Page 77 of Under the Weatherman
How’s Lauren getting on without me?I replied, then kept heading toward the Downtown Mall.
She’s found another victim.
Who?
That perky woman who does the tech stuff.
Gigi?
He responded with a thumbs-up on my question.
Poor Gigi.I feel kind of guilty for leaving her to pick up my slack.
Don’t. She’s actually really competent at the production.
Oof.Thanks for the vote of confidence.
The writing hasn’t been nearly as tight though.
He didn’t need to sugarcoat it, I knew I wasn’t meant for that job. I hoped Gigi would rise to the top of the entire newsroom empire.Tell my workplace BFF I said hi.
Or you could stop in yourself sometime. I’d love to see you.He added a winky emoji. I wished I could swing over, but I needed to be at the restaurant by five.
Text me when Lauren’s out sick, and you’re on.
I wish she’d call out. Or quit.
That made me stop walking.Has she been bothering you?
Three dots appeared, disappeared, and then the phone rang.
“Hey,” I said. “Did something happen?”
“I mean, nothing I can’t handle. Apparently she saw a forecast on her phone app and wanted to know why I wasn’t predicting a blizzard for the weekend. She wanted to tease a big event, but I refused because I didn’t think it likely.”
It had been chilly for the past few days, but not super cold for November. Of course, Virginia weather had a mind of its own, and I could bundle in layers only to swap into a T-shirt by afternoon.
“Why wouldn’t she trust the actual meteorologist?”
“It’s not that she doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t even care. She said, ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen if you’re wrong?’ and I said, ‘Besides a loss of credibility?’”
“Seriously.”
“I mean, I’m still new here, and it’s kind of important to build a reputation.”
“Did you tell her that?” I entered an alley approaching the Downtown Mall, walking slowly.
“She said people aren’t watching me for accuracy.”
I gasped. “Oh, my God. She did not.”
“She said nobody expects the weather forecast to be right. It’s all just hocus pocus.”
I didn’t want to tell him that’s what most people thought. Besides Lauren could eat a bag of dicks. “The audacity.”
“Right? And when I told her it was highly unprofessional, she said, ‘What’s going to happen if you bend the facts a little? I’m not going to fire you.’ I said, ‘You wouldn’t have to.’”
“I wish I could say I was shocked.”
