Page 5

Harper

“Want to grab a beer with us?” my cameraman, Neil, asked me as we all finished packing up after the game.

It had been a hellish broadcast. We were sent to cover the DC Capitols who had double-digit runs put up against them by the end of the game.

The network had tasked me with being a field reporter for the team this season and to say my interviews after the game were lackluster would be an understatement.

I packed my notes away, tabbed with all my ideas for today’s game, color-coded by the player and listed the level of importance that ended up being useless. A beer was exactly what I needed.

But before I could say so, a voice called out for me. “Harper!”

My boss, Terry Wilson, was bounding down the steps of the stadium toward us.

“What is he doing here?” Neil asked.

Terry rarely made appearances out of the office if they didn’t benefit him or the network in some way.

To see him in his perfectly tailored suit walking down toward us could only mean one of two things—either I was getting fired or I was about to get the promotion I’d been hoping for these past four years.

“I’ll catch you guys some other time for that beer,” I told my crew. Neil gave me a sympathetic look like this might be the last time he saw me and I had to fight the urge not to roll my eyes.

Thanks for the vote of support, Neil.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Wilson?”

Terry came into the company as a field reporter, much like I had.

However, instead of staying in that position for four years, he had climbed the ranks to host a show for the network and then on to the c-suite.

He was a shark in the industry, climbing the ranks through various shows of ESPN until he had the kind of power to shape careers.

Eventually, they put him in charge of SC News, an ESPN subsidiary that specialized in regional news.

I admired everything about him, but I also hated him.

I hated him because he held my future in his hands, which had gone nowhere.

God, I want to be him.

“I was hoping to catch you before you left the field,” Terry started. “I have something urgent to discuss with you.”

Butterflies began to swarm inside of me.

Is it finally my time? Is there an opening on one of the shows in New York?

“We had a last-minute opening in an important position for the network and we wanted no one else to fill the position, but you.”

Oh my gosh.

“The field reporter position in Chicago is open and we would like you to fly there as soon as you can. We were hoping you could be there to report for the games starting on Monday. This weekend should give you enough time to get your affairs in order. The network also found you an apartment, as we know this is quite sudden. We paid for half of the year’s rent as a courtesy for this ask. ”

Every single butterfly dropped into a pit that opened in my stomach. The music still playing in the stadium faded into nothing as I stared at Terry, wondering if I had heard him wrong.

“We will send your normal crew out with you so you can hit the ground running and not have to rebuild any relationships. Obviously since the Chicago Cougars are the reigning World Series champions, we want our best person on this,” Terry continued.

The disappointment was overwhelming. I barely registered Terry call me one of the network’s best. If that were truly the case, would I still be hustling on the road nearly two-hundred days out of the year?

“Do you think you can make that happen?” Terry was now looking at me expectantly.

Do you think you can make that happen? Echoed in my brain before I remembered I needed to respond. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes that I had to fight off as my mind raced through my choices.

Either I could accept the offer and continue working toward the same goal I’d had since I was hired here.

The five-year plan that I had written out meticulously when I’d first started on this path and the vision board at home would still mean something.

Or I could walk away right now and hang up my dream.

You shouldn’t be contemplating quitting something you love every other week , a voice whispered in my head.

Sometimes the most rewarding outcomes come with the rockiest paths.

“What a wonderful opportunity.” I managed to keep my voice even as I addressed Terry. “I believe I can make that work, being in Chicago on Monday.”

A wide smile spread across Terry’s face, like he knew this moment would happen. He was a man that was used to getting his way and I was a woman that was used to not getting mine.

“I’ll have my assistant send over your new contract.

I made sure to give you a bit of a raise for this.

We really are hoping for some inside information on the Cougars this season so we can provide the baseball fans with unique access.

” Terry took off back up the stairs, his phone already up to his ear.

He turned around when he got to the top of the stairs.

“I just knew you were the perfect person for the job!”

“Yeah, thanks,” I mumbled under my breath as I watched my boss disappear.

I’d sacrificed for this job. I’d gone wherever the network wanted to send me—a playoff football game for the Chicago Bobcats, to the lowest ranked baseball team in the league, or a mid-season hockey game. I did it all with no questions asked.

You just have to do it a little longer.

With a sigh, I hoisted my bag over my shoulder and wished that conversation would be the biggest disappointment of my night, but I still had dinner with my parents on my schedule. This was just a warmup for what was to come.

Maria and Robert Nelson were sure to have a few opinions over my new “promotion.” I was going to need more than Neil’s suggestion of a beer to get through this dinner.