Page 61 of Drop Pass

I nodded and hurried out so I could get ready. I showered, dressed, and did my hair in record time. My make-up could wait until I was at the studio. I pulled on my coat and grabbed my bag before I stepped out to the hall.

Nikolay was waiting for me with a small smile. He was wearing a warm up with the Fury logo and was holding his duffle. “Ready?”

I smiled. “Yeah, thanks for waiting.”

We rode the elevator in silence, electric tension filled the air. I wondered if he could feel it too. I glanced at him to see him watching me with one side of his mouth pulled up. Yup, he felt it.

Once we were out on the sidewalk, he broke the silence. “Why are you going in on the weekend? I thought you were done with that.”

“I’m the only one that lives close enough to come in. My producer said people are snowed in and the roads are still too dangerous for those that can get out.”

“Does your producer live close?”

I nodded. “Yeah just across that way.” I pointed to the far end of the arena to the luxury condos.

“That’s where Grant lives.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“He’s probably going to be the only other one that makes it if things are really that bad.”

I nodded. “I’ll warn people to stay inside.”

At the light where I needed to cross, Nikolay paused. “I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, I should only be there for a few hours.”

“Good. Call me when you’re done.”

“I will.” I took a step but he caught me and pulled me back. With another gentle kiss that made my chest swell he sent me off.

I made it across the street without slipping on ice and hurried into the warmth of the building. When I walked into the studio, the quiet surprised me. Normally, people were rushing around and voices came from every direction.

I peeked into the newsroom as I passed. There were only a handful of people. We must be working on a skeleton crew. When I got to my desk, I sat down and smiled at Wesley. “Just us two?”

He nodded and passed me a few papers. “We’re doing a short hour block for the day then recording the radio bits. We should be done after that.”

I nodded and pulled out a mirror from my top drawer. I finished my makeup while reading over the report he gave me. I was going to cover the traffic as well as an update on power outages.

I sighed as I finished. “Hopefully the people that need to hear this the most can.”

He nodded. “The website has been updated so people can check on their phones and we’ll get the radio going soon.”

I stood and went to my mark with a few minutes to gather myself. Only one anchor was in, and a few of the cameramen. The storm was worse than I expected and I could only imagine it was even worse in the mountains.

The camera turned to me and the countdown started. When the red light blinked on, I went through what information we had about last night’s storm, what to expected on the roads, warned people to stay in if possible, and delivered the upcoming forecast. This report would repeat throughout the day, so hopefully people listened and didn’t take any risks.

As soon as I was back to my desk, Wesley slid the mic to me and we recorded the sound bites for the radio. As soon as we were done, he stood and pulled his jacket on. “I’ve got to get home and make sure my wife and neighbors don’t try to shovel the drives.”

“Okay. Drive safe.”

He nodded and left without another word. I gathered my things and checked my email, making sure nothing else had come up. It looked like I was good to go, so I pulled my coat on and grabbed my purse. On the way out I called Nikolay and was surprised when he answered.

“Hi Elena.”

“Hi, I just finished. Have you started practice?”

“No, it’s just me, Grant, Derrek, and Hartman.”