Sighing, she started another column on "the frat boy", and she realized she had been grinding these out for over three years. Howell had told her Michael would return once he saw the quality of her work, but now she realized she had been used by Michael, just as Howell was using her now. Maybe that's why she had taken to hanging out with that coke-head from television. He reminded her of her Hollywood days, and happier times. Maybe things were going to change.
Turning the dial, she selected Bloomberg News, pleasant background financial noise which wouldn't distract from her column. "Howell Raines has resigned from the Times..."
Maureen's hand, reaching for the computer keyboard, froze in mid-air. "That couldn't be right," she thought. "I must be imagining things.."Glancing out to the newsroom, she saw clusters of reporters listening to radios or peering intently at computer screens. She realized, then, that it was true after all.
Silently closing her office door, she turned and went to the closet. A large bottle of bourbon remained there from the last going-away party. She intended to make use of it, as it was going to be a long, long day....