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None came.
Instead he felt empty.
“Hey, Malone, you got a sec?”
“Sure,” Jake said, detouring into his boss’s office. “What’s up?”
Cassidy gestured for him to have a seat. “Got some news.”
“I’m listening.”
Cassidy tossed a brochure onto the desk, and Jake whistled a little as he picked it up. “Nice. What did they print this on, money?”
Unlike the typical flimsy paper of a travel brochure, this one had substance. Jake couldn’t say he’d ever had a particular hankering to go to Costa Rica, but the breathtakingly lush landscape on this brochure definitely put the country on his mental travel map.
“It’s a thousand-dollar-a-night resort,” Cassidy said. “If everything goes according to plan, I’m pretty sure they can afford to print their brochure on gold if they want.”
Jake was already flipping through page after page of stunning beach scenes, a no-expenses-spared spa, eight restaurants, and a treehouse bar built over a jungle. Literally.
“Jesus, this is the picture of one of the bathrooms? It’s bigger than the entire floor of my apartment building.”
“Well, we’ll see about getting you one of those GPS bracelets before you go, to ensure you don’t get lost,” Cassidy replied.
Jake’s head shot up. “Before I go?”
“They don’t officially open until next month, but one of my college friends is on their publicity team. She heard about Oxford’s new travel section, and … we’re in.”
“Into what?”
“Their soft opening, the pre-party, whatever you want to call it. It’s when they have all the bigwigs come in and stamp their approval. Reviewers, celebrities, politicians, and you.”
Cassidy proceeded to rattle off half of Hollywood’s A-list, but Jake’s mind was struggling to keep up. Costa Rica. That was … really fucking far away.
“What’s the catch?” Jake asked, trying to buy time as he closed the brochure.
“No catch. Well, you’ll need to write the article, of course. Plenty of detail on the texture of the pillows, the water pressure, shit like that.”
“They’re buying a positive review,” Jake said, scowl in place.
“Not at all. I told Dena that our review would be honest and completely unbiased. She agreed. Any publicity is good publicity and all that. Although if that brochure is even remotely close to reality, I can’t see where you’ll find room to complain.”
Jake glanced down again. He took in the waterfall and the infinity pool and the wildlife. It wouldn’t exactly be the most adventurous of vacations, but it was free.
And still, he wasn’t nearly as excited as he should be.
“I sort of thought you’d be kissing my ass right about now,” Cassidy said, giving him a curious look.
Jake glanced up, pasting a grin on his face.
This is what you asked for. This is what you want. Thank the man and go buy yourself a new pair of swim trunks.
“Guess I better double-check my passport,” Jake said with enthusiasm he didn’t feel. “How soon until I leave?”
“Soon. Part of the deal was that you’d be there for their big champagne kick-off. They want to make sure you capture all of the big names in attendance, stuff like that.”
Jake sat up straighter. “How soon?”
Cassidy spread his hands in a preemptive don’t-shoot-the-messenger gesture. “They’d like you there by this Friday. The big launch is on Saturday, and then they want you there at least through the following Thursday to make sure you see all the hoopla. We’ve also been getting a lot of invitations from wineries in Argentina—they’re trying to get in on the wine-tasting tourism with their Malbecs. I thought you could head there after.”
