“Thanks a lot for joining us today guys, remember to tune back in tomorrow for more dirty deets on our friends Mark and Aubrey on an all new Second Date Update!”
“Sounds saucy, I can’t wait!”
“And make sure you look for us on the I Radio app so you can tune in for all your hits at any time. In fact, tune in tomorrow morning from your phone! Because after all, what’s better than waking up with a KISS from two sexy radio DJs?”
With that, the live feed was cut. The two women went limp in their chairs, finally able to relax after a long day’s work of plugging ads and taking calls in their own little hotbox. Cass flung herself forward, leaning on her panel where she’d taken all her notes, while Marni slumped back into her seat. It was an ungodly hot Summer day, and the AC unit in the building had given out earlier in the week. The crew had done what they could with electric fans and lots of bottled waters, but it just simply wasn’t cutting it. What’s worse, the fans kept blowing into the feed, so they had to move them whenever they were on the air—which meant lots of commercial breaks.
“Thank gawd.” Marni whined as she hopped out of her chair, her brown hair frizzy and curly from the heat, “I thought today would never end.”
“You’re telling me.” Cass agreed flatly as she poured herself onto the floor, “At least they’ve finally got a crew up there.”
Cass Morgan and Marni Smith had been doing this for a while—for too long, they both often thought. The Cass and Marni Morning Show had traveled to three different states in the past nine years, never really finding its niche while Cass and Marni spent their twenties trying to figure out how to appeal to their frequently changing audience. They were running on their third year now and they had just gotten renewed for their fourth year at their latest studio. Which would have been great if they weren’t so willing to cut corners…
“Hey, you want another water before lunch?” Marni bent over and reached into the ice bucket that an intern had provided, rattling the ice around as she searched for a particularly cold one
“Yeah, sure.” Cass held out her hand, “Hydrate me.”
Despite their closeness, Cass and Marni couldn’t have been any more different—appearance-wise or in personality. Marni was a short woman whose feet didn’t even touch the ground when she sat in her booth, with slight curves and a round face that gave her a very young appearance to better fit with her sillier personality. They were the same age of course, but Marni was the only one who got carded at the club. Cass was a statuesque, tallish woman with a large bust and long brown locks that came to tickle the back of her shoulders. Her lean figure was an accomplishment attributed to long hours of yoga and self-control, very much contrasting the soft svelteness of her lazier coworker. They had few interests in common, aside from their shared interest in broadcast, but managed to make themselves into quite the working pair.
The two women left their mics, waters in tow, and stepped out into the less blistering section of the recording studio.
“Marty, tell me those guys are gonna be done by tomorrow.” Marni took a big gulp from her bottle as she approached a slight man with a goatee, “One more day like this and you’re gonna have to work “extra crispy” into our show’s title.”
“Already on it. Great show today, you guys.” Marty said confidently as he gave a congratulatory handshake to both women, “I just wanted to let you know that since you guys have signed on, we’ve been picking up sponsors like crazy.”
Ugh. Sponsors. As in those guys that they had to stay after for later today to make those stupid pre-recorded commercials that everyone hated.
“Great.” Cass rolled her eyes, “What have you got us peddling now?”
“We are peddling—“ Marty said with a playful emphasis on Cass’ negative tone, “—for some company called Gordge Enterprises.”
“What do they do?” Marni asked, taking another sip, “Are they, like, some kind of tech company or something?”
“Er… they do lots of things.” Marty said unsuredly, “But who cares right—they’re fans! They like your show so much they wanna give us money—that’s what this whole biz is about, right?”
“I guess.” Cass rolled her eyes
“Look, they’re so happy to have you guys, they sent you two a little something.” Marty took both women by their sweaty shoulders, “It’s in the break room fridge. Go in, cool down, and check it out.”
Cass and Marni let out matching sighs as they peeled themselves away from their supervisor. Today hadn’t exactly been the easiest days, and while it was nice to know that they had such dedicated fans, it didn’t exactly make them feel any more certain about what they were doing. Things had become just so… blah. And not just in their latest town, but in general. It was a lot harder being a radio host than either one of them really thought it would be way back when they started this…
As soon as they reached the break room, Cass flung herself down on the couch while Marni made a bee-line for the fridge. While the taller of the two situated herself as comfortably as she could in the scorching heat, Marni opened the door (enjoying the momentary break from the heat) and pulled out a giant wicker basket wrapped in cellophane.
“To Cass and Marni, From Gordge Enterprises. Please enjoy the first—but certainly not the last—courtesy gift that comes with Gordge Enterprises’ sponsorship.” Marni read aloud from the card attached before flipping it over, “And back here it says We really like your show—Alice G., Melissa H., and Courtney S..”
“Jesus Christ that’s huge!” Cass said with surprise as Marni set it down on the table, “They just gave this to us?”
“Apparently.” Marni said with similar surprise.
The two women peeled apart the wrapping on the basket and took a good look inside; taking note of all the snacks and goodies that they had been sent. Candy, snack cakes, coupons to restaurants; there was enough food in there to last a week!
“That is a lot of food.” Marni said, her hands on her hips as they looked over the generous spread, “These Gordge people are crazy generous.”
“Seriously.” Cass let out a little whistle, “Never gotten benefits like this before.”
***
And so they took advantage of their little perk. They skipped their usual outing to their usual venue, and treated themselves to the plentiful goodies inside the Gordge Benefits basket. Neither Cass nor Marni could really say no to such a generous spread, and from such dedicated fans of the show. They did their recordings, plugged their ads, and made sure to keep Gordge Enterprises happy for the forseeable future.
However, the benefits didn't stop there. Baskets arrived once a week, each one as full as the first. Gordge Enterprises donated a new AC unit to the studio in exchange for more adspace for their company and other affiliated clients. Money was pouring in, their bosses couldn't have been happier.
But between all the welcome baskets, complementary discount dinners at partnered restaurants, and freely accepting the suggestions from their friends in the Gordge Enterprises break room, it was beginning to seriously affect...  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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