The Hot Guy at the GOP Debate

The
Hot Guy At The GOP Debate

By

Victoria
Pearl

Copyright
©Magical Genie, Inc. 2015

Who
was that “hot guy” who ignited a Twitter firestorm at the
televised GOP debate?

Find
out in this fictionalized short story romance, “The Hot Guy at
the GOP Debate!”

“
Why
are you calling me now? I'm busy!” Jacey demanded of the voice
on the other end of her phone.

“
Is
that any way to speak to your boss, Smith? What are you doing?”

“
I'm
sorry, Mac. What do u think I'm doing? I'm watching the debate.”
Jacey answered quickly, “Can I call you back? I need to
pay attention, I have an article to write, you know.”

“
Of
course I know, that's why I'm calling. I want you to stop the
presses. I'm making a change, the assignment I gave you is dead. I'm
putting Seaver on the debate.”

“
What?
Why?,” Jacey demanded. “That's not fair! I have just as
much seniority to write this as he does! You think a woman can't
cover a political debate as well as a man can? Is that your problem?
You know I have grounds for sexual discrimination here!”

“
Don't
give me that crap Jacey!” Mac snapped back. “I'm your
boss, let's not forget that!”

“
Seaver
is going to cover the debate, and that's final! Something else has
come up and I need you to jump on this. Seaver doesn't have the
mobility to write this story, he's got a family, his wife just had a
baby, and he's got a broken leg! He can cover the debate from home.

You,
on the other hand, have no family, no husband, no baby, and your legs
work perfectly fine! I know you think I'm an insensitive jerk for
saying that, but I say it not only as your boss, but as your friend.
You're haven't left your house since Jason broke up with you, and
it's time for you to get on with things! I'm putting you on this
assignment Jacey, and that's that!”

Jacey
felt the sting of his remark about Jason, and felt a lump well up in
her throat as she struggled to gain her composure.

“
Jacey,
the bottom line is that the Twitterverse is going wild and I need my
best reporter to get this scoop before anyone else does!”

“
Oh
my God, what's happened?,” Jacey sat up, brushing aside a tear
from her cheek.

“
Don't
worry, nothing terrible is happening...it's just, you're going to
find this funny, actually. It is pretty amusing. Normally, it
wouldn't be news, but it's just that everyone on Twitter is tweeting
about it, so these days, that's considered news, and for better or
worse, I've got to acknowledge that,” Mac said with
resignation.

“
Asking
about what? What the hell is going on?” Jacey was always hungry
for a hot news story.

“
Jacey,
I know you, now I'm warning you, don't jump out of your skin when you
hear this assignment.” Mac cautioned.

“
Just
tell me what it is Mac!”

“
Okay,
here it is -- everyone on Twitter wants to know who that hot guy is
sitting in the audience at the debate.”

“
What?”
Jacey was enraged! “You gotta be kidding me! You're pulling me
off the GOP debate and putting me on a fluff piece about a hot guy in
the audience? Give me a friggin' break!”

“
I
know, I know how it sounds, but Jacey, you're a news reporter and
this guy is trending big-time on social media. Like it or not, it's
the new news. All the news that's fit to tweet and trend, is fit to
print. This guy is 'hot' and he is trending. Track him down, find out
who he is, and get me a story. That's it.”

“
You
know what to do. You're the best Jacey, I gotta go watch the rest of
this debate. I want it on my desk by Monday! Mac out!” He said
and hung up.

“
Don't
you hang up on me!” Jacey screamed at the dial tone.

What
the hell! Jacey thought. I didn't graduate with journalism and
political science degrees just to write fluff stories about hot
guys!,” Jacey shook her head in frustration. Tears began
rolling uncontrollably down her face. That seemed to be a daily,
forget daily – practically an hourly occurrence since Jason had
dropped the bombshell! Hot guys were the last thing she wanted to be
thinking about now!

Work
had always been a refuge for her, a welcome distraction from her
disappointing love life. Her dating history read like a series of sad
Taylor Swift songs. First there was Kevin, who broke her heart in
high school when he dumped her two days before prom so he could take
her so-called best friend, instead. Then Drew, her college boyfriend
decided to leave for the Peace Corp in Guatamala, and then decided to
never come home. When she finally met Jason, sensitive, thoughtful,
romantic Jason, who surprised her with a flash-mob engagement at
work, it seemed she had really hit the jackpot. Just three weeks ago,
Jason had told her that he and his therapist had come to the
conclusion that he was, in fact, gay, but he hoped they could still
be friends and go to the theater together sometimes.

