Chapter 11

Nothing was going on out of the ordinary in David Page’s life which had him thinking that way till he received a phone call from Burt Radisson. Burt introduced himself as the news editor for Channel Four in Austin, Texas. Burt said there was an opportunity he want to discuss with Dave and asked that they turn this into a virtual call. Dave agreed to do a virtual call.

Burt said, “Here in Austin, Texas, our news programs are rated number one in the area as to viewership. We don’t want to stand on our laurels and we want to further increase our ratings. To do that, we are looking to hire an investigative field reporter. This reporter will be someone who will investigate areas such as wasteful government spending, conflicts of interest, open border ramifications, and other newsworthy areas. In other words, we are looking for someone who will find the news as well as reporting on it.”

“I have watched you doing your reporting and I think you would be a welcome addition to our news team. Would you be interested in becoming a member of our news team and moving to Austin, Texas? Austin is a growing area and a highly rated place to live. I don’t know if you are single or married but Austin is where the State Capitol and the University of Texas are located, and as I said it is a nice place to live. Are you interested in becoming this type of investigative reporter that we are looking for?”

“You have surprised me with this offer so let me ask you a few questions about salary, benefits, the job itself, along with the possibility of becoming a newsreader.”

Burt answered Dave’s questions as best as he could and invited him to come to Austin for an in-person interview with him and Dan Fagan, the television station’s manager.

Asking for Burt’s phone number and email address, Dave said, “Yes, I am interested in what you say about the position you are looking to fill. Subbing for your main newsreader Paul Conners is appealing to me, since I enjoy reading his Sunday newspaper column. Unless you hear differently from me, I will be in Austin this coming Monday.”

Ending the phone call Dave sat back in his chair and thought, “What in the hell had just happened?” Receiving a phone call like that out of the blue was a shock. It sounded to Dave that this was an opportunity but he would hold final judgment until he was there and talked with this Burt and Dan Fagan.

Dave took an early Sunday morning flight to Austin. He had never been to Texas and he wanted to see what the Austin area where he would be living had to offer. He had read several articles he found on the web that were generally favorable to living here. The gist of these articles said that Austin was in the top ten places to live in the States, was a growing area, but because of its popularity the cost of living was said to be rising there.

Driving the rental car around the city, Dave could see what could see why Austin had this high rating. The Capital building and UT dominated the city and they were impressive. Overall, he thought he would have no difficulties in hanging his hat here.

Finding Channel Four on Monday morning presented no problems. Dave told the receptionist that he was there to see Burt Radisson. She made a phone call and after a short conversation, she instructed Dave to take the elevator to the fourth floor.

Dave entered the elevator and was unaware that after he did that, the receptionist phoned Caley Morgan. When Caley answered her phone she heard, “Hunk alert, hunk alert, fourth-floor elevator.”

Caley’s office was on the fourth floor and she could see looking out from her doorway the elevator. Hurrying to her doorway she saw Dave exiting the elevator being greeted by Carol who was Burt Radisson’s executive assistant. Caley had to agree with the receptionist’s assessment that this man was a hunk, but she couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing here.

Dave was greeted by Burt who introduced him to Dan Fagan. What followed was a discussion led by Dan on what they were hoping to achieve by adding an investigative reporter. The questions Dave had as to salary, benefits, and the occasions when Dave would sub for Paul Conners, all were answered to Dave’s satisfaction. At the end of the meeting, Dave said he would accept the offer, and hands were shaken.

Dan Fagan said they had a thing about springing surprises on the employees here and asked Dave not to say anything about his being hired. When he was ready to work here, he would be introduced to the news team at the pre-news production meeting. This gave Dave the thought that this was a fun place to work.

On the flight back, there were a multitude of thoughts running through Dave’s mind. While some of those thoughts were about this new position and living in Austin, there were an equal number of thoughts as to his lady friends. He wasn’t sure how they would react to the news that he was moving to Austin.

Dave had an excellent social life as it pertained to women. There were several women he was involved with but he didn’t have strong feelings about anyone in particular. To put it simply, he wasn’t in love with any of them.

The one lady he was going to miss because of his move was Erin Cabot. Erin was a very attractive lady, who was two years older than Dave. She had a cute face, long auburn hair, and a very curvaceous body. That she was the main newsreader for the television station he worked at was only a minor problem. The major problem was that she was married. Her husband was a prominent plastic surgeon who probably had done some work on Erin. She never volunteered that he did nor did Dave think it was appropriate for him to ask her if that happened. Dave was just content to look and take in her beauty.

His affair with Erin started when she invited the news team along with their families to her cottage which was located next to Kentucky Lake for a picnic. Dave thought Erin’s definition of a cottage and his definition of a cottage were different. He would have used the word mansion in describing this residence. The kids enjoyed doing water skiing while the adults enjoyed the food and beverages.

As the day wore on, people were saying their goodbyes. Toward ten o’clock it was only Erin, her husband Scott, and Dave that remained. It was apparent that Scott had too much to drink and was having difficulty walking. Dave helped Erin in getting Scott to the bedroom and putting Scott on the bed. She took off, his shoes and put a blanket over him. She commented as they were doing this that when Scott parties, he really does party.

The next thing Dave knew Erin’s was in his arms and she was kissing him. He was a little shocked that she did this but at the same, he enjoyed her doing it. His arms went around her returning her kiss and he was delighted with what was happening. At the same time, he was feeling a little uncomfortable in making out with Erin while her husband was lying on the bed next to them.

Ending a kiss he said, “Your husband is right here.”

“Come,” she said as she took Dave’s hand and led him to another bedroom. Once there it wasn’t long before they both were naked lying on the bed making love. The light from the moon displaying Erin’s sexy body made for an erotic picture. Dave had mixed emotions in making love with her. There was the pleasure he felt in doing it since her actions showed her to be wise in the way of making love. Yet, it was that her drunken husband was in the next bedroom that took a little away from the pleasure of making love with her.