A Thousand Miles

Part 26

"Help me get through this, Lord."

    JoLynn closed her eyes and uttered the short prayer like a dying breath. Her knees threatened to buckle, her hands trembled, and a chill seeped into every part of her. Still, it was a relief to know what was coming. If she hadn't found that contract at Shane's place, this news today would have caught her so off guard she might have passed out.

    Even so, there was nothing she could do at this point. No chance of changing Truman's mind, so there would be no point in begging for a reprieve. She glanced up, watching the floor numbers tick by as the elevator brought her ever closer to the end of this road.

    She swallowed down the ache in her throat. The last thing she wanted was to break down in tears in Truman's office, like the girl he thought she was. She would cry later. She would cry a lot. But later. Not here and now.

"Please, Lord. Help me keep it together. And show me what's next."

    The elevator lurched softly to a stop and the door slid open, revealing the bustling, life-as-usual interior of the Overton Investments office. JoLynn stepped out and made her way toward Truman's office, growing more numb with each step.

    "Good morning, Ms. Travis." Bess' greeting sounded more reserved than usual. "Go right in. He's expecting you."

    "Thank you." JoLynn pushed the door open to find Truman standing behind his desk, gazing out the window. She cleared her throat. "Good morning, Truman."

    He turned, as if startled. "Ah. JoLynn. Good morning." He looked at her for a long moment, his mouth pressed into a firm line. An uncharacteristic hesitancy emanated from him, making her, for one insane moment, want to tell him it was OK, and she already knew what this meeting was about. "Have a seat," he said at last.

    She sat and folded her hands in her lap. Here it came.

    Truman sat, the leather of his chair creaking as he leaned forward, clasped his hands together and rested them on the desk. Then he heaved a burdened sigh and shook his head. "Well, this just ain't easy to say."

    It wasn't easy to hear, either.

    "So I'm just gonna say it."

   Well, all right then. JoLynn braced herself.

    "I'm making Shane sole host of Traveling Texas." The statement came out in a steady rush. Then Truman leaned back, looking as if a huge burden lifted and the resulting relief overwhelmed him.

    JoLynn bit her lip and looked at her clasped hands. There had to be a better way to say it than that. The termination sounded so harsh with no preamble...no thanks for years of service and a job well done. She took a breath, surprised by the sense of calm that enveloped her.

    "Since he's come on board we've added sponsors, hits on the show's website have more than doubled. All the feedback has been positive."

    "Don't you think that might have something to do with the two of us working together?" She fought the urge to squeeze her eyes shut against the irony of this current perspective. Mere weeks ago, she'd sat right here, enumerating all the reasons she and Shane could not possibly work together. Was she truly now so desperate to keep their team together? Even if Truman did have a change of heart, agreeing to let her stay on as co-host to Shane, could she work with him? After the way he betrayed her, could she put it behind her and face him every day? Could she answer to him?

    Truman studied her with narrowed eyes. "All our research these past few weeks...every indicator we have says the change, the upswing in viewer numbers, is because of him."