Wait For Me

Part 20- NOLA's Newest Radio Host

His mother was ecstatic when he told her he was going to be interviewing a celebrity. She was simply happy that her son seemed to find something he was enjoying and doing so well in. She promised to listen to his special this evening at work.

He didn't get the chance to tell Anthony about his show tonight, but he hoped the blonde was listening in. He secretly wanted to show off.

"Not yet sir," the intern shook his head.

"Perfect, I need to speak with Chester beforehand."

The intern nodded and shut the door.

Alastor whistled to himself and gathered his stacks of paper so that they were all ready to go for tonight. Then he stood up and walked to Whittifield's office. Loyola seemed to be having a money issue, even with the sponsors the show currently had, and Chester was always talking about how they were on his case to help, but that he wasn't sure what to do.

Alastor took it upon himself to look into the issue and he had come up with a few plans that he wanted to try to convince his boss to implement. He thought they were good ideas, but he knew he needed permission to follow through on them. Some of the ideas involved canvassing the town to see if there were any businesses that wanted to sponsor their station in return for being advertised. Obviously money was tight for many people with the Depression, but he knew that if owners thought it would bring them more business, they would be more than willing to spend some to make more of it.

He wondered why Chester hadn't done that yet, though maybe it was simply because they weren't big enough to do so before he showed up. Alastor considered himself a humble man, but he also knew when to take pride in his work, and before he showed up, the station was struggling to retain any new viewers. Alastor turned everything on its head in a single month, and he knew he could do even more to get this station to the number one spot in New Orleans.

When he got to his boss' door he raised his hand to knock but then he noticed that the door was open just a crack. Trying to be better about minding his business, he tried to shake off the thoughts telling him to spy on his employer. However, Chester was an enigma, and Alastor would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about the man. He didn't fully trust him – blatant bigotry aside. That said, he couldn't help himself and leaned forward to peer into the office.

Alastor watched from the crack in the door as Chester took the money out of the folder that they kept the sponsor donations in, and put it in his own carrier bag. So, that was the reason the school wasn't making nearly as much as their estimates. Whittifield was embezzling the money. The brunette watched for a few minutes more and then slunk away before he could be caught. A plan was already formulating in his mind as he walked back to the sound room for his interview.

Whittifield would not be getting away with that.

****

"Good evening New Orleans, I'm your host, Alastor Toussaint, and joining me on this swell summer night is up-and-coming singer/songwriter, Charles Lester. Charles, lovely to have you here! How are you?"

Charles gave Alastor a faux smile, voice dripping with fake politeness. "Good, good. Happy to be here. I was surprised to hear about how you turned this entire station around. This station rose the charts, thanks to you. Kudos for that."

Alastor smiled, ignoring his guest's behavior in his excitement. "Oh! Thank you, my friend! That's very kind of you to say. Now, I had some questions, if you don't mind."

"All right."

"Now, I used to play the saxophone in jazz clubs with my band and I recently had a three-month tour in the great state of New York." He mentioned that last bit as a nod to Anthony in the hopes that the blonde was listening in. "I was standing on the street corner one day in the French Quarter, playing for some extra tips, when I was approached by a fine gentleman who wanted to know if I wanted to play professionally. And then one thing led to another. My question for you is, how did you get your start? Any inspiration or good fortune that made this all possible?"