“Then, I expect any changes to be run by me at least twenty-four hours before going to print so I have time to show them to Natalie.”
“Then your articles need to be in a full day earlier from now on.”
“Fine, I can do that.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
Gretchen glared at me, then snarled. “Now get out of my office.”
I stood and walked out, leaving the door open because I knew it annoyed her.
That was not the way things were supposed to be. If someone’s name was on the byline, the article was theirs. If Gretchen wanted to make all those changes, she should have put her own damn name on it.
“That was a pretty interesting article you wrote,” Mike said as I approached his desk. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“I didn’t write it.”
“What?” He examined me closely. “What do you mean?”
I glanced back at Gretchen’s office. “She changed everything I wrote.”
“She did what?” Mike cupped my elbow and guided me into his cubicle space.
I shrugged him off. “She told me you were going to write the articles if I didn’t find an angle. I wanted to write something about the wedding, about Natalie and Omar, but she didn’t want that. She wants dirt.”
Mike snorted. “There’s no dirt on either of them. They’re good people.”
“You didn’t help her with the changes to my article?” I was a little surprised to hear that.
“No. Hell no. I like Omar. He’s a good man. Mayor Levine was a piece of crap. He liked to manipulate everything. My sister works at town hall and told me some of the things Levine did when he was still here. I was pissed when those articles came out last year about Omar because I thought he was just as big of an asshole, but I was happy to see your articles exposing Levine.”
“Thanks, Mike. I… Gretchen doesn’t understand how things work here. I know you like to push the line and expose people, but that’s not how I work.”
“I expose people who need to be exposed. I might push a little harder to find the information I need, but I don’t chase after things that don’t need to be chased after.”
I thought about what he said and realized he was right. He wasn’t telling lies. He was sharing things others didn’t know but needed to. “Thanks, Mike. I think you’re right.”
“What are you going to do about the rest of your articles?”
“She agreed not to change anything and to give me twenty-four hours’ notice before going to print so I can talk to Natalie.”
“Smart.”
“I hope. But now I need to convince Natalie to give me another chance.”
“She saw your article before Gretchen got her hands on it, huh?”
I nodded. “Yep. And she’s not happy about the changes.”
“Good. Maybe it’ll teach Gretchen a little about how things work around here. We’re not all out to get each other. This isn’t a place where everyone hates each other.”
“I hope she understands one day. Or I’ll leave. I won’t work for someone who only wants to destroy everyone around.”
Mike’s dark brows shot up. A smile lifted his lips. “You let me know if it comes to that. I’ll walk with you.”
“Yeah?”
