Page 25 of No More Billionaires

And definitely not about that crinkly-eyed smile.

NINE

Interview

Two hours later, we were standing in an office at the medical school’s research center, shaking hands with Sky Walker, our local photog in Nashville and with Dr. Wei Un Yin, the head of pediatric thoracic surgery.

The doctor excused himself to make a quick phone call while Sky set up the camera and lights in his office for the interview.

“So, you’re Heidi’s friend?” Sky asked.

“Yes. You work with her at Channel two, right?”

“Her and Aric both. I know him from Minnesota—we worked together there before he went down to Georgia and fell straight in love—that boy is whupped. Miss Heidi’s got him wrapped around her pretty little finger. They need to hurry up and get married so he can start thinking straight again.”

Sky laughed. “I’m just kiddin’. I remember what it was like. I been married twenty years now.”

“Awesome. How long have you been at Two?”

“Just a year. I was in Mankato for ten years before that, but I’m from Chattanooga, so I’m happy to be back in Tennessee.”

“I know—gotta love TV news. You never know where you’ll wind up working,” Larson said.

“Where you from, Larson?” Sky asked, apparently one of the few people in this countrynotfamiliar with his famous family.

“I grew up in New York City—when I wasn’t away at boarding school. And my parents have a couple of other places. I guess New York is my home, though.”

I was starting to become familiar with Larson’s facial expressions, and the one he wore now was decidedly embarrassed.

How odd. Mark had loved to tell anyone within earshot about his family’s beach house on St. Simons Island. I had a feeling the Overstreets’ second home (and third and fourth) probably made the Fitzsimmons’ beach house look like a shack.

“That’s cool, man. I love New York,” Sky said, completely unfazed by Larson’s revelation of wealth. “How come you’re not working in the New York bureau?”

“I wanted to get away, do something different,” Larson said. “I like the South. People are really nice. It’s warm. And… I didn’t mind the idea of a bit of distance from my parents.”

“I heard that.” Sky laughed. “My mama wants me back in Chattanooga where she can keep an eye on me, and I’m forty years old. A couple hours away is plenty close enough.”

Feeling like a middle-school kid at the grown-ups table, I squirmed in silence.

Larson must have thought I was so immature, still living at home. I made myself lift my head and straighten my shoulders, inwardly repeating my vow—not for much longer.

I was going to show Larson and everyone else I was ripe for a promotion, and then it was up and out for me.

Dr. Yin came back into the office, and I clipped a mic onto his jacket, hiding the cord and directing him where to sit. His face was tight, and his forehead was already sweating, though the stand lights weren’t even on him yet.

“Hot in here, isn’t it?” His hands showed a slight tremble as he wiped his face.

Poor guy.

It was amazing how worried people got over being on camera—even geniuses like this guy must be. I had noticed doctors wereespecially bad about it.

They were usually very concerned about what their colleagues would think after watching them, and sometimes they tended to sound like the inside of a textbook when answering questions.

I took a tissue from my bag and patted it over his face, following that with some absorbent translucent powder.

Speaking in a low, calming voice, I assured him, “Don’t worry. You won’t look like you have makeup on. This is invisible. It just cuts down on the shine from the lights. And you’re going to be great. Just look at Larson when you answer. This is all recorded, not live, you know. We’ll edit it later and use only the best stuff, okay? So it’s not like you have only one chance to get it perfect. Just let us know if you’d like to stop at any point. And speak in words you’d use if you were doing a presentation to a group of eighth-graders. All right, you look great.”

He gave me a tense smile, and I stepped back, looking him over once more, and then heading for the rear of the room, behind the camera.

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