I listened to Dani telling off her husband. Apparently, he forgot her birthday, again. I even remembered to text him the day before, letting him know it was her birthday. Leon could be a bit selfish at times.
Dani was a radio host and had a huge following, in many states. She brought me on to be her assistant after we worked together for a news station in Philadelphia. At the time, I was just a cameraman that followed her around when she did things.
I had been with Dani for ten years; she brought me to Atlanta when she got the job, and now I was her shadow.
Dani's show was a bit hit with both right and left-winged members. She gave the facts without all the biased bullshit. She always said it was better to provide the facts and let the people figure out what they wanted to do with it. She never chose a side, and whenever she was cornered, she always said both sides were a bunch of whining babies that wanted things their way and only their way.
We just ended a show on land rights as some people were crying about an old building being torn down to put up a strip mall.
"Fine," Dani said as she hung up.
'Should I make a reservation at Risoltos?' I texted Leon.
'Immediately!' Leon responded.
Risoltos was Dani's favorite Italian restaurant. Whenever he fucked up, Leon would want me to make a reservation there. And I already knew that when Dani sighed and said fine and rolled her eyes, it meant he fucked up.
I quickly texted my contact at the restaurant and got the response I needed.
'Done,' I sent back. 'Earliest time they have is eight,' I sent.
'Thanks,' Leon replied.
I quickly hid my phone as Dani came out of the restroom. She stared at me and shook her head.
"You're my assistant, not his," she said as she passed me and headed down the hall.
"I know," I responded.
"Risoltos?" Dani asked as she went into her office.
"At Eight," I nodded.
Dani sighed. "Can't believe he forgot again, the third year in a row," she said as she picked up the papers on her desk.
"He has a lot going on with the elections coming up," I said.
"My assistant, remember?" Dani said, shaking her short blonde hair.
Dani had approached the big five-zero, not that anyone would know by looking at her. She could pass for someone in their mid-forties or younger.
She did a lot of working out with Jake, her fitness instructor, and kept a plant-based diet that she got turned onto four years ago and had kept up with even through everything. She never drank unless it was new years and that was champagne, not wine.
I knew Dani's schedule like the back of my hand. She would sit and look at the reports from the day before and some headlines that would determine tomorrow's topic. Then she would email that to her staff, and they would scour the internet for facts, not lies or opinions and give it back to her by six. She would read everything between six and seven and then eat dinner.
Dani looked over at me as I started her usual email to her staff. I usually started it and let her finish it. "What?" I asked.
"What do you think?" Dani asked as she turned her screen around.
"Pushing it," I nodded.
"Too soon?" Dani asked.
"Definitely," I nodded.
Dani nodded and went back to her searching. I was the only one of her staff that she listened to entirely and asked for advice. All the others jumped when she said jump. They didn't ask how high. They just jumped.
Dani's rating was through the roof. Many people wanted to be on her show, from politicians to corporate CEO. She was that good.
In a time of people and networks saying what their listeners and followers wanted to hear, it was refreshing for someone to go against the grain and call it what it was, with no filter, no biases, just the raw truth.
"I shouldn't go," Dani said.
"You will," I nodded as I waited for her to finish.
"But I shouldn't," Dani said.
"But you will," I said as I played my mobile game.
"I may surprise you," Dani smiled.
I didn't have to look up to know she was smiling. "But you won't," I shrugged.
"Damn you," Dani said as she returned to her search.
This was my life, and I liked it. For the most part, Dani and Leon paid me very well, to the point that I didn't want for anything. If I wanted a new car, they got it for me. If I wanted a raise, I got it. No questions asked, and in return, all I had to do was wait hand and foot for her. It wasn't bad at all.
Dani treated me like a person and not a door mat. If I wanted a day off, I only had to tell her. She was a great boss to me, and to the others, she was a good person. Everyone got paid a decent salary with excellent benefits.
"You should come," Dani said.
"Nope," I shook my head.
"Why not?" Dani asked.
I sighed as I looked up at her. "He is going to tell you that he got caught up at work and then got tired when he got home, you're going to say that it was the same excuse as last time, which will then lead into a back-and-forth argument, you both will turn to me and ask my opinion and, I already decided I am staying out of it this year."
Dani nodded. "You're right," she said as she leaned back in her chair.
I could see the wheels turning. "No," I said, shaking my head.
"I have the topic," Dani said as she started typing on her keyboard. She was finishing the email.
I looked at my screen on my tablet and shook my head. "I thought since we were so close to elections you were keeping it political?"
"Changed my mind," Dani said as she hit send.
"They aren't going to need to search too hard for that, it's mostly opinion based," I said.
"Then it will be mostly call ins," Dani nodded.
The higher-ups gave Dani free reign over her show; since it had gone national, they never got in her way.
"Have a good night," Dani said as she stared over the monitor at me.
I knew that look. She was done with me and my shenanigans. Mainly she wanted time alone to think of what she would say tomorrow.
I nodded and then headed home.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Well, that happened," I said as Dani got out of the studio.
Dani's topic sparked a considerable number of call-ins and started a massive debate on who was right and wrong in an argument of the sexes.
"I thought it went well," Dani smiled.
"Yeah," I said as I shook my head.
"What?" Dani asked.
"Guessing it didn't go well last night," I said.
The way Dani argued about men thinking it's okay that their career took precedence over their spouses made me think that was something Leon must have mentioned last night.
"Let's just say he slept in his downtown apartment last night," Dani smiled.
I took out my phone.
"Don't you dare," Dani said, shaking her head.
"Just checking," I said.