It had been a long time since I was inside an office that wasn’t a doctor’s appointment or Nathan’s fancy corner office.
I didn’t like it.
Why was every office temperature set to below zero? Was it some intimidation tactic:I don’t need a parka because I’m tougher than you?I shivered as I took a seat in front of the glass desk. On the other side, a velvet rolling chair whirled around to face me.
Victoria.
Macey’s boss. And the user behind theFishly541account.
“Noah Hansley,” she said. “I recognize you. Any reason why you bombarded past my assistant and into my office?”
Victoria looked different from her photo on theRoamer’s Digestwebsite. As editor-in-chief, nearly everyone rolled up toher in some capacity. Chin-length brown hair hugged her jaw, and bright red lipstick blinded me. She looked like every leading villain in a movie about magazines.
Macey described her as intimidating, but all I saw was an average human who hid behind anonymous accounts like a coward.
“I think you know,” I said.
Her eyebrows furrowed. “I think I don’t.”
“It’s about how your actions are impacting Macey,” I explained. “She’s your top employee and a damn good one at that.”
She impatiently tapped her pen against the table. “If you’re referring to withholding event invitations from her, it’s nothing personal. I have to give other writers opportunities no matter how much they’re trending online.”
“That’s not what I’m referring to. Though that’s a problem, too. If event staff want Macey there, it’s not right to sub her out with another employee. There has to be another way to handle that.”
And a way that didn’t involve hurting Macey.
She pursed her lips, and I imagined her defenses rising. “Your subtle insults aside, tell me what you’re referring to.”
“Fishly541.”
“Excuse me?”
“The anonymous Instagram you’ve been using to post all those negative comments about Macey.”
The pen in her hands froze mid-air. Victoria moved in slow motion, like she was walking through molasses. She folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. “There are negative comments about Macey?”
This was getting frustrating. She was a great actress. “I know you’ve been undermining Macey for months. Frankly, it’sembarrassing that you’ve stooped to the level of anonymously posting horrible things about your employee.”
Victoria blinked, then let out a snort. “What kind of fanfiction are you writing?”
I didn’t follow.
She dropped the pen onto a stack of files and sighed. “I would never do that. I don’t know why you would even think that.”
“But the writing and tone of the comments are the same as your articles. You’ve written specific things that only people who know Macey would know.”
“I don’t know what comments you’re even talking about.” She threw her arms wide, exasperated.
I pulled up Macey’s Instagram on my phone and handed it to her. Victoria took it apprehensively and spent a few minutes scrolling through the comments. She scoffed and handed it back to me.
“I don’t know what kind of macho man shit you’re doing barging in here like this, but this sounds like something you should talk about with Macey, not me.”
Victoria wasn’t behind the account? I looked for common traces of lying—damp palms, fidgets, lack of eye contact—but all I saw was sincerity. That, plus the desire to punch me.
Okay, I understood the intimidation now.
“You really have nothing to do with this?”
