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"Never Say Die"
Ginger was probably going to tan his hide for this. Jeff knew his wife well, and despite how well he meant right now, he also knew she would blow a gasket when she found out where he had gone today. She had assumed he was going to the store when he told her he'd be running some errands--he reminded himself to stop by and get sugar just as she had instructed--but he figured one little mental reservation wouldn't do any harm, especially if this worked out the way he was hoping. He couldn't wait to see the look on Ginger's face when he told her, and if he could somehow keep the secret for the next few days, it might even make for a wonderful Christmas present. I'll just have to make sure she doesn't kill me before I can tell her the good news, he thought with a triumphant smile. Part of him knew he shouldn't be so cocky--he knew he shouldn't be counting his chicks before they hatched, but he had a feeling this would go well. "Mr. Metcalf!" Miss Wescott's eyes widened at the sight of him, and her face turned to such a ghastly shade of white that she nearly blended with the walls behind her. She regained her composure after a few seconds and blinked a few times--probably hoping he would vanish if she opened and closed her eyes enough times. "Hello, Miss Wescott," he said with all the sweetness he could muster. His mother had always taught him the value of killing others with kindness, and he couldn't think of a better target than Mr. Melon's jittery assistant who was surely thinking of a thousand ways to get rid of him now. "Wh-what are you doing here? I mean, how nice to see you again." "That's very nice of you to say, Miss Wescott," he said. "Say, you wouldn't mind if I went on in and talked to Mr. Melon, now would you? For old time's sake?" Her face scrunched up in a nervous twitch of a smile and she laughed awkwardly. "Oh no... I don't think that's a good idea, Mr. Metcalf... Mr. Melon... isn't in right now." "Miss Wescott! Would you come in here for a second?" Jeff turned his head at the giveaway sound of the station manager's voice and returned his eyes to Miss Wescott's horrified look. "Oh look at that," she said, "I guess he is in his office!" He tried not to laugh and instead leaned in a little closer towards her. "Well then it would be perfectly all right for me to go and say hello, right?" She opened her mouth, but nothing came out for a minute, and then she quickly came out from behind her desk and ran to Mr. Melon's door to block his way. "Well actually, he's really busy right now. Yes, he's in a meeting..." The door swung open behind her, missing her by just a few inches, and Mr. Melon emerged, donning on his hat. "I'm off to lunch now, you'll be sure to take my messages, won't you?" Jeff grinned at Miss Wescott and stepped in front of an unsuspecting Mr. Melon. "Hello, sir," he said coolly. "I wondered if I might have a word with you for a few minutes?" "... Just a few minutes, it won't take long at all, I promise." He's not buying this, Ginger thought, trying not to focus on how much her cheeks hurt from this ridiculous smile she had forced on herself. Arthur's butler never did like her much before, but now he didn't even seem to make the effort to hide the disdain he had when she and Arthur were dating. "He's not home right now, Miss Szabo." "Mrs. Metcalf," Ginger corrected him ever so sweetly. She could have sworn he rolled his eyes, but she ignored the gesture anyway. "He's not home right now, Mrs. Metcalf," he repeated. "Miles, just who is at the door?" Ginger felt her the blood rise to her face as soon as she heard that all-too-smooth voice approach the door. Behind Miles, a familiar figure swaggered to the foyer, and it was all she could do not to reach over and strangle him. Keep your cool, she reminded herself. There's no reason to sink to his level. "Ginger!" he said, and the momentary shock on his face gave way to a toothy smile. Funny how she never noticed how incredibly fake that smile was. "What are you doing here?" "Mr. Metcalf, what are you doing here? What a pleasant surprise..." Jeff had to admit, he took some sadistic pleasure in making Mr. Melon this nervous, especially after the way he had treated Jeff like a child on the Lemo All Star trip. Now it seemed the tables were turned, and he couldn't help but smile to himself at the thought. "Yes, I'm sure you didn't expect to see me here," he answered. "But it's good to see you... How have you been, Ginger?" Ginger let him take her hand to lead her inside, though his touch made her skin crawl. This'll all be over soon, she thought. And then I'll have my self-respect back... "How have I been, Arthur?" she said casually, but giving her voice a slight razor's edge. "Let's see, how have I been... Well, I guess you've heard by now--I've been fired from my job." Arthur's smile froze on his face and let go of her hand. "Is... is that so? Oh, Ginger, I'm so sorry to hear that. That's really terrible. I can't imagine how they could have ever-" "Oh come off it, buster!" she spat out, unable to hold her anger in anymore. The sight of him trying to cover up his guilt nearly made her gag, and she was not going to wait one minute longer to let him have it. He may have fooled her once, but there was no way on God's green earth that she was going to let him do it again. "Ginger, I don't know what you're talking about. Now, it's clear that you're upset, so why don't you sit down... Is this about Jeff?"
