Page 39 of It’s The Dawg In Him For Me

“It’s nice to see you,” he said softly.

I looked up at him after taking a noseful of his cologne.

“It’s nice to see you too.”

I took my seat next to him and chatted with Sammie, the weather anchor, when our boss Leana walked in.

“Good morning, everybody. We are so happy to have Mariah back.” She stopped, and everybody looked at me and started clapping with a smile. “Let’s show her how a family works and be there if she needs anything.”

I smiled back and gave a slight nod. Lena went on talking to everybody else in the room, and I took a sip of my water just as Shyheim leaned over and whispered to me, “Did you like the flowers I sent you?”

I choked on my drink, making everybody turn their attention to me.

“I am okay,” I said softly.

Leana continued talking to them, and I looked at Shyheim.

“All of those were from you?” I asked.

He smiled. “Yeah. I hope they put a smile on your face.”

I smiled. “They did, thanks.”

Leana finished what she had to say and did the countdown, and the cameras turned on. I was nervous to be back, feeling like I might have lost my touch, but I read the teleprompter and smiled, remembering that I wasn’t one of the best news anchors in the city for nothing.

As our segment went on, Shyheim was smiling harder than I remembered, and when we did our little banter keeping the news light and fun, he kept nudging me under the table.

Once we said our goodbyes and the cameraman called cut, the smile on my face quickly went away, and Courtney was right there, handing me a bottle of water as they un-mic’d me.

“So I was wondering,” Shyheim said, making me turn around and face him. “If you weren’t busy, could I take you out to lunch?”

Courtney looked at me, trying to hide her smile, but she wasn't trying hard enough.

“Umm… Sure, let me just go freshen up.”

“Cool, I will meet you at your dressing room in fifteen.”

I nodded and watched him walk off set while Courtney pulled me off.

“Girl!” she said as she pulled me through the side door so we wouldn’t be behind him.

“I know,” I responded. I had a slight smile, not knowing if it was even right to have one.

We walked back to my dressing room, and I plopped down in my chair in front of the mirror.

“I can’t believe he finally asked you out on a date.”

I looked at her through the mirror. “Finally? Girl, what are you talking about?”

Courtney took a seat. “You mean you never noticed? Shyheim likes you, Mariah.”

I shook my head. “Nah, we have just worked together for a few years. He knows I'm married.”

“So,” Courtney shot back. “We have all heard what happened.”

I looked away from Courtney and down at my makeup bag.

“He sent all these flowers… I never got that vibe that he liked me.”