Close to You Read Free

stunned by the dizzying speed with which prime real estate moved in Bergen County. Eliza was desperateto find somewhere peaceful she and Janie could live, out of New York City and away from all the recent unhappy memories. Their apartment was beautiful and it was certainly big enough for just the two of them. But Eliza wanted to get her little girl in a new environment, out of the city, cultural capital of the world or not.
    Louise was not giving up. “And, Eliza, I almost forgot to tell you. It’s an estate sale. The house is vacant, so you could close as soon as you wanted. Janie could even be enrolled in her new school by the first day of kindergarten.”
    It was little wonder that Louise Kendall was a consistent member of the Realtors’ Million Dollar Sales Club, thought Eliza. She was an expert at enticing her customers.
    â€œLook, Louise, here’s the best I can do. Right after the broadcast, I’ll pick up Janie and we’ll drive out there. I should be able to meet you by eight.”
    â€œGreat!” exclaimed Louise triumphantly. “We’ll still have some light then. We can walk around the outside property first while we can still see and then we’ll go inside. I know you are going to fall in love with this house, Eliza. I’m bringing a contract with me. Make sure to bring your checkbook.”

Chapter 2
    Not far from the Lincoln Tunnel in Moonachie, New Jersey, every seat at the bar was taken at the noisy Like It Rare steakhouse. As the clock on the wall neared six-thirty, the regulars groaned when the bartender switched the television mounted on the wall at the corner of the bar to the
KEY Evening Headlines
with Eliza Blake.
    â€œAw, come on, Meat. Give us a break. Leave on the wrestling.”
    â€œFor Christ’s sake, Meat, we come here to get away from the real world for a while. Why do you always have to watch the damned news?”
    â€œForget it, you guys. You should know better by now. Meat’s got a hard-on for Eliza Blake. There’s nothing you can say or do that is going to make him change that freakin’ channel.”
    Cornelius Bacon appeared to ignore the comments from his customers, but in fact he didn’t even hear them. He was mesmerized and then angered as he watched Eliza Blake open the newscast, as she did each evening, not sitting at her desk as the male anchormen did at the other networks, but by walking across the studio set. Though the networkcould deny it up and down, KEY News was obviously capitalizing on Eliza’s sex appeal.
    The tall, willowy brunette stepped with assurance as she welcomed her viewers and recounted the top stories of the evening. Then, as the
KEY Evening Headlines
fanfare music blared, the camera followed Eliza as she took her seat at the anchor desk.
    Meat didn’t like that suit she was wearing. The skirt was much too short.
    Hadn’t he warned her about that? He had told her what he would do the next time she dared to show so much of those shapely legs.
    Why hadn’t she listened?

Chapter 3
    Even before the closing credits had finished rolling, Eliza unclipped her microphone and said a silent prayer of thanks that there was no reason to update tonight’s show. The broadcast had been technically perfect. Every news piece and each live standup had been executed without a hitch. There had been no misspelled supers or misplaced graphics. A clean feed to the two hundred-plus KEY affiliates around the country.
    â€œNice work, everybody.” Executive producer Range Bullock good-nighted the studio crew from his seat inside the control room.
    As Eliza stepped down from the anchor platform, Doris Brice approached with her cosmetics case in hand, a gold-sequined baseball cap perched jauntily atop her dark head. But tonight Eliza waved off their evening ritual.
    â€œThanks, Doris, but don’t even bother with taking off my makeup tonight. I’ve got to get out of here. There’s a