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“Or three,” Eve went on, “we accept CWB’s offer, which is substantially lower than SBN’s, and stay here as one of their affiliates. They’re a young network, still growing, so they don’t have the advertising weight the bigger ones do. But we will have national coverage in the small and medium-sized markets, though it’ll take a while to penetrate the big ones.”
Je
Zach groaned, and Cole uncrossed both arms with such force he smacked the arms of his chair. Nicole jumped, and Eve frowned.
“You guys, we knew this,” Eve said. “I’ve told a couple of you that counting on the lottery money when it’s been challenged is like counting on it to snow on the Fourth of July. We’d be stupid to put our lives out on a limb-not to mention our finances and futures-for something that may never happen. That’s why we need to move forward together on this. I want to know how you feel about the networks’ proposals.”
“I’m for New York,” Zach said immediately.
“I’m not,” Cole threw out with the force of an air gun. “I’m not uprooting my girls and dragging them off to a place that may as well be another planet.”
“Yeah, but think of the career opportunities,” Zach said. “You could give them the kind of life they’d never get here.”
“What, away from their family and friends? And what am I supposed to do with them while I’m working the hours that we do? Nuh-uh.” Cole’s arms crossed again, and this time they weren’t relaxed and comfortable. “No networks for me. I’ll stay here and produce a different show, if I have to.”
“Jane?” Eve looked at the end of the table. “What’s your opinion?”
“I’d have to think about it for more than five minutes, but my instinct is to go with CWB and stay put. Yeah, the coverage isn’t as great, but we’ve worked up to regional success. We can work up to the big-city markets, too.” Jane glanced at Nicole, who sat on her left. “What do you think, Nic? You’re the one with out-of-state experience.”
Nicole looked uncomfortable at being the center of everyone’s attention. Or maybe, Je
“I-I’m conflicted,” she admitted. “Devon’s family and background are all here. Mine is on the West Coast. A move to New York would take him away from everything he knows, and me even farther away from what I know. I’d talk it over with him before I gave a decision, of course, but if we’re looking for gut reactions, I’d say no to the big networks. Let us stay as we are, where we’re happy doing what we do, or let us go with CWB. Either way, we get to stay in Atlanta.”
Je
“Are you hinting that I need to go back to the South Beach Diet?” Eve cracked.
Je
Eve’s smile dimmed, but didn’t disappear altogether. “I have to say I’m with Jane. The CWB offer has a lot going for it. We’ve built our success in a regional market, and they specialize in that. So what if the big guys have the big markets sewn up-or think they do? We can work up to it. Give ’em a run for their money.” She looked around at everyone, and Je
Jane put up her hand. “CWB.”
So did Cole. “I agree.”
Nicole said, “Me, too.”
“That’s four. Zach?” Eve prompted.
Zach, Je
Zach sighed. “Well, I can’t very well go to New York by myself. Not after everything that happened there. So if you guys are determined to stay, then I’ll stay here, too.”
“Woohoo!” Jane leaped up and gave him a hug, and suddenly it was as if their team had won the hometown game. Everyone hugged the person next to them, and Eve practically disappeared in Cole Crawford’s big embrace.
Only Je
When Cole turned toward her and gave her a big kiss, as if she’d had some part in this decision they’d made all on their own, she finally identified the feeling.
She wanted someone of her own to celebrate with. To be a part of. To build something with.
And she wanted that someone to be Kevin Wade.
10
MITCH ALMOST MISSED the call when his cell phone jingled at quarter past six Wednesday afternoon. He backed out of the hotel room’s shower, turned off the water and sprinted over to the bed. The phone vibrated against the glossy veneer of the nightstand.
“Mitchell Hayes.”
“Mitch, it’s Eve.”
It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t control the silly grin that spread over his face at the sound of that husky, musical voice. Good thing there was no one here to see what a goofball he was. He sank onto the coverlet. “Hey, Eve.”
“What could I tell you that would make you really happy right now?”
He paused for a moment to consider several dazzling possibilities. “You’re standing outside my door wrapped in a velvet ribbon and nothing else?”
“You’re lucky I don’t have speakerphone on,” she chided. “Try again.”
“You’re calling to ask me out?”
“Maybe. But before that.”
Maybe? “Before, after, I don’t care. The answer is yes, I’d love to go out. When should I pick you up?”
“Would you listen?” Her voice trembled with laughter. “I’m talking business, here.”
“You said what would make me happy, not the network. Okay, what happened between now and one-fifteen, when we said goodbye in the park?”
“I met with my team and presented our options to them. I told them we could make no changes…stay in Atlanta and go with CWB…or move to New York and go with one of the big networks.”
“And which did they choose?” He dragged his mind off where he might take her tonight-besides his hotel room, that is. He was really in fine shape when seeing her had become more important than the outcome of the deal. And speaking of that, he’d been inches away from packing it in and going back to headquarters to take his lumps. With the arrival of Mackenzie Roussos and Chad Everard and their bottomless pockets, he’d figured CWB wouldn’t have a chance at succeeding.
Money always won. Always.
“They want to stay in Atlanta and become a CWB affiliate,” she told him, triumph in her tone. “It may not get us as big a reach as SBN or CBS, but all of us know that reaching sometimes means overreaching, and that just makes you fall on your face. The ‘enthusiastically conservative’ approach to business has served us well so far. We figure we should just keep doing it that way.”
“I’m…delighted,” he managed from under his amazement. They’d chosen CWB. He’d won. After two failed deals in his immediate history, he didn’t have to go back to New York and face Nelson Berg’s derision. He was going to be able to keep his job-and meet the man’s damn deadline to boot. It was a miracle. “Amazed. Happy. Thank you.”