bid them farewell, then follow him backstage. After the sound tech removes my mic, I hurry to my dressing room in time to see my phone light up.
I grab it off the makeup table and see it’s a text from Ben, who is on the other side of the wall.
DrBananaPants: I cannot believe you just did that. We’re supposed to come up with potential segments together. Not only did you blindside me, but you practically baited Hal and Lacey into demanding that I join your dating app.
* * *
LibraGrl: Would you like to talk about this in person? I’m literally only a few steps away.
* * *
DrBananaPants: I have no desire to let the world into my office. Unlike some people, I have real work to do.
* * *
LibraGrl: I’m going to ignore your obvious dig and take the high road. I imagine at this point it’ll be up to the network and your boss, won’t it?
* * *
DrBananaPants: I don’t want you to set foot into my office and I don’t want you to set me up.
* * *
LibraGrl: I don’t do the setting up. The computer does that according to your star sign.
There’s a knock on my open door and I see Waltraut standing there. She reaches over and knocks on Ben’s door as well, then waits a second for him to open it. “I just spoke with the powers that be at NASA. The office redo is a go, but instead of live, we’ll shoot it ahead of time, then have you both on to watch it together and talk about it. Can you both be available on Wednesday at one?”
I hear a sigh before Ben asks, “Why so soon?”
“We need time to edit the segment,” Waltraut says. “So, Wednesday?”
“Sounds great to me,” I say.
Ben offers a more sedate, “Fine.”
“Oh, and we’ve decided that having both of you on the air with Hal and Lacey is a lot of energy, so we’re going to just have the two of you do your bit from now on.”
“Fantastic!” I gush with way more enthusiasm than I’m feeling. I’m preoccupied imagining what a giant pain in the rear Ben is going to be when I redecorate his office.
Ben shuts down the conversation by saying, “I really need to run.”
Waltraut says, “Ben, we’d really love it if you’d get on board with Serafina’s dating app. Our ratings would go through the roof if you did.”
“Your ratings really aren’t my top priority.” I hear the door click shut and Waltraut turns to me. “He’s a total delight, isn’t he?”
“Not the description that came to my mind,” I tell her.
“Whatever he is, the viewers love him, and you, too,” she says. “You’re a real natural at this stuff, you know. Keep it up and you could end up with your own show.” Before I can thank her, Waltraut grabs a woman passing by. “You were told not to cook with cilantro today, right? Hal is severely allergic to it.”
With that, she disappears, leaving me to contemplate the possibilities of my future. I knew when the sun aligned with Neptune, opportunities were going to become abundant, but this is a whole new level of amazing. When my phone pings, I look down to see it’s another message from Ben.
DrBananaPants: I can only spare about 45 minutes on Wednesday. As I’ve previously mentioned, I have an actual job I’m expected to perform.
* * *
LibraGrl: So you said. If you want this to go fast, make sure to clean up your office so we can do a quick switch.
* * *
Dr.BananaPants: Fine.
* * *
Dr.BananaPants: Oh, and I hate chartreuse so don’t bring anything in that color.
* * *
LibraGrl: What was that you said about how open-minded you are?
* * *
Dr.BananaPants: One can be open-minded and aware of his likes and dislikes at the same time.
* * *
LibraGrl: Not if you’ve never tried something first.
* * *
DrBananaPants: Are you really so incapable of agreeing with a simple request? You got your way. We’re doing the silly segment in my office. Just give me this one thing without making a federal case of it.
I don’t respond to his text because, first of all, rude! Second, I have a feeling he’d love chartreuse if he gave it a chance. It’s such a happy color and if that man needs anything, it’s a lift in his mood.
Sixteen
Ben
I arrive at my office at seven this morning to ‘clean it up’ — as Serafina bossily instructed — before starting my day. I