got me slotted as production assistant up here in the afternoons once the new boss arrives. I can run this by myself, they don’t need this new guy, but I suppose I have to earn my stripes. If I do one night a week they’ll see I’m a team player, and if they say I’m too vital to do that, I’ll know I’m doing a good job.”

“So, when I come back from our vacation, I’ll do 2 nights a week, Tuesday and Thursday? Remember, I can’t get here until almost 4:45. Everything has to go right if you air it at 5:15.” Selena reminded her.

“That’s all right. I did it that way for 7 years at least 4 nights a week and I never missed it. I did it “live” a few times, because of no time, but we always made it.” Alexis reminded her.

“Give me the air times again.”

“At 5:15 on our financial network, it’s a drop in the 5:30 half of the 5:00 news across the network in all time zones, but that means it airs 3 hours later on the west coast, so if anything happens after the markets close, we sometimes have to edit or re-shoot. Today was the first in a long, long time.” She told her.

“Have the agent call me at work tomorrow, but tell him I am leaving town after the weekend for 2 weeks and I’ll see you here on that Tuesday, OK?” Selena said as they air-kissed and she went to find Joe.

She walked out to the elevator area and saw Joe sitting with Seamus in the sofa under the Financial News Network and Fox logo’s.

“You did great! We saw the playback on the monitor out here. Now, let’s go home!” Joe said bouncing up from the sofa to get on the elevator she had just called.

Seamus stayed back to, presumably, meet up with Alexis.

On the elevator Joe went to kiss Selena, but she stopped him. “You’re not going to like this.” She warned him.

“They can’t let you go to Jamaica?” He guessed.

“No! Lucy is in town and I invited her over, but, ... she wants to see me alone first and talk, and cry and go through some drama. Then I’ll get us both a cab back to our place.”

“Where is she?”

“At the Regency, can you drop me off? I’m so sorry Joey.”

“If she’s having a sexual crisis, remember you’re married.” Joe said disgustedly.

“Joe Johnson! Thanks a lot for giving me credit. You’ve screwed half of Manhattan and are alone all day long and you have the nerve to say that!” She spat out at him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! It didn’t quite come out the way I wanted it to. I didn’t mean what you think. I meant that you’ve got a husband at home and he wants to have dinner with you, spend time with you, we had a big day today; signing the lease, getting you on TV, and your other crisis, all that.”

“I hope you know me better that THAT!” Selena said patting Joes hand on the stick in his little blue sportster.

Joe pulled into the promenade of the Regency and Joe leaned over to kiss her and she kissed him back, apparently forgiving his faux pas.

“Order us something simple for dinner, a shrimp platter and maybe that cold cut and cheese platter with the little rolls, just have them make it for 3.” Selena said as she got out.

“Yes ma’am!” Joe said sarcastically, adding “It’s 6:45, I’ll order it for 8 o’clock.”

“We’ll be there by then, I promise.” She said as a bellman closed the door for her.

Selena had been through one too many heart wrenching reunions and she wished she was passed this one. She loved Lucy, but she was going to have to listen to all of the same clichés she and Joe had been hearing since they were discovered. She knocked on the door, holding her breath.

Lucy said nothing as it was obvious she had been crying in the past few minutes, at least. She only opened her arms and let Selena walk into them as they hugged tightly with Lucy hanging on as if someone were trying to pull her friend away.

‘Lucy, LUCY! Please, I’m not going anywhere. Let’s calm down and talk, OK?” She managed to say to get Lucy to let go.

Lucy grabbed tissues and finally at on the small sofa while Selena sat across from her.

“Let’s cut all of the reunion talk and get to where I’m most curious. Tell me about Jeromy, why he’s not here, and what’s going on.” Selena said holding Lucy’s hand.

“I can’t cry anymore about Jerry. I did something so stupid that he may never forgive me. But it saved our marriage at the time. Please don’t judge me! I’m going to tell you the short version, that’s long enough, and you can ask questions later, just don’t hate me.”