Page 10 of The Apparent Trap

“What’s the downside of people knowing?” I ask, the journalist in me always ready to turn a question back on the interviewee.

She sighs, accepting that we’re really talking about this. “I guess I don’t want people to judge me based on something out of my control.”

“You’re on TV every day, people are constantly judging you.”

That gets a crack of a smile, and it feels good to see some glimmer of the private Carmen that must live inside the gorgeously manicured exterior. “My relationship with him is this fragile thing at the moment. I do care about it,” she admits. “It seems like letting other opinions and dynamics in could potentially be damaging. Like, will people try and make us do segments together, thinking it’s cute when actually it might make our awkwardness even more glaring? Will people think I got the job because I’m his kid? I don’t want to deal with any of that, especially when the job itself isn’t even guaranteed. My focus needs to be on the work. I need to spend the next few months proving I can bring in new demographics and hold my own, not be stilted and fidgety over daddy issues.”

I nod, because now I understand why she decided to share this secret with me. Maybe she hasn’t trusted me before, but this part I feel confident I can help with. I’m a producer. My entire job is to get organized and find solutions. “Did you tell me because you’re finally willing to let me help you with something?”

She chuckles, not denying that that’s been the case so far. I can see in her expression that she’s not offended by the pushback. “Look, I want to succeed here, Ezzie. When my trial is over in January, I want them to not only want to keep me on, but for it to be a no-brainer. I want to cover the Olympics in February. I want to be a shoo-in as the fill-in on days when Georgia or Darren are out. I want this.”

From everything I’ve seen the last couple of weeks, there’s absolutely no reason why she shouldn’t be able to pull off everything she wants. She oozes talent and charm on the air. And while so far she’s mostly been a pain in my ass, I’d be lying if I didn’t also admit that her success is a win for me too. I’m at a stage of my career where I can’t have the talent I’m overseeing crash and burn. She’ll take me down with her. So there’s only one choice here, really.

“Then we’ll get you there,” I say, assured.

“Alright,” she replies, leaning forward, like she’s finally going to listen. “So what do you think I should do about Lee?”

“If you two and me are the only people who know, then let’s just keep it that way,” I say, my gut leading me. “Do you feel comfortable asking him to keep this between you for now, until you’re more settled?”

“You don’t think that could backfire if it hurts his feelings?”

I shake my head. “You can mention all the questions you just said to me, and none of those are personal. It’ll hurt more feelings to have to deal with outside pressure you’re not ready for.” She nods, so I keep going. “I’ll make sure they don’t schedule any segments with you and him. I doubt they would generally, since he’s typically in the eight o’clock hour and your hosting duties are in the nine. But just in case. And I won’t say anything to anyone.”

“Even Georgia?” she asks with a sly smile, and I respect that she’s paying attention enough to others to have seen that dynamic.

“I’m a vault, even to Georgia when I need to be,” I confirm. “And beyond Lee, I’ll think of some other things we can do to go above what they’re expecting of you. If you want to prove yourself, then let’s find ways to showcase you outside of just hosting duties. Let’s get more reported pieces and really knock their socks off. But you have to actually trust me to be good at my job.”

She’s quiet for a moment, sizing me up. It’s like she’s seeing me for the first time in the two weeks we’ve been working together.

“Okay,” she says simply, not giving an inch more than she has to.

I try to see her through a different lens too. I’ve only thought about how grateful someone should be to take on a role this prestigious, especially at her age. I knew from her bio that she’d always been in California, but maybe I never really considered what a big leap this is for her. She’s here without friends or close family with a trial for a huge job at a young age that comes with massively pressurized expectations. Maybe it’s understandable that she’s come in a little too hot.

“Okay,” I say, standing up. “And seriously, it won’t kill you to take some advice on a few other things too. Like, you let Jerry the audio tech convince you to try his stale black licorice last week. Anyone else would’ve told you that if you need a snack, Devonte the camera guy always has Sour Patch Kids, which is a way better option.”

She’s got a tilt of a smile as she nods. “Duly noted.” She stands up next to me. “Sour Patch Kids from now on it is.”

We’ve reached some kind of détente. While I’m not convinced she’s going to magically change overnight, I think at least this is the kind of progress I can work with. “Good,” I reply.

This time she follows my lead, and we both head back upstairs to plan for whatever the show—and life—throws at us tomorrow.

Chapter 4

“That warm spell is already out the door, and we’re going to see temperatures dropping across the Midwest, Northeast, and mid-Atlantic this week, getting ready for Halloween. But now here’s what the skies are doing where you are.”

I watch Carmen finish her tag to let local weather take over. We have two minutes of that and then three minutes of ad time before the next segment. It’s 8:47 a.m., and I’m waiting in the wings to chat with her before she goes from being the weather forecaster and newsreader to the coanchor at 9:00 a.m.

I wouldn’t say things have shifted dramatically since our conversation a couple weeks ago (she’s still mostly doing things her own way), but she has started taking some of my advice. We’re clearly not going to become friends the way Georgia and I are (and thank goodness, because a girl only needs one pain-in-the-ass, overly involved friend). But a month in, and we’ve got a rhythm. And I’m determined to make both of us look good and not waste a single day of her trial.

So now, not only am I going to brief her on the topics she’ll talk about at the top of the hour, but I get to break the news to her that I got us approved for our first travel assignment. And not just any assignment—the assignment.

The idea actually started from wanting to get in front of Carmen’s Olympics idea. If her goal is for her trial to end with a guaranteed spot as a reporter covering the Olympics, then I need to involve both of us before.

The plan isn’t entirely altruistic—every time the Olympics come around, I’m also always itching to get involved in our coverage. Because while I’m someone who mostly dislikes sports, it’s a little strange how much I love the Olympics. I think it’s, unsurprisingly, because of the background stories more than the actual events. With professional sports, for me, it’s hard to get worked up about a bunch of guys getting paid millions of dollars who can switch teams and loyalties on a whim.

In the Olympics, however, it’s all the drama a great story is made of. You have people who’ve devoted their entire lives to a single moment. And the more obscure, the better it is—you mean to tell me that someone has practiced speed skating their entire life, and they have to have a regular job because the stipend is so small, and they get no attention for years at a time, only to have the eyes of the entire country on them for a couple of days every four years? How can that not be the most compelling kind of story arc?

Of course, those segments—the background video that gets shot of athletes over an entire year—are mostly in the hands of the sports department.