"What??" Oh now she was really mad. How dare he even say Jeff's name? "No, Mr. Schillhab, this is about you being a sneaky, underhanded snake, and how I was the fool of the western world to ever fall for your act!" The pathetically innocent smile on his face began to transform into a smarmy grin, and he let out a laugh that made Ginger want to throw something at him. "Let me get this straight, Ginger," he said, "are you implying that I had anything to do with..." "... your wife being fired? Why, Mr. Metcalf, wherever would you get that idea?" Jeff straightened ever so slightly in his chair, and for a moment, he thought he saw Mr. Melon flinch a little in response, and he tucked away a grin. "Oh I don't know, Mr. Melon," he said, "maybe it was the fact that you failed to inform my wife that Fine Foods had been bought weeks ago, and that the new owner was her ex-fiance. Her vindictive ex-fiance." Mr. Melon's cheeks began to tremble from holding the smile still, and he let out a stutter of a laugh. "Well, I neglected to tell your wife, that's true, but Mr. Metcalf, that's hardly a crime-" "Then how about firing her from a job that she was doing aces at for almost two years--and might I add sales of Fine Foods products have never been better since she's been doing the show. Where's the logic in that, Mr. Melon?" "Mr. Metcalf, this is a very delicate matter... Things are a little more complicated than they seem to those who don't quite understand the intricacies of show business..." "The intricacies of..." "You see, Mr. Schillhab felt that we needed to go in a different direction with the show. He felt we needed..." "... someone older. Someone more... well, more like a housewife. And let's face it, Ginger, you're not exactly the housewife type." The only thing keeping Ginger from reaching out and strangling this man now was the thought of her poor ex-policeman father having to explain how his little girl got arrested to murdering this no good louse. She took a deep breath--that seemed to allay the light-headedness that overtook her once again--and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm not the housewife type, am I?" "Come on, Ginger. Someone like you? Do I need to spell it out for you?' "Yes, Arthur, you might have to spell it out for me, since I guess I'm just not getting your infinite wisdom right now. You'll have to excuse us common folk who've never been to a college classroom." He titled his head and gave her a condescending smile. "There's no need to be hostile. All I meant was that, despite your success on the show, you don't really project the type of image we want for Fine Foods." He paused dramatically and shook his head. "I hate to be blunt, Ginger..." I'm sure you do, she fumed inside. "... but with your history as a pin-up, and let's be honest, who can forget the way you went from man to man--on the air, no less, well... how can your average housewife think of you as one of them?" Ginger could hear the blood pounding in her head and she swallowed hard to fight the nausea that washed over her in that instant. No, she was not going to lose her composure in front of this man--this snake! She was better than that. She had come here to tell him she was going to fight for her job, but after this, she didn't want it back. "You know, Arthur, in some strange way I'm actually glad this all happened." His smile gave way to a look of confusion. "You are?" "Yes," she said. "Because I've found out what kind of man you really are, Arthur Schillhab. You know, I used to feel guilty for breaking your heart. For leading you on without meaning to because I was still in love with Jeff when we were together. I used to think that one day I would have to apologize to you for treating you this way, because you were a good man who just happened to get me on the rebound..." She leaned in and poked him in the chest with her index finger. "But now I see what you're really like. And I am so glad I married the right man. Good riddance, Arthur. You may think you've ruined me, but you won't win." With that, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. She felt him tug on her arm and he spun her around. Shocked, she tore her arm away. He gave her a smirk and said, "I'm not as nice as people think I am, Ginger." She slapped him and slammed the door on her way out. "Please, Mr. Metcalf, let's just discuss this calmly, like adults... I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement here..." Jeff took a deep breath and sat back down. "Fine," he said through gritted teeth. So far this was going exactly how he had hoped. He felt Mr. Melon slowly breaking down, and surely the man would be ready to give in any second now. "Mrs. Metcalf is a very valuable member of the WREQ family," Mr. Melon said, the color returning to his face, now that Jeff was no longer towering over him. Jeff would have never laid a finger on him of course, but what harm could it have done to let the other man sweat a little? "Which means you'll give her her job back, right?" "Well..." "Well, what?" "Perhaps we could work out a compromise..." "Mr. Melon, have I told you that I'm close personal friends with Mr. Veeck?" One little white lie wasn't going to hurt, he thought. He was doing this for his wife, and besides, he could always go to one extra confession after this. If he succeeded, it would be worth it. "N-no, you didn't mention that..." Jeff smiled. He knew he had gotten his attention. "Well, I am," he said. "You know Mr. Veeck has been mulling over the idea of having WCLV broadcast the Indians games..." Mr. Melon's face went blank. "He... has?" "Oh yes, he's mentioned it once or twice. Thinks it would be a great idea to have a Cleveland station air the games. After all, the team is called the Cleveland Indians, not the River Run Indians. He's wondering how appropriate it is to have the 'Voice of River Run' continue to carry the games..." He saw Mr. Melon's adam's apple bob up and down. "Mr. Metcalf, I have a suggestion..." Jeff smiled at his victory. "I had a feeling you might say that." Home| Kyle| Tammy| History| Transcripts| Quotes| Milestones| Episodes| Pictures| Fanfic| Links| Email List |
