Chapter Text
Vincent Whittman straightened his bow tie once again. Everything needed to be PERFECT today. He felt slender arms wrap around him from behind.
“You’re gonna do great. I’m so proud of you!”
He turned around and smiled down at his fiancé. “Thanks, sweetie. Ready to go?”
Vince was on top of the world, or at least it felt that way. He’d just made the jump from desk jockey to weatherman at the local tv station. The station happened to be owned by his gorgeous fiancé’s dad, but that didn’t actually benefit him. No, Lucius hated him, so Vince got the job DESPITE the owner’s feelings about it.
His fiance Charlie was his dream girl. Long blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and a killer figure. She worked behind the scenes at the station, much to her father’s chagrin. He drove them to work in the sleek red corvette Lucius had purchased for Charlie, and he was the envy of every man on the road. He had the perfect house, the perfect girl, and he was climbing the ranks at work.
So why wasn’t that enough?
He gave Charlie a chaste kiss as they went their separate ways at the station. He was wearing his sharpest suit and he strolled into the studio like he was the king…
Only to be promptly ignored.
Instead of being welcomed with open arms, he was completely ignored for the attention of Tom, the lead anchor. All the women were swooning and the crew was tending to his every need. His co-anchor Katie, a stunning blonde with legs for days, was practically throwing herself at him. He watched Tom wink and whisper something to Katie, who giggled and subtly pushed her cleavage up.
“Hey, Vinny. You’re doing the weather now, right?” He turned towards the voice of Andy, one of the camera guys.
“Andy! Yes, yes I am. First day.” Vince stood tall and grinned at Andy, who looked bored.
“Right, go talk to Tom over there and he’ll tell you where to go.” Andy replied, already heading towards his camera.
Right. Well, Tom would have to descend from on high for Vincent to talk to him. As if on cue, the crowd parted and Tom strolled over. He was tall and slim with broad shoulders, dazzling blue eyes, and perfectly coiffed hair. His smile was condescending and his voice was dripping with false niceties.
“Vinny! Welcome to the studio. We’re SO glad you could step in since Paul passed on.”
”Vincent.” He corrected with a tight smile. “The honor is mine, Tom. I love this network! And this must be Katie.” He held his hand out to the newswoman, who was filing her nails and didn’t even look up.
“Just ignore her. So, ready to run with the big dogs? I mean, it’s just weather, but you’ll be on camera now. How about we get one of the girls to fix your hair?”
Vince’s smile grew tighter. “I think my hair is fine.”
Tom looked down his nose at his suit. “That suit will be fine for today, but I’d suggest stepping it up a little bit from now on. Anyway, you know what to do. You pretty much stand in front of the map, point at it with the stick, and tell people if it’s gonna rain or not. Say it is or isn’t, you’ve got a 50/50 shot of being right. People don’t really give a damn about the weather. Alright? Listen for me to give you your cue. See you around.” With one last look down his nose at him, Tom departed to go to the news desk.
What an arrogant asshole. Nobody cared about the weather? Well he was going to make them care. He was going to be so damn charming that the viewers would wait for HIM to come on.
“-Unfortunately our beloved weatherman Paul passed unexpectedly. And while we can never replace him in our hearts, I’d like to give a warm welcome from all of us here at channel 6 to our new weatherman, Vinny Whittman!” Tom sent him a smug smile after his camera went off.
”Thanks, Tom. Now let’s jump right into the weather! Rain, hail or shine, what’s your weekend going to look like? Folks, it’s going to be a GORGEOUS weekend with temperatures in the 70s and no rain clouds in sight. You can plan that picnic or go for that hike with no worries! Trust us with your weather!” He finished with his most dazzling smile. Then they turned off the lights and immediately went back to Tom.
——————-
“-self absorbed JACKASS looked down his nose at me! And called me VINNY. I hate that!” Vince was driving himself and Charlie to her parents’ house for the weekly dinner they were subjected to.
“I know, sweetie, but that’s just how Tom is! Just ignore him. I watched you do the weather and you were so good! And there’s no way that smile of yours didn’t melt some hearts.” Charlie beamed at him.
”Thanks, sunshine. I just hate it when people think they’re better than me. Case in point, dinner with your father.” He pulled up to the stately mansion where a butler was waiting to take the car. He escorted Charlie in on his elbow, only for her to quickly drop it when she saw her father. “DADDY!” She rushed towards him and threw her arms around him.
