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My amusement dissipates as I stand up from my chair. Suddenly, I yearn to be liberated from Gigi's constant barrage of frustration.
“You cannot buy the magazine,” she blurts out.
I raise my brows. “Why? Because you asked nicely?”
Her lip twitches, and for a fraction of a second, it looks as if she is about to smile.
“It’s as much for your good as mine,” she says. “If you buy the magazine, your brother willneverwin the election.”
I fold my arms. “True,” I say. “But shouldn’t that be what youwant?”
“It is,” she says. “But I also like my job. And I believe that I can make you lose purely by writing. You don’t need to help me out by buying the magazine.”
A smile escapes me. She’s amusing—her arrogance, her self-assuredness, and the fact that she’s way more like me than she realizes.
“It would be easier for you if I bought the magazine, wouldn’t it?” I ask. “And you can keep your job.”
“Yeah,” she says. “But I’d rather paint a house with nail polish than work for you.”
My smile grows broader. “But youareworking for me,” I tell her. “You tell me every day the aspects of the campaign we should improve on. You’re more critical of our campaign than our hired team put together. That’s a huge help.”
She looks like she wants to punch me. “I don’t want to helpyou.”
I raise a brow. “Really? Why, then, do you keep writing about us?”
“To inform the public,” she spits at me, her fists beginning to tremble.
I had anticipated enjoying myself as I put my plan into motion, but I never imagined it would be this exhilarating.
“Andto enforce change, right?”I ask, innocence in my tone. “I mean, the press only criticizes people in hopes that they will improve their behavior. I know a thing or two about that. I’m literallythe head of a media corporation, am I not?”
Forget the punch, I think in elation,she looks like she wants to kill me.
“I know you’re incapable of change,” she says, her voice shaking.
“Why, then, do you criticize me?” I ask. “For the fun of it?”
I almost regret the statement once I say it. Even though Theodore and his campaign team were obsessed with finding out why she kept coming at me, I couldn’t care less about the reason. I also couldn’t make her thinkI cared. All I needed to do was make her as angry as possible before I went in for the jugular.
And thatis working perfectly.
“I don’t criticize for the fun of it,” she replies, and I can tell her anger is climbing by the minute. “I only want to point out why you’re so wrong and unqualified.”
“To what end, though?” I say, my delight in this situation appearing as a half-grin on my face. “So the other candidate can win? You don’t even care about him. You’ve never mentioned him in any of the articles.”
“Because he’s not the point,”she spits. “The point is that your brother—”
“Is unqualified, yes,” I cut in. “But then again, he’s taking your frequent articles as constructive criticism. Have you ever had to point out the same vice twice?”
She pauses, uncertain, and I can tell she’s seething with rage that I’m right.
I take another step closer. “You might deny it all you want, but Theodore wantsto be a good congressman,” I say. “He’s taken every criticism you have and tried to do something about it. Isn’t that why you’re running out of things to say about him? I saw the latest piece—a repetition of your first article about us.”
She looks up at me, her eyes filled with animosity. “I have plenty of things to write about you,” she says.
“Well, then,” I say, making sure to keep a placid smile on my face, “we’ll be sure to read them thoroughly and implement changes.”
She frowns at me for a few moments, probably contemplating how to rip my head off.
