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“So, uh…” I started, not really sure what to talk about until I spotted my ripped-up panties lying on the floor. “I’m just gonna… take these.” As I walked over to pick it up, Ben simply followed me with his gaze. After I pocketed the piece of cloth, I stood in the middle of his office expectantly. I didn’t know what I expected, but I just guessed—or hoped—that we wouldn’t just leave it in silence. There was a lot to unpack with what we just did, after all.
Speaking of that, I didn’t even know how I was going to go to work tomorrow. I was still terrified about losing my job. After all, Ben could have come to his senses and realized that a boss shouldn’t sleep with his employee.
“Gah! Why did I have sex with him?” I asked myself out loud as I covered my face completely with my duvet. I could ask that question a million times, but I always knew the answer. All this time, I mistook my feelings for him as rage, and I let those mislabeled feelings take over.
But I knew there was nothing I could do about it now. Time would still move forward even if I didn’t sleep, so I might as well get some rest.
My neck felt stuffy from the black mock turtleneck short-sleeve shirt I wore. I was wearing it because Ben had left some very visible marks on my skin. Now it felt as though my wardrobe choice was screaming about what we had done.
“You look so chic today, Olivia,” Lucy immediately said as I got to my desk. Great, I hadn’t wanted anyone to comment on my outfit. It just made me remember why I was wearing it. But I guess the black paired with dark jeans was a little much. Especially for the end of summer.
“Yeah, I’m just trying to channel the fall vibes. It’s my favorite season.” I was a little too enthusiastic and Lucy gave me a strange look. But then she smiled.
“I can understand why you’re so chipper this morning. I mean ten million views on your story now! It’s incredible.”
Honestly, I had completely forgotten about my roller coaster story going viral on the internet. I guess that was because something waymore important happened on the same day.
“I just keep pinching myself, thinking this was all just gonna be a big dream because it was too good to be true.” Okay, I had no idea where these words were coming from.
Come to think of it, I never actually did process the fact that I went viral. Maybe this was just how I really felt about it and I was finally given a chance to express it out loud.
Lucy applauded me briefly, genuinely happy of the success my story achieved.
“You’ve definitely come a long way in such a short time! I’m glad you’re finally finding your reporting style,” she told me, and my heart kind of felt light at that moment. Lucy never really did stop believing in me. Even during my first day, she gave it to me straight, but she never put me down.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your advice. I’m so grateful for your help.”
Lucy simply laughed. “Oh, you flatter me, Olivia. You would have gotten there on your own, I'm sure of it.”
Suddenly, an editor came by announcing an emergency staff meeting. Lucy and I both frowned at each other. This definitely wasn’t typical.
My plan had also been to avoid Ben all day, but it seemed like my time was up.
Ben
As a person who worked in the news industry for almost fifteen years now, I had developed a keen sense of what was newsworthy and what wasn’t. It was the secret of being successful in this hardened arena.
There were countless events happening every single day all around the world. How would a reporter know what was vital for the public to know? And in a business perspective, how would we ensure that people would stay tuned to these stories? There were a number of variables to determine this, but the biggest one, I’d unfortunately have to say, was shock value.
I wasn't going to be naive and ignorant that what happened in my office not even twelve hours ago was something that was acceptable. In fact, I was certain that if the people in this newsroom right now knew about it, my reputation as their leader would diminish into thin air. The whispers would start, and eventually, the information would leak to other news sources, and then to the entire world.
I was also aware that I was being hypocritical, seeing as how I grew OVT Broadcasting Network with the slogan:The harbingers of unequivocal truth.I definitely wasn’t being a harbinger by keeping all of this under wraps, and I also definitely knew that I could simply move on from this by talking to Olivia and telling her that it was a mistake and we should maintain a professional relationship.
As I sat there in the middle of the newsroom, as opposed to the usual meeting room, I couldn’t help but notice my heart beating faster than usual. Eric wanted more of a celebration than a meeting today.
My eyes kept darting back and forth between the people in the room and where Olivia’s desk was, even though I couldn’t see it from here anyway. I wasn’t quite certain if it was the looming guilt from doing something taboo or maybe the quite possible outcome of Olivia exposing said taboo act in front of everyone. She had every right to, after all. I was her boss, someone who was meant to have a level-headed approach to things, but I let my desires get the best of me. If she ever decided to come clean, then the whole newsroom—no, the whole world would side with her, and I’d be done.
But now that I thought about it even more, it… didn’t seem to be that. For some reason, I was confident that Olivia wasn’t going to say anything to anyone. If she was going to, she had all the resources in the world to do so immediately after we had sex. If she was going to, she wouldn’t have come to work today, but I knew she was here.
I could think about this forever, but only time could tell what was going to happen. And so, I sat there patiently, waiting for all of my employees to gather in the newsroom. I saw a lot of confused looks when they saw me sitting idly by in the middle of the room instead of the meeting room.
“Come on, people. Move along, move along. We don’t have all day, you know,” Eric instructed as more and more people gathered.
Eventually, Olivia arrived, and our eyes immediately found each other. She gave me a small smile, but not much else, though I could tell there was a hint of uncertainty behind those hazel eyes. Admittedly, I wasn’t used to these social situations. I was a strict professional for the longest time, and I couldn’t just learn to adjust my gears in such a quick manner. I thought of giving her a small wave, but that seemed childlike and out of character for me. People woulddefinitelynotice. So, I gave her a simple nod. Just one nod, and I saw that Olivia looked a bit lukewarm.
What was she thinking that I could do? Just run up and kiss her passionately in front of the whole newsroom?
“Is everyone here?” Eric looked around a little bit, even though there really was no way for him to confirm attendance in two seconds. “So, thank you for meeting up like this on short notice, everybody. Don’t worry, this isn’t us assigning more work for you. What a relief, right?”
