“I am not willing to do this without some statement from either the family or…”
Sally didn’t wait for Nancy to finish her reasoning and turned around and started walking towards the door.
“What are you doing?” Nancy asked, startled by her defiance.
“No point doing this with you. I’m heading to Lucian. Let him decide. I don’t know why you make it a point to disagree with me every single time.” With that, Sally barged out of the office with the same level of disrespect as she did when she came in.
Lucian, the head of morning programming at the station, had sided with Nancy a number of times. He had also told her the last time around his patience was wearing thin. It was Nancy’s responsibility to find a way to work with Sally, who had developed a reputation for turning around floundering shows in part due to her Machiavellian approach to breaking news.
Nancy sat on her chair and debated whether she should run after Sally or call Brandon to warn him about the impending breaking news story. The phone ringing on her desk broke the tie. It was Lucian, demanding that she went to his office as soon as possible. At that moment, Nancy knew she was letting her feelings for Brandon get in the way of doing her job. She was soon going to find out how much she cared about him.
“What’s going on here?” Lucian asked as soon as Nancy walked inside his office. Sally was standing on the right side of his desk with a mischievous grin on her face.
“I wanted to make sure we have something concrete to go by. That is all.”
“What’s more concrete than death. The girl is dead, isn’t she?”
“Yes, of course. We need more than that…”
“Like what? Whether she is going to rise again on the third day or not? I don’t frankly see why you two can’t find a way to work together. This is a clear cut case, Nancy. The story has been bleeding for too many hours. I am surprised we haven’t been scooped already. Sally is right. Let’s clear the schedule. Get Jeff in to do some kind of legal analysis. Get… What is his name? Anderson, the crime reporter… And make sure Katie is there covering the story alongside you. Let’s get moving. I don’t want to see this again. Enough time has been wasted by your turf wars. Work as a team. You both have a crucial and independent role to play here.”
Nancy walked out the office looking like a humiliated dog chased out of the home. She wondered if there was ever going to come a time when she will receive the respect she deserved. That reference about Katie was enough to send a jolt of shock in her system. Nancy had no doubt the young and cute blond with a big mouth was being groomed to take her place sooner than later.
Not the best of times to be distracted. If she is not careful, she could soon be out of a job for she is not getting any younger. As good as the kissing and the sex and the lazing around with Brandon felt, Nancy Smith couldn’t stomach the thought of being made irrelevant.
~~~
