The Morning Show - Season 2

Bradley & Cory Lean In to Chaos

Scouring the day's newspaper for anything interesting, Bradley Jackson sat curled up on her stiff, hotel-room loveseat chewing on a plastic straw, pausing occasionally to sip watered-down iced coffee. As her eyes skimmed a feature on a local businessman, her mind started to drift elsewhere. It had been doing that a lot lately. She would lose her train of thought right when she was getting back to her meticulous, centered self.

At the moment, she found herself ruminating on her last conversation with Cory Ellison, the president of UBA's news division and someone she once considered a confidant, but after recent events, now viewed as another self-absorbed megalomaniac.

Revealing his true character, Cory failed to stand by her when she needed him most -- when The Morning Show and its viewers needed him to act with conviction. Instead, he traded his morals to secure his position at the network, leaving her on shaky ground after her and Alex Levy's unscripted news report -- the one where the show became the story. Following Alex's sudden departure, serious decisions that directly impacted Bradley were being made by Cory and the network board behind closed doors. Cory's act of self-preservation was equally an act of betrayal in Bradley's mind.

She found herself forgetting to breathe. Her fist clenched tightly around her cup until the lid popped off, splattering coffee on her blouse. She rubbed the fine fabric with a dry napkin but only managed to make the stain worse. Irritated at her carelessness and for drifting back to thoughts of Cory, she decided to let herself off the hook and, this time, put Cory in her place. After all, the coffee seemed better suited for his face than her chest. Amused by this thought, she returned to her paper, feeling a little better than before.

A knock shifted her attention once again. In the doorway stood a less-than-exuberant Cory Ellison. In times past, this would have been a pleasant surprise, one she looked forward to even, as he was someone whom she used to feel comfortable near and intrigued by daily. Now her irritation was battling a paranoid, insecure feeling that maybe her recent thoughts had drawn him to her door; he had read her mind and now she would have to defend her frustration with him, however unprepared she was to make her case.

"Hi, Bradley. I hope it's not too late."

"Why are you here, Cory?"

Without answering, Cory searched her face for a moment. Bradley's mixed emotions must have been written all over it, because whatever semblance of a smile Cory had vanished.

She had never seen such a troubling demeanor from Cory. Her tone adjusted to this concern.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

He gave a slight nod and gestured inside. They sat in silence on either end of the loveseat, a couple pairs of knees facing each other.

"Okay, now you're just freaking me out, Cory. What is going on?"

He remembered how upset Bradley was with him the last time they spoke. Suddenly, he became overly aware of his body language. He leaned back attempting a relaxed pose. Parting his lips, he considered his words carefully, hoping to undo any damage previously done.

"I met with the board today," he divulged, meeting her eyes. "And I did as we discussed. It wasn't well received."

Bradley processed this new information, knowing full well what the implications might be. Her feelings of anger were washed away in a new wave of anticipation and a hint of guilt.

"Okay, what happened exactly?"

"They made it clear that maintaining the show's ratings -- at any cost -- is and always will be the number one priority, as well as who is really calling the shots. And as of tomorrow, that will no longer include me."