“I spoke to Natalie, and?—”
“You what? You told her we are doing a story?”
I shifted in my seat. “Well, yes. If I was going to get access to her for the article and follow her around as it got closer to the wedding, I figured it only made sense she was aware of it.”
Gretchen leaned back in her chair and sighed heavily. She twisted her neck until it cracked, then twisted it the other way.
Not intimidating at all.
“I guess if you are going to publish something, yes, you will need her approval. What did she say?”
“She admitted it was her in the photo.”
“And?” Gretchen’s perfectly sculpted brows rose.
“And… um, she said it wasn’t public, but she would be willing to share the story.”
Gretchen was quiet for a long minute. She steepled her fingers in front of her face, then rested her chin on them. “We still need more. Is this just one article? Once we expose the truth, no one will care anymore. What else are you going to talk about?”
“Um, well, she said people keep asking if she’s worried about the woman in the photo. We could go with the angle of Mayor Knight being married before and a man in power settling down with someone after a scandal that pushed them together.”
Gretchen’s brows popped high again. “Pushed them together?”
“Natalie said he was protecting her. He went after the photographer to try to get the picture, but the man wouldn’t delete it. Omar… Mayor Knight was trying to keep Natalie safe and make sure the summer camp didn’t suffer because of that picture.”
“Well. That is interesting.” Gretchen’s smirk was not friendly. “I think you might have a story after all. I’ll approve it. Start working with her ASAP. Find out what you need. Go to all her appointments with her, and get on his calendar. I want you to get both of their sides. And see if you can find out anything about the ex-wife, the family who donated the land, and anyone else in their lives. Sort of a public interest angle. You can layer all of this into what they’re doing to get ready for the wedding.”
I nodded, unsure I liked the way she was presenting it all. “But positive, right? Because they’re good people.”
“Yes, positive. I’m not going to be accused of throwing the mayor everyone loves under the bus.”
“Okay.”
“When is the wedding?”
“Four weeks.”
“Perfect. I want your first article on my desk Monday to run in Tuesday’s edition. If you can make it compelling enough, we can make this a regular column leading up to the wedding.”
“That would be great. Thank you, Gretchen.” A regular column? That would be more than just a good piece. It would mean getting into the paper every week. It would mean knowing I had income coming in.
Gretchen turned to her computer, ignoring me.
I stood to leave, grabbing my bag and closing the door behind me as I let myself out of her office. I fought my smile, not wanting the others to see that I had gotten a good assignment. Not everyone who worked in newspapers was ruthless, but there were more than a few who were happy to swoop in and steal your story.
Especially if they had a stronger connection to the editor and a regular seat at the table.
I headed for the door, needing to get to my second job so I could get home on time when Mikayla was off the bus. I knew better than to change in the paper parking lot, but I couldn’t sit in the driveway of the house I was scheduled to clean either. I drove a few minutes away, then changed quickly. I tugged jeans under my skirt and unbuttoned my blouse. In my fitted tank and jeans, I dug for my tee. My hand grabbed the cotton and pulled it over my head.
Cleaning houses gave me a peacefulness that my other jobs didn’t. The work was routine and easy. I didn’t get grossed out by things that other people did, and the money was decent. The company was local, owned by two cousins who loved being able to help people make their homes clean and beautiful. They hired me without a lot of fuss, and I could take on whatever jobs worked within my schedule.
Even better, I never worked nights or weekends and was paid by the job, not the hour.
I rang the doorbell of the house and smiled when Mrs. Gentry opened the door. “How are you today?”
“Hello, Casey. We are doing our best. How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you. Regular cleaning today, right?”