The
truth was that Jacey hadn't been out of her house in three weeks. Her
hair was a matted mess of misery, and she was in no mood to leave her
safe, reclusive bed of tears. “C'mon Lady Sadness,” she
said to herself, “it's time to rejoin the land of the
living--at least for a few hours.”

The
cool stream of the shower hitting her skin shocked her into realizing
that she hadn't showered since she got the life-changing news. She
felt sorrow sprinkled with shame that she had allowed herself to
succumb to such depression. “NO!” She admonished herself,
“No, I'm not going to bully myself with shame on top of
everything else I'm feeling now! This was not my fault! I have no
control over his sexual orientation! This is not a reflection of me
as a woman! No shame here! Sadness, yes, and anger at him for not
sharing his struggle with me, yes! But NO Shame! I cannot, I WILL NOT
continue to beat myself up over this!” She affirmed out loud.

Jacey
emerged from the shower a less exhausted, somewhat renewed woman. She
quickly brushed her hair and applied some light makeup before
dressing and racing out the door with her hair still wet.

She
was relieved to be able to hail a cab quickly. “I suppose I
should see what this guy looks like, she thought as she googled “hot
guy at debate,” on her cellphone. Oh, that must be him, she
thought. Chiseled features, young, handsome, and strategically
situated behind the monitor in perfect line with the camera. Probably
an actor or a model wearing some designer's newest creation. Someone
must have hired him to hawk their wares, Jacey decided.

She
knew the type, a handsome, empty-headed young struggling actors were
a dime a dozen in this town. He probably had no idea what event he
was even attending, the debate was probably way over his head, she
thought condescendingly. She immediately flashed on Joey Tribbiani
from the TV show, 
Friends
.
He's probably sweet but fluffy. She christened him, “Mr.
Fluffy!” Jacey like to pick ridiculous names for the people in
her stories, especially for the stories she resented doing. It was
her passive-aggressive way of dealing with the situation. She had to
be careful, though because she once accidentally submitted a story to
Mac and forgot to use the find and replace editing tool to change Mr.
Wedgiebutt to Mr. Michaels!

Alright
Mr. Fluffy, who are you and why were you placed front and center?
This will be an easy piece, Jacey thought. I'll be back in bed by
10:00.

When
the cab pulled up to the convention hall, Jacey was bemused by the
spectacle before her. It was a controlled mob scene outside the hall!
You would have thought Elvis was inside, she thought. Most of the
crowd was young women, though there were quite a few men as well, all
milling around watching the live broadcast on their cellphones. Jacey
peered over several shoulders and saw that many of them were
tweeting. She pulled out her cellphone to see what was going on.

Twitter
was blowing up with tweets about “the hottie at the debate.”
Is that what all these people are doing here? She wondered. Are they
all here to catch a glimpse of Mr. Fluffy? Jacey shook her head at
the absurdity of the scene, even as she marveled at the power,
immediacy, and the oftentimes idiocy of social media.

Jacey
pushed her way through the crowd to the entrance, where she was
stopped by a security guard.“Excuse me Miss, no admittance,
we're filled to capacity.” You'll have to wait out here with
all the other lovesick ladies until Prince Charming emerges.”

“
I'm
with the press,” Jacey said flashing her press pass, and
feeling a little demeaned by his patronizing attitude.

“
Oh,
excuse me, Aren't you a little late? The debate started an hour and a
half ago?” the guard asked.

“
I'm
not covering the debate, I'm here for an interview.” Jacey
smiled.

The
guard smiled back, “Okay Miss, have a nice evening,” he
said as she politely brushed past him.

Jacey
followed the signs for the press, and joined the other reporters on
the side of the auditorium. She saw a couple of people she knew and
they acknowledged each other with smiles and nods. Her former
associate, Marsha gave her a quick hug and whispered, “Jacey,
check out the 'talent' sitting behind the moderator – what a
hunk!”

Jacey
strained to see him from her vantage point. He was handsome alright,
but to create the commotion he was causing? Well, at least her timing
couldn't have been more perfect. The debate was winding down, and
soon the audience was on their feet applauding enthusiastically. As
the audience began to disperse, Jacey started pushing her way
through, towards her target.

“
Excuse
me, pardon me,” she said stretching and straining her neck to
see where he had gone. She continued to forge ahead in his general
direction, but was unable to find him amongst the sea of bodies.

Ugh,
I'm not giving up until I find him, she determined. She ran to the
top of the auditorium to gain a better vantage point, but it was
futile. “Dammit!” She said to herself. I can't believe I
lost this guy! I have to call Mac. Jacey was dreading the fact that
she was going to have to tell him she was unable to get the story.
She reached into her bag for her cellphone. “Dammit!” she
said again, looking at her now dead phone. I need to find a place to
charge up, she thought.