Page 8 of The Truths We Find

“Deal.” He stretches out his hand. “Meet me at the Italian place around the corner at noon. I remember how much you love meatballs, so hopefully buying you your favorite food will help me win some points.”

“Don’t count on it,” I huff, ignoring his hand. “I have to go. Pitch meeting starts in five minutes.”

As I start to walk back to the newsroom, I realize there’s something I have to know, and it can’t wait until lunch. I turn back to him. “Did you know I was here when you accepted the job?”

“I honestly had no idea,” he sighs. “I saw you in that newsroom and thought I was seeing things.”

I nod, processing his words, and turn to leave again.

Walking back to the newsroom, I can’t help but think about how different Gavin is. Forget he’s my boss, he seems… grown up. The well-fitted three-piece suit. The cleaned-up scruff on his face. Gone is the rugged repairman who swept college me off my feet and made me feel like the only woman in the world.

I should feel something clear about that—anger, maybe. Or nothing at all. Instead, it’s a messy, shifting mix I can’t quite pin down. I think my mind hasn’t caught up to whatever my chest is doing.

Quickly grabbing my notes from my desk, I find the team already in the conference room waiting. I say my hellos to everyone as I take my seat, making sure to stifle the anger and resentment I’m feeling.

A pretty large group works to create our four, five, and six o’clock afternoon blocks of shows, but this planning meeting is just for the reporters and other producers. Everyone comes with their story ideas, and we pick the best ones for the day. As executive producer, I get final say on what everyone does, but honestly, my team is so great that I tend to always agree with them. Just as we’re about to get started, Gavin steps into the room and takes a seat in the back corner.

“Gavin, what are you doing here?” I say with confusion. “The news director usually doesn’t come to these meetings.”

“Yeah, I don’t like that idea.” A cocky grin across his face. “At my old station, the boss always went so they were constantly in the loop. How am I supposed to know what’s going on with your shows if I’m not here?”

My frustration grows. “That’s part of my job. I’ll come by to fill you in later when the shows are closer to air. That’s how we’ve always done it. Are you saying you don’t trust me to pick good stories with this team?”

“I trust you with your story selection. But why wait until the last minute to switch your order around, when I can tell you ahead of time if I want something different?”

At this point, I don’t even care if there are other people in the room with us.

“In the five years since I took over as EP, no one at this station has ever questioned how I stack my shows,” I say with a smug look.

“Maybe that’s why you guys are struggling in the ratings.”

Is he actually grinning about that? Bastard.

All eyes are on us. I want to lose it on him, but the last thing I need is to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s driving me up a wall. I do my best to calm myself and move the meeting forward. “We can sidebar about this later. Moving on to story pitches.”

The team give their ideas, and we weed out what works and what doesn’t. When we have our list of stories, we plan their order in the shows.

“Alexa’s story should absolutely be up first, pending any breaking news. No one else is going to have this interview,” I confirm.

From the corner, I hear a hmmm from under Gavin’s breath.

Screw it. Fuck playing nice. “Do you have something to say, Gavin?”

“I think Alexa’s story is good. It’s just not top-of-the-show material.”

“Excuse me, but you just moved here and have no idea what a big scandal this Tate story is. The guy is accused of buying votes to get certain plans passed within City Council, and those plans nearly bankrupted the city. The DA claims to be looking into it,” I say with air quotes. “But charges still haven’t been brought. This impacts everyone in San Diego.”

“I don’t disagree about the impact, but I think Ben’s increase in rattlesnakes story is better for the top of the show. That also impacts everyone and could have them questioning their plans for the upcoming weekend, especially hikers. That’s our lead. Let’s end here. Have a good day, everyone.” He immediately gets up and leaves.

The team follows him out, and I just sit there in wide-eyed shock. I rigidly watch as he disappears down the hall, wishing he would turn around just to see if looks really can kill. I’m positive my current stare might actually contain daggers.

Did he just do that? If he thinks our history gives him the justification to treat me like that, he’s got another thing coming.

Let’s just say, I’m really looking forward to lunch now.

Chapter 4

Gavin