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“Yes.” I set down my plate. “Some people might say you’re the biggest one of those trolls.”
One side of his mouth turned upward. “I’ve heard that before. But you’re active on there, as well, Rebecca.”
A shiver raced up my spine at the sound of my name on his lips, as well as the hint he’d done a fair amount of research about me.I should have expected that.“Moderately so.”
“Why?”
I shrugged and felt another chill, as if the air around us was changing. “It’s sort of required for my profession. Every journalist is on there.”
“There are other social media sites.”
“But not like that one.”
“Why do you say that?”
“For all its faults, Chatter is upstream from culture. That’s how it is.”
“I agree, and that gives the platform tremendous power, but that also means people have abused it.”
“Like you?”
He recoiled. “Me?”
“Your posts are some of the most notorious on there. You pick fights with people, troll people, make jokes at their expense—”
“All part of free speech. And in the last couple of years, Chatter has de-platformed and silenced people who post inconvenient things that go against conventional wisdom. But doing so is the antithesis of free speech.”
“Most of those people deserved to be banned.”
“I’m always so surprised when I hear journalists advocate for censorship.”
I flinched. “I wouldn’t call it censorship. More like...harm reduction.”
“We need a place for open debate and discourse. Chatter is a de facto town square.” He paused. “I’m hoping to make it better. To make it a place that really works for people.”
I scoffed.
“What if I can? I’ve taken over other companies in the past and managed to improve them. Why can’t I do that with Chatter?”
“I sincerely doubtanyonewould be able to do that with Chatter, at least not in its current form.”
He ate a few more bites of his meal and I wondered if he was contemplating my critique. “I’ll have to get the right team on the project, but I am actually quite excited about the potential.”
“And what this weekend is about—potential?”
“I know a lot of people didn’t want to relocate Chatter’s HQ from California, but in the end, it made sense. Exposes it to some new talent. Besides, there is a lot of energy in South Florida right now, and I believe it makes sense to capitalize on that.”
“Plus, it’s easier for you, since the original Sparks Innovation home office is in Florida.”
He nodded.
“I know this wasn’t a totally altruistic move.” I leaned over the table and locked my gaze with his. “You might be able to fool the usual public relations person or a novice reporter, but, Landon, you can’t fool me.”
His expression was unreadable. “Good. I’m glad.”
I cocked my head. “Why?”
“Because this would be a boring weekend if I could. And there is nothing I hate more in life than boredom. That is not my thing.”
