Free What's His Is Mine by Daaimah S. Poole Page A

you may not know.”
    Paul butted in and said, “And the other stations that have women on their sports team—their numbers are through the roof. So what do you say?” Thomas looked over at me, waiting for my response. I knew I didn’t really have a choice in the matter. They were asking me to help them out for a little while.
    â€œAnd my salary?” I asked.
    â€œFor right now, it will stay the same. However, as soon as we can get a strong replacement in, you will be first in line for the news desk. Michelle Hartley, who does weekend anchor, is taking maternity leave in the spring and you’ll have her position.”
    I knew I had to say yes. If I did them this favor, I would definitely get rewarded and be on the fast track to becoming an anchor.
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    I walked into the conference room for the meeting and all eyes were on me. Richard Hall was an old, Uncle Tom, still-in-the-streets reporter. He wasn’t that fond of me, he never had anything pleasant to say, and always grimaced at me. But it is not surprising. Tammy Chan on weather, Bruce Nichols, and Audrey Brooks were the night correspondents. I was still the “new reporter” and I was still encountering a little hate, and now, with this promotion, I didn’t know what people would think. In this industry, everyone is out for themselves. Your job can be in jeopardy as soon as a prettier, wittier girl or guy comes to town. I knew I had to work hard to get what I wanted. I tried not to be jealous of anyone and didn’t expect for anyone to hand me anything.
    Paul started the meeting. “Good morning. By now you have all heard that Phillip Goodwin is no longer with the Action 7 team. We have decided to temporarily replace him with Cherise Long while we look for his replacement. This will take effect immediately.”
    I looked around the room. No one really had anything to say about his announcement. There were a few short claps and then the meeting returned to normal.
    When the meeting was over, I got one snide remark from Richard Hall. “Four months on the job and a promotion already. Congrats. It must be nice.”
    I started to respond, but I didn’t. He was just mad that he had been working at the station for five years and had never been promoted.

Chapter 9
    Tanisha
    I emptied out my studio apartment. When I first arrived, all I had were the clothes on my back and the first two weeks’ rent. Over time, I was able to make a room into a home. I had a small beige velourish sofa with dark brown wooden arms, a twenty-seven-inch television, a futon bed, and a cheap DVD player. My place looked full, but it only took one big trash bag to empty it out. I gave all my belongings to the lady downstairs, Justine. She was very thankful and said she would give the clothes to her granddaughter who lives over on 7 Mile. Leaving Detroit was going to be bittersweet. It had been the loneliest twelve months of my life. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, but I was ready to go home. I looked around the room one last time and flicked the lights off and began walking to the bus stop.
    I took the bus downtown to the train station. As I exited the bus, my heart began to beat rapidly. I was beginning to feel like I couldn’t breathe, and my chest was becoming tight. I was very nervous, but I still walked toward the ticket window in the train station.
    â€œOne way to Philadelphia,” I said to the woman behind the glass window. She typed my destination into her computer.
    â€œOkay, sweetie, that will be one hundred and twenty-four dollars.” I pulled out the money and handed it to her. She counted the money and swiped a marker across the money to make sure it was real. Then the cashier handed me a napkin and said, “Honey, why did you run here? It’s okay—the train doesn’t leave for another half hour.” I thanked her for the napkins. I walked to the restroom and saw beads of