Free The Hot Guy at the GOP Debate by Victoria Pearl

“ Why
are you calling me now? I'm busy!” Jacey demanded of the voice
on the other end of her phone.
    “ Is
that any way to speak to your boss, Smith? What are you doing?”
    “ I'm
sorry, Mac. What do u think I'm doing? I'm watching the debate.”
Jacey answered quickly, “Can I call you back? I need to
pay attention, I have an article to write, you know.”
    “ Of
course I know, that's why I'm calling. I want you to stop the
presses. I'm making a change, the assignment I gave you is dead. I'm
putting Seaver on the debate.”
    “ What?
Why?,” Jacey demanded. “That's not fair! I have just as
much seniority to write this as he does! You think a woman can't
cover a political debate as well as a man can? Is that your problem?
You know I have grounds for sexual discrimination here!”
    “ Don't
give me that crap Jacey!” Mac snapped back. “I'm your
boss, let's not forget that!”
    “ Seaver
is going to cover the debate, and that's final! Something else has
come up and I need you to jump on this. Seaver doesn't have the
mobility to write this story, he's got a family, his wife just had a
baby, and he's got a broken leg! He can cover the debate from home.
    You,
on the other hand, have no family, no husband, no baby, and your legs
work perfectly fine! I know you think I'm an insensitive jerk for
saying that, but I say it not only as your boss, but as your friend.
You're haven't left your house since Jason broke up with you, and
it's time for you to get on with things! I'm putting you on this
assignment Jacey, and that's that!”
    Jacey
felt the sting of his remark about Jason, and felt a lump well up in
her throat as she struggled to gain her composure.
    “ Jacey,
the bottom line is that the Twitterverse is going wild and I need my
best reporter to get this scoop before anyone else does!”
    “ Oh
my God, what's happened?,” Jacey sat up, brushing aside a tear
from her cheek.
    “ Don't
worry, nothing terrible is happening...it's just, you're going to
find this funny, actually. It is pretty amusing. Normally, it
wouldn't be news, but it's just that everyone on Twitter is tweeting
about it, so these days, that's considered news, and for better or
worse, I've got to acknowledge that,” Mac said with
resignation.
    “ Asking
about what? What the hell is going on?” Jacey was always hungry
for a hot news story.
    “ Jacey,
I know you, now I'm warning you, don't jump out of your skin when you
hear this assignment.” Mac cautioned.
    “ Just
tell me what it is Mac!”
    “ Okay,
here it is -- everyone on Twitter wants to know who that hot guy is
sitting in the audience at the debate.”
    “ What?”
Jacey was enraged! “You gotta be kidding me! You're pulling me
off the GOP debate and putting me on a fluff piece about a hot guy in
the audience? Give me a friggin' break!”
    “ I
know, I know how it sounds, but Jacey, you're a news reporter and
this guy is trending big-time on social media. Like it or not, it's
the new news. All the news that's fit to tweet and trend, is fit to
print. This guy is 'hot' and he is trending. Track him down, find out
who he is, and get me a story. That's it.”
    “ You
know what to do. You're the best Jacey, I gotta go watch the rest of
this debate. I want it on my desk by Monday! Mac out!” He said
and hung up.
    “ Don't
you hang up on me!” Jacey screamed at the dial tone.
    What
the hell! Jacey thought. I didn't graduate with journalism and
political science degrees just to write fluff stories about hot
guys!,” Jacey shook her head in frustration. Tears began
rolling uncontrollably down her face. That seemed to be a daily,
forget daily – practically an hourly occurrence since Jason had
dropped the bombshell! Hot guys were the last thing she wanted to be
thinking about now!
    Work
had always been a refuge for her, a welcome distraction from her
disappointing love life. Her dating history read like a series of sad
Taylor Swift songs. First there was Kevin, who broke her heart