Marjorie wrinkled her nose. “You really think that would’ve been better?”
The truth was, I didn’t know what I thought. The shelves looked good, I had to admit, but I’d wanted them white. I’daskedfor them to be white. And Brewer had insisted white wouldn’t work.
“Okay,” Marjorie said when I didn’t respond. “What’s got your boxers in a twist?”
“Nothing.” I sighed. “Everything.”
“Oh, goody. How about you give it to me in twenty words or less,” she teased, her brown-gray curls dancing.
I snorted. Marjorie was famous for saying if you couldn’t pitch her a story in twenty words, she didn’t want the rest.
I held up a hand and counted off on my fingers. “I accidentally burned down my contractor’s camper, and now he and his dog are living with me.” I pondered for a moment, then added, “And he’s hot.”
Marjorie’s jaw dropped. “Sold. And I’m going to need a few more words, babe.”
I shook my head. “I don’t wanna get into it, really. Suffice it to say, things here are…” I waved toward the bookshelves. “…complicated. Let’s talk about Empire Ridge instead.”
“Tell me what you got.” She sat back in her seat. “It goes without saying we need this one wrapped asap, houseguest or not.”
A tremendous crash echoed down the hall, followed by a loud curse.
“What the hell was that?” Marjorie demanded, leaning closer to her screen like she might be able to peek around the corner of mine.
“My new bathroom vanity, pretty sure.” I rubbed at my neck. “I should go see what’s happening. I hate to do this, but could we reschedule?—?”
“No, wait! I want to know about your investigation. Did your whistleblower send over the financial stuff? Was it the smoking gun he claimed it was?” Her eyes practically sparkled with editorial excitement.
Meanwhile, more cursing and a burst of raucous laughter filtered down the hall.
“He did, and it looks promising… at least in terms of implicating Empire Ridge. It doesn’t do much to clear Harmon’s name, unfortunately. But I’ll keep looking,” I assured her. “This story matters.”
“That’s my star reporter.” She beamed. “The editor atCounterpointspractically salivated when I pitched this, by the by. ‘Whistleblower reveals corporate conspiracy to frame his family business’? It’s everything their readers love. A redemption story for the little guy. Making the bad guys pay. And who better to uncover it all than a reporter who moved to a town just a couple of hours away?”
“No pressure or anything,” I deadpanned.
She grinned. “You get those documents, write it up in trademark Monroe style, and…mwah.” She kissed her fingers exuberantly. “I can see the Avery Decker Award nomination now.”
I laughed. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“Itwillbe nice,” she corrected. “And…” She wiggled her eyebrows. “If you need another dangling carrot to motivate you, I’ve also got two more leads for your next big story. Door number one, tech billionaire buys previously uninhabited island near the Philippines to build eco-utopia but ends up destroying coral reefs and displacing fishermen. Or door number two, unexplained tourist deaths at an exclusive resort in Costa Rica. I’m guessing you’ll go for the second one since you speak Spanish.”
“I… I guess,” I said. The truth was, neither of those stories gave me the usual rush of excitement I got at the prospect of uncovering some hidden truth, finding justice for the deserving, or giving people a voice. All I could think washot, humid, crowded.“You know me, Marjorie. One story at a time, right?”
“I know, I know.” She waved a hand. “But can you at least tell me?—”
“Ow!” someone yelled from the hallway. “Watch the hand, asshole!”
“Shit. Gotta go, Marjorie!” I said, already rushing out of the office… and into a scene pulled from a home renovation disaster show.
Theo stood in the hallway while Brewer was crowded into the small opening of the bathroom. Between them stood my beautiful vanity, wedged into the doorway at an odd angle.
“Hey, Delaney,” Theo said cheerfully, his blue eyes lighting when he spotted me.
Brewer’s head snapped up, his eyes locked with mine, and electricity arced between us. His expression was carefully blank, but I could see the tension in his jaw.
Always that damn jaw.
“Hey, boss,” he said, his forced pleasantness doing nothing to mask the I-told-you-so lurking beneath. “Having aslightissue with the install.”
