Unfinished Ex (Calloway Brothers, #2)(10)

I plaster on a sarcastic grin. “Tell me what you really think of me, Barry.”

“Don’t get me wrong, you’re good. Maybe not XTN material, but Xuan Le likes your format. No scripted monologues. Off-the-cuff weather reporting. Not many weather girls can pull it off.”

“Broadcast meteorologists.”

“That’s what I said.”

“No, you said weather girl. I’m not a weather girl. I’m a broadcast meteorologist.”

He leans back in his chair. “Are you always this difficult?”

“Are you always this sexist?” My mouth goes dry at my unusual confrontation. But I’m in the big leagues, so I’d better act the part.

He grunts but doesn’t answer.

“Barry, I really want to get off on the right foot here. I love XTN. I’m grateful for this opportunity. I’m here to do one job—report the weather. And I promise I’ll give it my all and hit the ground running. But it would be best if we could work as a team. As my producer, you and I will work more closely than anyone. I hope we can be friends.”

“Friends.”

He says the word as if it’s a foreign concept.

“I’m not asking you out for drinks. I just want to establish a good relationship. You know, me asking how your wife is or congratulating you on your son’s graduation. You asking if I had a good day off—that sort of thing.”

“I don’t have a wife. I have two ex-wives, three kids I hardly ever see, and a cat named Chester who I, unfortunately, got by default in my last divorce. Luckily, he likes his alone time. Like me.” He glances toward the door. “Now, we have an early day tomorrow. Be here at four. Jenny will show you to your dressing room. Go get some sleep, and be ready to work. Just because it’s weekends doesn’t mean it will be easy. You’ll be on in the six to ten morning slot and then again at night from five to ten.

The days will be long. And between weekends, you’ll be expected to go out in the field. I hope you didn’t come here expecting a cushy job.”

“I know perfectly well what the job entails. I’m ready to work. And the less time I have to spend in Calloway Creek, which is where I’m from, the better.”

Anyone else might ask why I said that. Not Barry. “Good. See you bright and early then.”

I get up and hesitate in the doorway.

“Was there something else?” he asks, glancing up from his laptop.

“How are Makenna and the baby?”

He shakes his head as if I’d asked him about life on Mars. “How the hell would I know?”

“See you tomorrow, Barry.”

Jenny grabs me on my way out. “Boy. Four pounds, two ounces. Four weeks early. He’ll have to stay in the hospital for at least a week, they think. Makenna is doing very well.”

“Thanks, Jenny.”

“If you ever need someone to grab a coffee with, I’m always here.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m not kidding. Always. And I love coffee.”

I smile. “So do I. I may take you up on that.”

“Your driver is waiting in the lobby. He’ll take you wherever you need to go.”

“The train station will be fine.”

“He’s at your disposal today, Nicole. Better enjoy it. As Barry instructed, it’s the only limo service you’ll get. Have the driver take you to Calloway Creek. You deserve it, with uprooting your life and getting out here in twenty-four hours.”

Instantly, I know Jenny and I will be friends. And I’m grateful to have one person on the East Coast who doesn’t believe I’m a back-stabbing cheater.



~



It’s been two years since I’ve been home. Can I still call it that? As the limo drives through Calloway Creek, memories of the day I left bombard me. Packing my things. Leaving my house.

Leaving him. Driving fifteen hundred miles away from a life I didn’t want toward a career I was chasing.

We pull up to my parents’ house. I’m grateful it’s dark, or the limousine would have garnered a lot of attention. The driver takes my bags inside and leaves, seemingly happy with the hundred-dollar tip I gave him. I wish it had been more, but I haven’t gotten an XTN paycheck yet.

“Nicky!” Tori yells, bounding down the stairs and into my arms.

I hug her like she’s my lifeline. We haven’t seen each other since March, when she and my parents flew to Oklahoma to visit me over Tori’s spring break. I hold her at arm’s length and take her in. She’s always been a younger version of me. People have said we could be twins if we were the same age. But now, somehow turning eighteen, she’s become her own person. And the highlights in her hair certainly set her apart from me and my darker locks.

“I’ve missed you, Tor.”

“Samesies.”

“Where’s Mom and Dad?”

“They tried to wait for you, but they had committed to going to some charity thing with the Ashfords.”

“Right. Mom mentioned it. Guess it’s just you and me then.”

“We can share a bottle of wine,” she says. “And you can tell me all about XTN and what a superstar you’re going to be.”

I hold up a finger. “One. I’ll let you have one glass, and only because we’re home. And if you tell Mom and Dad, it’ll never happen again.”