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A vision of Chris Dougal sitting at his desk typing away at his big illegal immigration piece jumped into her head. Allie couldn’t begin to imagine what he did to research that but she wouldn’t put it past him to have gone undercover, big show off that he was. Ben was probably salivating at Florida! headquarters, waiting for Chris’s article to come across his desk. Despite Emma’s support, Allie’s little ghost story didn’t stand a chance. Especially since there was no such thing as ghosts.
Maybe she could drive to Tallahassee and do a follow-up on Perky. She could see the byline now. Perky the Duck, Three Years Later…
It sounded pathetic. But what where her choices? Too bad there wasn’t some manatee trapped in a reef somewhere. Or a flock of endangered pelicans or some sick sea turtles to write about. Or better yet, a dolphin in trouble. People loved dolphin stories. Especially if it had a happy ending.
But no. Emma wanted a ghost story. And Emma was her chief supporter at Florida! so this was a no brainer. Her only other option was to bow out of the competition gracefully. But Allie had wanted this job at Florida! for so long and to just give up was unthinkable. She’d been stuck in the middle of Life Goal Number Two for far too long now.
She swallowed past the lump of pride swelling her throat. “Tom, do you think, maybe, I could have a word with you?”
Hard Hat raised a brow and made a great big gurgling noise like he was about to spit out tobacco or something, which Allie certainly hoped was not going to happen. Her stomach felt queasy enough already. “We need to get going, Boss. The guys have already had their morning coffee.”
Tom frowned, although she couldn’t tell if his displeasure was meant for Hard Hat or her. Probably her. “I’m busy, Allie. Can this wait till later?”
“I just need a minute. But it definitely can’t wait until later.”
Tom glanced at his wrist watch. “Okay, you got one minute.” He handed the clipboard off to Hard Hat. “Do me a favor, Keith, tell the guys to be ready. I’ll meet you in front of the building as soon I’m finished here.” He placed his hand on her elbow and led her to the edge of a trailer where they were essentially hidden from the rest of the parking lot’s occupants.
“What did you want to talk about?” Tom asked.
She tried to think of something compelling, something that would convince him that delaying the teardown on the building was in everyone’s best interests, but all that came out was, “Kitty asked Steve to delay the demolition, but he says it’s all up to you. I know I’m asking a huge favor here, because this is your job and you’re on a tight schedule. I get that. I really do. But all I need is one night. Just one more day so that I can spend tonight in the building and write my story.”
“Allie—”
“Don’t say no. Because I really need this. And because…because you owe me.”
She blinked.
Then he blinked.
And then no one said anything.
Because you owe me. Talk about hitting an all-time low!
The trickle of perspiration running down her back was now a river. It was barely eight-thirty and already humid, but nowhere near hot enough for her to be sweating like this.
She followed Tom’s gaze to all the waiting men, at the big machines primed and ready to tear down the building. What she was asking was not only impossible, it was impractical. Expensive. And crazy. She was asking him to put his job on the line. And for what? For a girl he knew back in high school. A girl he’d used as a rebound fling. A girl he hadn’t seen or talked to or probably even thought about in over twelve years.
He was going to laugh in her face and say no. And Allie couldn’t blame him.
“You know, I wouldn’t ask for your help if I didn’t need it.” Those words wouldn’t change anything, but at least it allowed her to save a bit of pride.
He frowned and shook his head. “What did you just say?”
Great. He was going to make this even harder for her.
“You heard me, Donalan. I need your help here.”
Instead of answering, he turned and shouted to a nearby group of workers, “Hey! Turn down the radio.”
The men all stared back with blank expressions.
Okay, that was a little freaky.
“What are you talking about? There’s no radio,” Allie said.
He whipped around. “What do you mean? You don’t hear the music?”
“What music?”
