enough it was Pearce. Ian took a deep breath and clicked the mouse so that the flag popped up. He began to type…

“Good evening, trust you had a pleasant flight.”

“It was fine, non –eventful. And u?”

“Well, I didn’t fly anywhere, but I can’t say that the evening was non-eventful. I had company.”

“Dinner with friends?”

“Family” Ian smiled. “Do you have a little time to chat?”

“Sure.”

“I want you for America Alive.”

“So you said.”

“I have a proposition for you.”

“Willing to listen but no promises.”

“Fair enough. Did you get the tapes I sent you?”

“Yes. But haven’t watched them. I have a rule of not working on weekends.”

“Oops, sorry, guess you wouldn’t be interested in coming to my house tomorrow for a causal brain storming session with my staff.”

“Not really.”

“Nothing I can do to change your mind?”

“Probably not.”

“Give me a chance?”

“Go for it.”

Ian bit his lip and rolled his mouse. He found the spot he wanted and hit click. A second window came up. In this one he could see himself, staring at the computer. He looked up at the camera, then back to the screen, found “send invitation” and clicked the mouse again.

The window closed. Pearce had refused. He tried again, but first typing the message…

“Let me talk to you face to face…please…besides I’m tired of typing, I’ve been snapping green beans all night…pretty please?”

“LOL!”

And shortly he received his own invitation and right clicked. Pearce’s picture came up, and Ian could see him, from the waist up. He was wearing a tight white undershirt. Ian could see and hear him chuckling.

“Okay the green bean thing got me…”

“I thought it was a bit much myself, but if I’m nothing else I am blindly honest.”

“I thought you said this was casual” Pearce said and pulled at his tee shirt.

“It is, but I told you I had company.”

“Your family gets together and plays with beans?”

Ian laughed, “I bought a bushel of green beans on the way home from work and decided to treat Tippy. We are making pickle beans.”

“What?”

“And old Southern treat, personally I think they suck, but she loves them and I owed her one. You are welcome to come over and try some.”

“Tomorrow, huh? Well I don’t know what they are and if you don’t like them that’s not much of a reason to come join you in them.”

“We eat them not get in them, besides they won’t be ready until Sunday. You have to let them sit for a while.”

“Smart ass.”

“Look tomorrow everyone is invited—friends, kids, other halves. We’ll be eating ourselves silly, swimming and bouncing ideas off one another.”

“Probably not.”

“Pearce, we are trying to redefine daytime television and I want you help…I need your help. America Alive can become whatever you want it to be. CNN didn’t offer you that, if fact what CNN offered you is to sit on your ass, and be paid less money that you are being paid now and read a teleprompter. That doesn’t sound like you Pearce…”

“It’s the best offer I’ll get for now, if I behave myself...by the time this contract is up, the suits won’t see pervert every time they