His teeth made an audible click as his jaw clenched. “Right.” A little white lie was better than loading customers’ trucks with fertilizer. That shit stank. He had to remember that.
Two men and a woman in dark, tailored suits and expensive shoes filed into the room and sat across from them. The woman he recognized as Mary Hinojosa, the head of all programming for the Adventure Channel. The men, one blond, one brunet, both with permanent frowns, he’d never seen.
“Thank you for joining us today,” Mary said. As if they had a choice. “We’re here to discuss the future of The Hunt for Cryptids. As you know, your ratings have steadily dropped over the past year.”
Alan straightened and moved his hands to his lap. “We are aware, but we have some ideas to liven up the show.”
Did they? That was news to Spencer.
“Have you seen the most recent footage we submitted?” Rebecca asked. Spencer kept his mouth shut, which, as the new guy, he could thankfully get away with.
“The cave-in?” Blondie asked.
“No,” Rebecca said. “I mean?—”
Mary held up a hand. “While Spencer’s near-death experience did add excitement to the show, you still didn’t discover a single shred of evidence that the so-called demons you were hunting exist.”
Spencer inhaled, ready to point out that the show was called The Hunt for Cryptids, not The Finding of, but he thought better of it. It had taken a buttload of sweet-talking on Alan’s behalf to convince Mary to allow Spencer on the team. He wasn’t about to look a gift network exec in the mouth.
“So you haven’t seen El Cadejo?” Alan folded his hands on the table. “It must still be in editing. May I make a call and have them send it up? I think you’ll like what you see.”
The brown-haired man leaned over to whisper something into Mary’s ear. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe she was about to allow it. “Tell them to email me a link within five minutes.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Alan grinned and dialed his phone. “Hey, Joe. I need you to send the El Cadejo evidence to Mary Hinojosa right now.” He tightened his mouth as he listened to Joe’s response. “I know it’s not ready. Send what you’ve got of the sighting. Just that clip is fine. Thanks, man.” He returned the phone to his jacket pocket.
A minute later, Mary’s pinged.
“You’ve got mail,” Alan said.
Mary held the phone, and the other execs leaned in to view the scene. Spencer closed his eyes, remembering the way Lilith had appeared through the trees. She’d looked every bit the phantom dog with her glamour activated. His heart thumped a hard beat. Without it, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
The moment he’d returned to a city big enough to have cell service, her apology text had come through. She seemed genuinely sorry she had tricked them, and she assured him for the umpteenth time she was trying to help. Warmth spread through his chest at the thought of her, so he shifted in his seat, giving his head a little shake to chase the sensation away. The last thing he needed was to get the warm fuzzies for the cold undead.
“Well…” Mary put the phone on the table. “Color me impressed. That’s some extraordinary footage. Any idea what it was?”
Alan cut his gaze to Spencer before speaking. “I recorded a voiceover presenting multiple possibilities.”
“Such as?” She steepled her fingers.
“A ghost, a shapeshifter, a vampire. You know, the usual.”
Rebecca fought a smile, and Spencer ground his teeth.
The blond guy whispered something to Mary, and she nodded before saying something under her breath to the brunet. The man nodded in agreement, and Mary folded her arms on the table.
“We called you here today prepared to inform you your show would be canceled.”
The thickness in Spencer’s throat turned into a lump the size of a tangerine. Rebecca swallowed hard, and Alan held his breath.
“However, in light of your most recent expedition and the fact we don’t have another show lined up, we’re going to give you a second chance. I’d rather not fill your timeslot with reruns.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Spencer finally spoke. “We won’t let you down.”
“I hope you’re right. One more expedition. You have two weeks to plan it, one week to execute it, and one more for editing. That will be all.”
Spencer filed out of the conference room with his friends and stepped into the elevator. The last time he walked this path, the doors sliding shut had felt like the lid of a coffin closing on him, ending his career. This time, he had hope, but…
“Whatever we do, it’s got to be epic.” He pushed the button for the fourth floor.
