Chapter Five
A roar reverberated around the newsroom, shocking Charlotte out of her near catatonic state. She glanced up from her computer screen to see the reason for all the usually calm and cool journalists of WQUZ freaking out.
Mira was back.
They all felt extreme relief that their star reporter once again graced the newsroom. It had been a scary few months when they dealt with the stalker situation. But now that was all put to bed. Mira had recovered from her injuries and looked ready to get back in action. Charlotte liked Mira more than most the reporters. She didn’t have an ego the size of Texas for one thing. And she always came up with awesome story ideas, while still listening to the opinions of others.
Still ashamed over her actions from the night before, Charlotte stayed planted in her seat, positive that one look at her face and anyone would be able to tell what she’d done. When Mira glanced over to the assignment editor’s desk, Charlotte simply smiled and gave a small wave. But she should have known better than to think that would satisfy Mira. The spunky reporter seemed to think it was her mission to pry Charlotte from her shy shell and get her in front of a camera.
Like that would ever happen.
Once Mira had made a round of hugs and hellos from her fellow journalists, she made a beeline straight for Charlotte’s desk. A sling still cradled her left arm, but there was no other obvious sign of the ordeal Mira had been through. In fact, she looked rather well-rested and happy.
“Hey, Charlotte. How are you?” Mira leaned in, hugging Charlotte awkwardly with one arm.
Charlotte tensed, terrified Mira might be able to smell the telltale scent of sex that she had convinced herself lingered after her spontaneous self-love session in the bathroom the night before.
“I’m good, the same as always.” Charlotte pulled back from the hug, needing to put some space between them. “How about you? How are you feeling? I’m surprised Chris isn’t following you around today.”
Mira laughed, her cheeks blushing slightly at the mention of her rival turned boyfriend. “Trust me, he tried, but he’s on the evening shift tonight, and I told him I didn’t want to see his face before three this afternoon.”
Having no idea what to say to that, Charlotte simply smiled and nodded some more, always finding that it worked no matter what situation she found herself.
Thankfully, Mira picked up the slack in the conversation. “You’re here awfully late, shouldn’t you be passed out at home by now?”
“Yeah, unfortunately, Annabel and her son have the flu, so I’m pulling a double.” She gave a little shrug and tucked her hands beneath her arms to ensure Mira couldn’t catch the scent of her own juices on them. She knew logically it was unlikely. She’d washed her hands after all, but the thought wouldn’t leave her head. “But Rich should be here in a few, and then I can finally go home and sleep.” And wait to see if Trey actually calls, she added silently.
Mira began peeling the sling around her arm and shoulder off, wincing slightly as she bunched it into a ball and tossed it in the waste basket under Charlotte’s desk.
“Um, don’t you still need that?”
“No.” Mira’s voice was harder than normal, and her face pinched in frustration. “The doc gave me the all clear a week ago to stop using it, but Chris keeps saying I should keep wearing it until my pain is totally gone. I wore it today to appease him, but that silliness is done now.”
Charlotte let a laugh slip loose before she could stop herself. Mira and Chris’ relationship was so unlike anything she’d seen before. They were competitive with each other, argued, poked fun at one another. But even with all that, an idiot would be able to see how much they loved each other.
In comparison, Charlotte’s parents were very the opposite, her dad giving in to whatever her mom wanted and never challenging the status quo. They loved each other too. In fact, her father was borderline obsessed with keeping her mom happy, but it was in a stoic way. Physical affection wasn’t something they handed out like candy. Hugs and kisses were reserved for behind closed doors, and only on special occasions.
“Well it’s good to have you back.” It truly was. The place hadn’t been the same without Mira’s special brand of storytelling ability and positive attitude. Plus, they had been so short staffed over the last few weeks, it would be nice to not come in at night and hear about all the possible news they missed out on because they didn’t have enough reporters to go around. “Are you sticking to the newsroom for now, or jumping back in feet first?”
“Screw that. If Michelle even tries to get me to stay in the newsroom, I’m going to go Chuck Norris on her butt.” Mira huffed out a breath, and Charlotte had to fight not to laugh at her obvious annoyance. “Chris had me under house arrest for the past six weeks. I need to get out there and do my thing, or I’m going to go crazy.”
“No worries, Mira, I’m putting you out in the field today. This damn flu has everyone and their brother calling in sick.” Michelle stalked through the newsroom to her office. She swung her door open and let all her bags drop to the floor just inside. “Are we doing this morning meeting, or do I need to personally invite each of you?”
Mira chuckled, her face lighting up. “God I’m happy to be back. Even Michelle’s pre-coffee grumpiness is awesome right now.”
One-by-one, Charlotte, Mira, Rich who had just ambled in, and the morning producers all filed into Michelle’s office. Charlotte’s heart pounded inside her chest, and black spots started swim in her vision. Rich had asked her to lead the morning meeting because he wasn’t feeling well. But she secretly believed he was in cahoots with Michelle to get her to step up and take the offer of her part of his job seriously.
There was nothing Charlotte hated more than having to speak in front of a group of people. Even if the people were all her coworkers that she knew wouldn’t be judging her. Or she thought they wouldn’t be judging her. But they could be.
Opening her mouth, she thought for a moment she might throw up. She quickly snapped it closed again, closed her eyes, and sucked in a deep breath through her nose, then expelled it through her mouth. Thankfully, everyone in the room continued to chatter with Mira, happily catching up, and no one seemed to notice her distress.
She glanced over to Michelle, ready to bale out. But her boss simply gave her a small smile and firm nod of her head. The gesture seemed to convey her confidence that Charlotte could do this, and it did help to steel her nerves a little.
“Okay everyone, let’s get started.” Her voice was weak, but seemed to do the job, everyone quieted and turned to look at her. She nervously cleared her throat, looking down at the iPad in her hand where she had the spreadsheet full of story possibilities for the day. 75% of them were ideas Charlotte had to find herself since nothing had happened over night that needed following up on, and half the reporters were sick and not sending in ideas of their own. Knowing that she had found and clarified these stories gave her a little more confidence. “We have a lot of work to do since the file for today was very thin. But I have some possibilities.”
***
Charlotte collapsed into her car, exhausted, yet exhilarated. The meeting had actually gone very well. Mira got assigned to follow up on the little boy who had been shot last fall. He was fully recovered now and had made his school’s baseball team, thanks largely in part to the outstanding care he got with the donations the community sent in.
