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Stifling a grin, Mel said, “If this Lorenzo looks into him, he’s not gonna, like, rough him up or anything, right? He’s just going to ask around, see what kind of guy he is?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”
“But I do want the answer. That’s why I asked.”
Caroline let out an exasperated breath. “Oh my gosh. I’m not hiring him for a hit, am I? Yes, he’ll get the scoop. If the guy’s a creep, he’ll find out.”
“Wait. Do people seriously do that? The hit thing?” Marti asked, her eyes sparkling with interest. “I need to know more about this.”
A knock silenced them. They exchanged glances, wondering if today would be the day they got busted and booted from their little hideout, when Karen, the receptionist, popped her head in. “Just a heads up. Hillary’s doing her rounds,” she said.
Hillary was the new Chief Operating Officer.
“Gotcha. Thanks,” Mel said.
Once Karen left, they turned to each other, and Mel deflated. She felt no better about her situation than she did when she had unloaded to her friends twenty minutes ago. Regardless, they stood and made their way out of the freebie room.
By the time she plopped down at her desk, she had all but worked herself up into a frenzy. She had to be the worst mom on the face of the planet. She left her three four-year-olds with a male nanny, a stranger. It took precisely two seconds of scrolling news headlines to see why that was a terrible idea.
With a grunt, she wiggled the mouse on her computer, waiting on the screen to come to life when Hillary popped by her desk.
“Melody?” she asked.
“Yes?” Mel’s gaze whipped up to her. Even though Hillary didn’t have the same commanding presence as their old boss, she was a hard read, which made Mel nervous.
“Come,” Hillary said, tapping a finger on her desk. “Walk with me.”
Hillary turned and waited for Mel to follow as she headed down the hallway. Mel wondered if maybe she should ask for the afternoon off so she could check on her kids, then thought better of it. It was fine, she reminded herself. Instead, she tried to focus on the steady rhythm of their heels clicking down the hallway and the way Hillary’s dark bob jiggled as she walked. When she paused by a door to an old storage room with a slow-spreading smile, Mel’s stomach dropped.
Oh, crap. She’d been demoted to janitor. Or worse, Hillary was firing her and stopped by the storage room to grab Mel a box of tissues as a parting gift. It’s something their old boss would’ve done, and just the thought had her stomach tangling in knots and scrambling to fix the situation.
“I know that I’ve taken a lot of time off lately, but I can assure you it won’t continue.” Liar. “I’m one hundred percent committed to this job.” Liar. “And I’ve resolved all my personal issues at home so that there will be no more disruptions with my job.” Liar. “I promise I’m—”
“Melody.” Hillary snapped her fingers in front of her face, causing Mel to flinch. Despite the sharp tone to her voice, she stared at Mel with a bemused expression. She had been nothing but nice to all of them in the month she had been there. Maybe Mel was overreacting. “What on earth are you prattling on about?” she asked.
Mel blinked. “Aren’t you demoting me or firing me?”
Hillary laughed. “Demoting you? No. Melody, you’re getting a promotion. You’ll be the new executive editor of the digital column.”
Executive editor?
Mel’s jaw dropped. The words rung in her ears. The earth tilted on its axis.
Hillary swung open the door to the storage room to reveal a freshly remodeled office. It was gorgeous. Complete with a large mahogany desk and endless bookshelves. The scent of fresh paint drifted toward her. It took everything in Mel not to drop to her knees and weep at the sight.
“Is this a joke?” Mel had been the brunt of many in her life, but this one was a doozy.
Hillary chuckled kindly and placed a hand on Mel’s back, guiding her further into the office. “It’s not a joke, Mel.”
Oh my gosh, she called me Mel—the COO—like we’re best buds now.
“Mr. McConnell gave me a position to fill, and I’ll admit that I had Marti in mind originally, but then I looked at all the writers who have been with PopNewz over the last few years, and I decided you needed this. You may not be the youngest, the most career hungry, or even the best writer, but you’re a family woman. Despite having three young kids at home, you come in and get the job done. You’ve proven yourself here. And I think that counts for something.”
Hillary’s explanation and demeanor were so opposite of her old boss, Mel thought she might cry. Her thoughts scattered in a million directions of what this could mean for her. Having more money for childcare after Blake left. No more cheap bologna sandwiches for lunch. She could move out of her tiny apartment, away from Diego with his obnoxious music, and the Costas with that creepy dog that looked part wolf and never blinked its eyes. She could buy a house.
Mel placed a shaky hand over her mouth and glanced around her in disbelief. She wasn’t a particularly emotional person. Her ex, Craig, had wrung her dry of tears long ago, but as she stepped further into the office, the backs of her eyes pricked anyway. This couldn’t possibly be real.
She trailed a finger over the gleaming mahogany desk, glancing back at Hillary, who gave her an encouraging smile. “Go ahead. Check it all out.”
