“Zenia, this is one of Reed’s little college friends. What did you say your name was again?” She didn’t give me time to answer her question before continuing to speak. “Never mind, honey. This is Zenia. Zenia is Reed’s fiancée. They have been in love since they were children. Zenia here has been training to be my son’s wife since she was sixteen years old. She knows everything about him. What he likes. What he hates. The fact that he doesn’t give a damn about some college essay when he’s the heir to a literal kingdom. My son simply came to college because it was the easiest place to meet loose women who he could use to get his player bug out, as his dad described it. After graduation, my son is getting married. We have already made all of the arrangements.”
“Oh wow,” I muttered, almost speechless after her statement.
“Nice to meet you,” Zenia said, closing the space between us. When she extended her hand for me to shake, I noticed that a matching shade of yellow covered her nails and toes. She was so well put together. I could see why she was perfect for Reed.
“Nice to meet you too,” I lied. “It was nice to meet you both. Just let Reed know I stopped by.”
This time, I didn’t let her stop me before I bolted out the door. I never wanted to see any of those people again. Reed included.
Seven Years Later
“Close the door behind you, Faith,” my boss, Barbara Miller, said as I strolled into her office.
As soon as I saw that shit-eating grin plastered on her face, I knew that she was about to ruin my day. Barbara only smiled when she had a big ask. My eyes narrowed in suspicion as I pushed the door closed and walked over to stand in front of her desk.
“Have a seat.”
I shook my head. “I think I’ll stand.”
“Girl, sit down. It’s actually not that bad.”
“You saying that actually makes me feel worse,” I replied.
“Well, it shouldn’t because I have a huge exclusive for you. I’m talking about game changing for both you and the show.”
Reluctantly, I plopped down in the chair, letting my eyes drift to the file in front of her. “What is it?”
“I thought Cassidy would be here when I spoke to you, but she had an emergency this morning.”
“Is she OK?” I asked, referring to the host of the show I worked on.
I had been an investigative journalist for the news show The Daily Word for a couple years. The Daily Word started out as an entertainment and world news blog before making it to TV. Cassidy was known for asking the hard questions and telling the uncomfortable truths. She was also a gossiper, but that was beside the point.
Aside from the occasional difficult subjects and my boss’s insistence on getting to the bottom of the story, I liked my job. I loved that I wasn’t tied to an office and only had to check in when I was close to a deadline.
When I was deep in research mode, sometimes I didn’t come up for air for a week at a time. Usually, when I resurfaced, I had a hell of a story for Cassidy to tell. That was the other thing I loved about my job. I loved doing research and digging through piles of information to find the butt naked truth. What I didn’t like was the spotlight. I didn’t have to be out front. I just wanted my story told.
Cassidy and I had the perfect dynamic. I wrote a story, and she delivered it to the people with flair. Now as I looked over our boss’s shoulder out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Downtown Lulaville, I wondered what this particular job would entail.
Whenever there was a file this thick involved, I knew somebody was about to have a bad day. Unfortunately, that person was usually me at first. I had the task of sorting the hugepile into trash and keep categories. Most of the information went into the trash pile.
“So, what is it?” I asked since Barbara didn’t seem to be in a hurry to elaborate.
I hated when she did that. It was best to rip the bandage off quickly. I needed to know how much coffee I would need for this one. A smile lifted the corners of her mouth again as she slid the file across her desk.
“I’ve got something huge.”
My interest was piqued enough for me to open the file. There were several articles clipped together on a stack of financial records and anonymous statements. Much of the information was redacted, then I came to a familiar company logo accompanied by a stack of pictures.
“Oh no, no, no. I amnotdoing this,” I said, shaking my head as I pushed the opened file back across her desk.
Leaning back in her chair, Barbara smirked. “You haven’t even read through it yet.”
“I don’t have to.”
“Faith.” She sighed.
“No. I’m not doing it. Find something else, and I’ll kill it, but I’m not doing this one.”