”There’s my little girl!” Lucius grinned and hugged his daughter. “I feel like it’s been so long since we saw you!”
”Daddy, we were here last week!” Charlie giggled.
”I know, but it feels so much longer. Vincent, you’re looking…here.” Lucius eyed him with open disdain.
”Mr. Morningstar. Will Mrs. Morningstar be joining us?” He asked with a sweet smile. It had the desired effect and Lucius’ smile fell.
”Unfortunatley Lilian had a Tupperware party to attend. Ever heard of those? Some weird little party where they sell plastic things to keep food in, no idea why it requires a party. Anyway, come on in! Chef made your favorite, lobster bisque.”
”Daddy, you know Vince is allergic to shellfish.” Charlie frowned.
”Is he? Slipped my mind! Well I suppose the chef will just have to make you something special then.” It was clear from his tone that Lucius absolutely remembered his allergy. “Chef? So sorry, I know you’ve worked tirelessly on this fantastic dinner, but my daughter’s…boyfriend doesn’t like lobster.” He gave a sheepish shrug and nodded at Vince.
”Daddy, he’s ALLERGIC! And he’s not my boyfriend, he’s my fiance.” She held up her left hand.
Lucius made a big show of squinting to see it. “Oh, that’s right. Sorry, it was so small I forgot it was an engagement ring! Anyway, Vince is ‘allergic” he put this in air quotes. “To shellfish, so could you whip him up something else? Thanks, chef. So char-char! What’s new with you?”
”Nothing with me, but Vincent has some pretty exciting news.” She smiled at her fiancé.
”I was just promoted at the station. I’m on the air now! I do the weather.” His chest puffed with pride.
”Right. Yes, that’s….uh-huh. Char-Char, you know who came by the other day? Seviathan!”
Vincent managed to tamp down his rage at Lucius’ snub. Nothing he did would ever be good enough for the man. And here he was again, trying to talk Charlie out of marrying him and going back to her pompous ex.
Charlie could tell he was upset when they went to bed that night. She turned on her side and looked at him, resting her hand on his chest. “I love you, Vince. And I’m SO proud of you.”
Vince had the special ability to manipulate things to his benefit. He should’ve felt guilty for manipulating his wife, but went with it anyway. “Your father is right, Charlie. Maybe you should be with a man like Seviathan. He’s rich, owns his own company…he can offer you so much more than I can.” He looked at her with his saddest expression.
”Vincent! Don’t you ever say something like that again. You’re the one I love. And you can offer me something no one else can- your heart.” She gave him a flirty smile and climbed on top of him. “Maybe I need to show you how much you mean to me.”
He went to sleep that night still annoyed, but much more satisfied.
—————
It only took a week for his addiction to start.
“Wow, Vince Whittman! You’re on tv!” The man checking him out in the clothing store was gaping at him.
”That’s right! You can trust me with your weather.” He gave him a dazzling smile and the sales attendant grinned.
”Wow, this is so cool! My friends are going to be so jealous that I met you. Come back any time, sir!”
That recognition was a soothing balm for his nerves. Not only that, it was downright intoxicating to be recognized. His charm during the weather broadcast was getting him his own fans, and now he was recognized every time he left the house.
Every smile of recognition was like a hit of a drug. Every hushed, excited whisper was like injecting it straight into his veins. He loved it, he needed it, and he needed more of it.
”Do we really have to go to this, Vince?” Charlie asked. She was wearing the new dress he’d gotten her and looked perfect on his arm. He’d been on the air six months now and was getting invited to events around town. This was her fourth party in two months.
”We’ve gotta be seen, sunshine! The producer himself invited me to this party. We’ve gotta rub elbows with them if I ever want to get promoted.”
”I know, but you get to go drink and smoke with the guys and I have to go talk to the wives. They’re very cliquey.” She wrinkled her nose.
”They should be welcoming you with open arms! We’re on our way up, baby!” He grinned as they entered the building and waved at a few people. “Come on, I’ll introduce you so they know who you are.”
Charlie loved Vincent, and she knew that you had to make compromises for the people you love. So she plastered on a smile and let Vince trot her around the room like a show horse, never contributing to conversations but standing there and looking pretty. She counted the minutes until they could leave.
