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She agreed. “Of course. He’s the son of Merl Cappa, world renowned explorer, treasure hunter, scientist, and philanthropist. Though he hasn’t exactly followed in his father’s footsteps.”
He’s not anything like his father, she thought.He’s lazy and living off his daddy’s money. Ha! If only I had that problem. I’m still paying for my father’s insanity.
“He’s starting a clean air initiative in his father’s name.” Jim leaned forward. “He’s chosenEarthto hold the first interview. We are the leading media resource for groundbreaking environmental science. Therefore, this interview must be exact, informative, and flawless. Screw this up and you’ll be writing resumes at the homeless shelter. Which… isn’t a bad thing. But likely not what you’re aspiring for yourself after racking up a hundred thousand dollars for your journalism degree.”
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands over his middle.
Kimber’s scalp tingled. Did she just hear what she thought she heard?
“Wait, sir… Are you saying you would likemeto interview Mr. Cappa?”
He spread his beefy hands. “Is there anyone else in the room?”
“No, sir.”
“You’re young. Pel is young. I can’t send Betty White over there to tackle something like this. I need a young person’s brain, you know, someone relatable. Pel is eccentric, thinks a lot of himself. Entitled. Lazy. You’re from the same generation. You’ll fit right in.”
Ouch. She wanted to remind Jim that she was twenty-eight and Pel was thirty-nine. They weren’t anything alike, but at least now she knew what her boss thought of her. She was one of the very few people working in this office who didn’t have a Ph.D. in some science-related field. Most of her coworkers had yet to warm up with her; certainly, none of them respected her. And how could they if the resounding consensus around here was that she was eccentric, self-important, and entitled?
Everyone knew she was Buddy McLeedy’s daughter. He’d made a name for himself and garnered major national attention for his claims of repeated alien abduction. That alone put a black mark on her back.
Putting on a smile to hide the sting, Kimber readjusted her bag on her lap. “I’ll do my absolute best to be an upstanding member of my generation, sir.”
“This is important, Kimber. I’m going way out on a very thin, osteoporotic limb by giving you this assignment.”
She nodded, knuckles white with how hard she gripped her bag. This interview was more than justvery important. Her five-year plan was to build enough of a portfolio that she could ditch this low-paying gig where she used that spendy journalism degree to fetch her boss coffee and proofread other people’s work, and get a foot in at American Geo. The big dream? A consistent string of overseas assignmentswithher own team. She wanted to erase the stain of her past and the ridicule she’d grown up with. Being known as the ‘Alien dude’s daughter’ had done little for her social life, then or now.
She needed to nail this assignment. It was a big step in the right direction.
“I understand, and I thank you for the opportunity. When is the interview?”
“Next week. I’ll email you the itinerary. There’s a list of pre-written questions in the file for you to consider. Pull what you like or create your own. I want to approve the final list before you go. Is your passport current?”
Passport? Her heart gave a little flip. The last article she’d read on Pel showed he had a house in Sacramento, California. “Yes. Where is the—”
“Dingle. Dingle, Ireland. Say it a few times.Ding-le. Ding, ding,ding-le. Funny name for a town. Sounds like the punchline of a dirty joke, doesn’t it? Have you heard of it? Pel’s got a vacation house there, so off you go.”
Kimber’s lips parted. He was sending her toDingle,Ireland. Of course she’d heard of it. The small seaside town had gained notoriety in the last year because of—
“You’ve been here, what, six months?” He burst forward in his chair, making the thin end of his ponytail flop.
“Three years, sir.”
“Right. Human resources said you haven’t used a single vacation day since you started, and they don’t want to continue paying you for all that rollover. Why not take a few extra days in Dingle after the interview—on your own dime—and enjoy yourself?”
A high-profile interviewanda vacation? Had she fallen through a time-space rift and ended up in an alternate universe where things went her way?
“Sure. That’s a great idea.”
“Good.” Jim stood up and gestured to his door in clear dismissal. Though his demeanor seemed more relaxed, the furrow between his caterpillar brows was ever present. She felt like her insides were soaring. Was this happening?
She was just about to the door when his voice called her back. “What are my three rules for excellent reporting, Kimber?”
Right. The three rules. “Number one, no fluff. Number two, no bullshit. And number three, no extra-terrestrials.”
“That’s right. Don’t forget it. No matter what Pel tries to tell you.”
“I’ll remember that, sir. Incidentally, did you know Dingle has gained recent popularity because of multiple—”
