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“It wasn’t the Woman Whisperer,” Chloe said. “I think it had more to do with finding out that Eden was a reporter and not some freelance prostitute trying to horn in on his business.”
Eden stopped tying her shoes and glanced up. “So you told him I was a reporter?”
“I didn’t tell him.” Chloe took a bite of the cookie. “He found out while I was gone. He read your article in the newspaper about Nash.”
There was a moment when Eden thought she might black out. All the air left her lungs, and her heart seemed to seize in her chest. Like a zombie, she walked to the breakfast bar, where her laptop was still open from her job hunting. It took only a few clicks to bring up the newspaper’s website. She entered her password and then placed her name in the search engine. Numerous articles came up, but it was the most recent that had her eyes widening.
“Oh my God,” she breathed as she covered her mouth with her hand. Chloe and Madison hurried over to stand behind her. There was a moment of silence as they read the article before Madison spoke.
“I don’t understand. I thought you were writing a fictional story. Why didn’t you tell me you were a reporter, Eden?”
“You didn’t tell her?” Chloe asked.
Eden was so broadsided to see her story in print that she couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare at the screen. Which left Madison to draw her own conclusions. The right conclusions.
“So you were just using me to get information,” she said. “Which means that you really aren’t my friend.” Before Eden could find the words to explain, Madison grabbed her purse and walked out, slamming the door behind her.
“Holy shit,” Chloe said. “You have really crapped in your nest. I thought you weren’t going to publish the story about Nash.”
“I didn’t,” Eden whispered as she continued to stare at the words on the screen. “But I think I know who did.”
The drive to the newspaper office took Eden less than five minutes in the Porsche. When she got there, she didn’t park in the employee parking. She parked in the fire zone. At this point, she didn’t care about a ticket. She cared about only one thing… killing Mike. She found him at his desk typing away. He glanced up when she stepped into his cubicle.
“Where have you been? I thought you would show up as soon as the story broke.” Completely unaware of her anger, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, giving her a smug smile. “Stella has agreed to give you another chance. So you want to thank me now? Or over the dinner you owe me?”
Eden gritted her teeth as she stepped closer. “Thank you for stealing my article and having it published without my permission? Is that what I should thank you for?”
Mike sat up. “Whoa. Are you pissed?”
“Yes! I’m pissed! How could you do it, Mike? Why would you do it?”
His face lost all color. “I thought that’s what you wanted. And when you ran off after I told you about Nash’s trial and left your laptop, I decided to help you out. And it’s a great story, Huckabee—a little dramatic, but a great story. Everyone is talking about it and Nash Beaumont.”
Eden cringed. “But I didn’t want everyone talking about Nash.”
“But isn’t that the entire point of being a reporter—to get people talking about your articles?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Not that article.”
“Then why did you pitch it to Stella? Why did you spend all the time researching it? And why did you want me to edit it?” Mike held up his hands. “Look, I’m sorry if I screwed up. But it’s that article that made Stella want to rehire you.”
“What is going on in here?” Stella came around the corner. When she saw Eden, her ChapSticked lips tipped in the closest thing Eden had ever seen to a smile. “Well, I have to hand it to you, Miss Huckabee, you are the walking definition of the saying ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.’” She held out a hand. “Congratulations on a great story—”
Eden cut her off before she could finish. “There’s been a mistake, Stella. The story shouldn’t have gone out. We’re going to have to recall all the newspapers and write a retraction immediately.”
At this point, Eden could’ve very easily thrown Mike under the bus. But as angry as she was with him for editing her article and then sending it to Stella, he didn’t deserve to get fired over it. Not when he thought he’d been doing her a favor. So she took the blame. It wasn’t like she had to worry about getting fired.
“There was a mix-up,” she said. “I wanted to send you the story on the marathon to publish, and instead I sent you…” She scrambled for a good lie: “a page out of my journal.”
Stella’s face puckered. “Are you telling me I just published one of your fantasies as real news?”
Eden nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” She held up her hands. “I know I’m really and truly fired this time. I’ll go and clear out my things from the janitor’s closet, but first you have to get those newspapers back.”
Stella stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “You really don’t know crap about the newspaper business, do you?” She looked at Mike. “I don’t suppose you have anything to add to this crazy conversation?” When Mike didn’t say anything, she issued an order. “Go get me some coffee and don’t skimp on the sugar.” Then she motioned for Eden to follow her.
Once they were in her office, Stella sat down behind her desk. “I don’t believe the pile of crap you just told me about your journal. And since you seem so angry at Mike, I’m going to make a guess that he’s somehow involved.” When Eden remained silent, she nodded. “Okay, don’t tell me. It’s probably best if I don’t know. But what I do need to know is how much of the story is true.”
Realizing that she would need Stella’s help if she wanted to fix this, Eden came clean. “Most of it.”