Vince had finally let her go and she was getting a drink from the bar when a female voice spoke from beside her. “You’re Charlie, right?”
She looked up and saw a young Hispanic woman smiling at her. Her hair was covering one eye and she looked shy. “That’s me! And you are?”
”Valerie. I was hoping to talk to you. Um, I know you probably hate it when people ask you for favors, especially with your dad, but you know how it is for women. Um, I’m a journalist, or at least I’m trying to be, and not a lot of places want to hire female journalists. I was wondering if you’d be willing to read my work and maybe put in a good word for me with your dad? Or if you don’t like it, just throw it away or whatever. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked, I feel like such an ass right now…”
She started to walk away and Charlie grabbed her arm. “Woah woah woah! I’d love to read it.”
“What, really?” Valerie snapped her head up.
“Of course! You’re right, this is a very hard field for women to get into. I work at the station and I know they only hired me because of my father. But I’ve worked hard and I could run the station myself if I had to. But they wouldn’t have given me a chance on my own. I’d love to read your work, and if I like it I’d be happy to talk to daddy.”
Valerie’s eyes were watering. “Oh, wow. This went so much better than it did in my head. I was afraid you’d be arrogant, honestly. That was based solely on this crowd.”
“Oh believe me, I understand. That’s my fiance over there in the blue suit.”
Valerie squinted. “The weather guy?”
“Yep! He comes to network so I come with him, but don’t usually enjoy it.” She sighed as he waved her back over and fixed a smile on her face. “Back to being an arm piece. Drop your work off at the station sometime, tell security it’s for me. Bye Valerie!”
“Tom, let me introduce you to my fiance. This is Charlie Morningstar.”
“Pleasure to meet you.” Charlie stepped forward and extended her hand.
“The pleasure is all mine.” He kissed her hand and winked. “What’s a gal like you doing with a guy like Vinny?” He and his group of cronies laughed and she could tell Vince was hurt.
“Oh, I’m nuts about Vince! I feel like he’s the only person that really understands me. And he doesn’t care who my father is. I believe you know him, Lucius Morningstar?”
The laughter quickly stopped. “Oh, you’re THAT Morningstar!” Tom smiled, but she saw a flicker of worry in his expression. “It’s been lovely chatting with you, but I must depart for the evening. You hold on to this one, Vinny! Or I might be tempted to steal her for myself.” He winked at Charlie again and she suppressed a shudder. “Good evening to you both.”
“I see what you mean. Yuck.” Charlie grimaced. “Vince?”
Vincent looked like he was trying not to burst a blood vessel. “I wish you hadn’t done that, Charlie.”
”Done what?”
”Used your father to intimidate him. He should be intimidated by me.”
“Well he should, but he was being a jackass.” She squeezed his arm. “Can we go home?”
Vince was glaring mindlessly at the direction Tom had gone. “You can go home. I’m going to stay a bit longer.”
”I don’t want to leave you here-“
”Go home, Charlie.” He snapped. Charlie frowned and stepped away from him.
”I’ll take a cab. Try not to stay out too late.” She left with a backwards glance, not liking the expression on her fiancé’s face. She hadn’t done anything wrong, she’d just wanted Tom to stop acting like an ass. Whatever, she was tired, and Vince could stay as long as he wanted. She was tired of wearing heels.
————
Tom should’ve gotten a cab, but he was so drunk at this point that he couldn’t have dialed if he’d wanted to. Luckily he didn’t live very far away, so he stumbled down the sidewalk in the brisk evening air. He’d finally managed to shake Katie, who’d been clinging to him and reeked of desperation. She was a pretty face and a nice lay, but that was all he wanted out of her. He thought back to that blonde he’d seen at the party on that dweeb of a weather man’s arm. How did a guy like that get a girl like her? He’d have to ask around about her, maybe he could snatch her out from right under the nose of that-
Thanks to the copious amounts of alcohol in his system, he hadn’t seen the shadow lurking in the alleyway. His reflexes were too slow to try to fend off the attack and he felt something warm running down his throat. He touched a hand to the sticky substance and held it up in the moonlight. It was coated in his blood. His legs gave out and he collapsed, bleeding out in the alleyway. Right before everything began to dim, Vincent’s face appeared over him. “Sorry, Tom. You’re going off the air.”