Author's Note: Thanks once again to Andrea (iloveromance) for inspiring me to try to finish my two incomplete stories. This isn't the end yet, but hopefully I can finish it soon!
"Thank you for meeting me, Mr. Fontana," said the reporter, shaking his hand. "I must say, you're even more handsome in person than you are on TV!"
"Thanks," Frank said, trying his best to sound modest.
"I can't believe I'm here with you in person, Mr. Fontana. I've been watching FYI ever since I was a little girl!"
"None of that 'Mr. Fontana' stuff," Frank said. "My name is Frank. And yours is...?"
"Faith Lewis," she replied, extending her hand again. "I still can't get over that piece you did last month where you went undercover to nail those drug dealers. You could've been killed!"
"Eh, it's all part of the job," Frank replied.
"Well, Frank, I'm sure you've got a lot to do today, so why don't we just get started?" Faith asked.
"I'm ready if you are," Frank said, winking.
Faith sat down at the table near where they were standing. Frank followed. "So, Frank," Faith asked, "What makes you think you're ready to make the jump from co-anchor to sole anchor?"
Frank was taken aback by Faith's sudden change in tone. "What?"
"You've been co-anchor of FYI for fifteen years now. What makes you suddenly think you're ready for your own show?" Faith clarified.
Frank stammered. Now he understood what Murphy's interview subjects felt like. "The network feels -" he began, but Faith cut him off.
"If I wanted to know what the network thought, I'd ask them," Faith said.
Frank sighed. "I thought this interview was supposed to promote my new show, not destroy it before it's even aired," he muttered.
"Newsmagazines are down in the ratings all over," Faith said. "I just find it odd that CBS is choosing to continue a format that's already struggling."
Frank was now sweating. Even though this new show was supposed to be about him going out on his own, he wanted nothing more than to have Murphy here with him. Surely she would know what to say. He swallowed hard. "Well, Mr. Kinsella said-"
Faith smiled. "Again, Frank, if I wanted to hear Eugene Kinsella's thoughts, I'd go talk to him. I want to know what you think."
"I think that I'm, you know, ready to handle a show of my own." But his tone of voice didn't match the words. "Really. I am."
"All right, then, Frank. Can you give people an example of what they can expect from your show?"
"Well, I could see myself doing a piece on drugs in our schools. It's a national epidemic." Frank grasped at the first topic that came to mind.
Faith nodded. "Yes. I remember the segment you did on FYI six months ago, in which you said those exact words."
Frank laughed nervously. "Wow. You really do your homework, don't you?"
"That's generally what we reporters do, isn't it?"
"Oh, right." Frank could tell he was going down in flames, fast. "Look, I may not have all the answers here. But that's why I don't run the network. All I do know is that I've been given an opportunity, and I think I'd be a fool not to take it."
"Fair enough. This is a business, after all. So, tell me, Frank: how do your colleagues feel about this? I'm sure Murphy must have an opinion!"
"Yeah, she told me I had to make my own decisions. I don't think the others agree with her, though. I mean, Miles – that's our executive producer, Miles Silverberg – was stunned that Kinsella made this decision without even talking to him about it!" Frank tried to laugh it off. After all, Miles had a reputation for being high-strung.
"Wow, it sounds like you don't really have anybody's support behind you, other than Murphy. Doesn't that give you second thoughts?"
Frank was now literally speechless. He'd been so caught up in the excitement of this offer that he hadn't really considered that. That, coupled with this train-wreck of an interview, gave him a lot to think about. "Um...could we, possibly, continue this discussion at a later date? I just remembered I have another appointment." Frank stammered as he told the lie. But he didn't care. All that mattered was getting out of there. It was clear he still had some more thinking to do.