Fin stood with her and hugged her tight one last time. “Be safe,” he whispered in her ear, “call me when you land.”
She gave him a hard kiss goodbye, hoisted her carry-on over her shoulder, and followed the porter without looking back.
Chapter23
The Story Breaks
Two weeks later…
Fin halted in the middle of a sit-up, wiped the sweat from his brow, and answered his cell phone. Addie rarely called this early in the morning, so seeing her name pop up on the display was a surprise.
“Morning,” he greeted her.
“Heads up, Fin. Cole’s story published today.”
“Is it bad?”
When she hesitated, he prompted, “How bad, Addie?”
“It really depends on your viewpoint. It’s surprisingly flattering. Instead of an ugly exposé as we expected, the article reads more like a love story. It chronicles your life from university to today.” Fin waited while Addie paused, drinking what he assumed was her morning coffee. “She talks about Fiona and Rodney.”
Fin dragged a hand through his hair, then rubbed his neck. “And Alex?”
Addie continued, “Oh, yeah, she’s in there. There’s a surprising amount of personal information about her. Cole did her homework. Did you know Alex was a barrel-racing champion when she was twelve years old?”
“Jesus.”
“Something else… It’s not in her usual rag. It’s inThe New York Times. And she included photos of you two in both Houston and New York… lovey-dovey kind of photos.”
“Feckin’ bawbags.” Fin rubbed his face with his towel. “Send me the link? I want to read it, then warn Alex. She’ll goaffherheid.” He growled as another thought occurred to him. “Shit,The New York Timesmeans wider distribution, right?”
“Yes. This will get international coverage. There. I just sent it,” Addie said, as his phone pinged. “Fin, aside from the personal stuff, it’s not a bad article. She painted you in a rather positive light. It’s… well, it’s weird.”
“I think that’s Alex’s doing.”
“Explain.”
“Cole cornered Alex in the toilets one night. Alex relayed the exchange to me. Apparently, they discussed the challenges of women working in a man’s world. When she told me, I dismissed it as something Alex misinterpreted. But, based on what you’re saying, I’m wondering… Alex has a way with people. I’ve seen it. She could calm a rabid dog. Anyway, let me read the article and call her, then I’ll get back to you.”
“Sounds good.”
“Addie,” Fin caught her before she hung up, “thanks for the heads up. I appreciate you.”
“No problem, Fin-Fin. Now go.”
Fin disconnected and pulled up the article to read it. Addie was right. The story portrayed him favorably. And was unexpectedly factual, unlike other pieces published by Miranda Cole. He’d never seen her outright lie about him, but she often hinted, suggested, and speculated in her articles. This one didn’t. It appeared to be more biographical in nature. She even mentioned the reporter chasing Fiona and the investigation that had followed, although she didn’t reveal thatshewas the reporter involved.
The details concerning Alex bothered him, though. He read through, learning things about his lover she hadn’t shared. It gave information about her hometown and the names of her parents. Fin cringed. He imagined her reaction would be volatile, at minimum.
They had carved out time for the upcoming holidays, and she planned to fly to Los Angeles to spend time with him next week. If Cole had waited one week to publish, he and Alex would have been together when the story broke.
He bookmarked the link and called Alex’s number. He wanted to give her the heads up that Addie gave him.
Alex’s phonevibrated in her pocket as she made a note on the candidate’s resume. She absently switched off the ringer as she moved to the next question on her list.
This was her last individual interview. Afterward, she had a group meeting scheduled for a roundtable discussion with all the candidates about their expectations for the PMO. Then she was done.
The trip had gone well so far, which was encouraging. At Frank’s suggestion, rather than flying all over to meet everyone, she’d arranged for the applicants to come to the centrally located London office. By doing so, her trip was condensed into two weeks, instead of months as she’d originally planned. Most of those she met were excellent prospects for the new team. The guy from the Asian sales group surprised her, and the one from the Norwegian office seemed a bit too superior in his attitude. She would know more about how well they played together after the upcoming group meeting.
