“I see that you’re still living in a dream world, Bellamy,” Alex said, leaning against the door jam. “Duty called, so here I am. I’ll be going back after the break. They were kind enough to let me finish the semester early so I could come help my fraternity brothers. They’ve had a difficult year. But you know all about that don’t you?”
“Don’t blame me for your friend’s stupid choices,” he said, wishing Paula wasn’t hearing every word of the conversation. “They knew what they were doing and the risks they were taking. You can’t blame us if it didn’t work out the way they wanted.”
“Thomas is going to be scarred for life,” Alex hissed over the top of Paula’s head. “That didn’t settle well with the elders…they want someone to pay, and they’ve sent me here to find out who that will be.”
Paula’s eyes were wide as saucers, her cheeks were flushed with excitement, and he could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “Now isn’t the time for this discussion,” he said. “Paula and I have some more deliveries to make.”
The mention of her name reminded Alex she was standing there and he looked down at her, then shook his head. “I don’t know how you got mixed up with this guy,” he said. “But I’d steer clear of him, he’s bad news.”
“I’m not with him,” Paula said, making a face. “I’m working for his housekeeper to make a little extra money during the break, I’m really a journalism student, and I graduate this spring.”
Alex studied her for a second. “I bet you write for the school newspaper,” he said, a look of interest in his eyes that Ryan didn’t like at all. “Are you Paula Tucker, the one who wrote that piece on the corruption down at city hall?”
“That was me,” Paula said proudly. “My professor wasn’t very happy about that story, but it was the truth, so he had to print it.”
“It was one of your best pieces, but I enjoyed the story on the homeless problem downtown too,” Alex said, smiling at Paula. “I’ve been following your byline since I got here a few weeks ago, I can’t wait to see what you come up with next semester.”
“Wow, I’ve never had a fan before,” Paula said, a big smile on her face. “I’m going to take this as a sign that I made the right career choice.”
“Oh, I think so, and I’m a bit of an expert,” Alex said, then looked over at him. “Since Ryan failed to introduce us, you might not know who I am, but my father owns one of the biggest papers on the West Coast.”
Paula didn’t move for a second, then she turned and looked back at him. “Who is he?” she whispered. “You’d better introduce us and fast.”
It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he didn’t really have any choice. “Paula Tucker, this is Alex Malindono,” he said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice.
“I’ll be taking over when I graduate this spring,” Alex said, “and you’re just the kind of new talent I’m looking for. Maybe we could set up a meeting and talk about you joining the paper after you graduate.”
He watched the emotions play over Paula’s face, a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Really?” she finally asked. “That would be amazing. I’ve got a few feelers out, but nothing serious yet. I’d love to chat with you.”
Alex turned and set the cookies down on a table by the door, then dug out his wallet. “Here’s my card, give me a call tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll set something up.”
“That sounds great,” Paula said, backing away from the door, a huge smile on her face. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
He stayed there, staring Alex down, until Paula was out of earshot. “You shouldn’t have brought her here,” Alex finally said. “I can’t resist taking her away from you.”
“She’s not mine, I’m already engaged to someone else. You’re wasting your time,” he said. “Leave her alone, Alex, she’s a regular human, she doesn’t understand what’s going on.”
“Well darn, that does take some of the fun out of it, but I do need a fresh perspective at the paper,” Alex said, shrugging his shoulders. “And the clan could use some fresh blood; our line is getting a little stale. A woman like that could be a real asset for one of our men.”
“That’s a disgusting way to talk and you know it,” he said, backing away himself before he did something that he’d regret. “Don’t start stirring things up, Alex. It hasn’t worked so far and it won’t work any better this time. If you’re not careful, you could end up like Thomas. There seems to be a fine line between sane and crazy in your clan right now. It would be a shame if you crossed over that line like the others.”
***Paula***
Paula was in the van before she realized that Ryan wasn’t right behind her and when she turned to check on him, all she saw was Alex slamming the door in his face. “What did you say to him?” she demanded when he got in. “You better not have screwed up my chance to meet with him.”
“You don’t want anything to do with that guy or his newspaper,” he said, starting up the van. “Trust me, he’s just screwing with you to get to me.”
“Wow, paranoid, dramatic, and egotistical, you’re the complete package, aren’t you?” she said, shaking her head. “He knew my work, Ryan, he’s been following my byline. You heard him. I’m not going to let you spoil this just because you don’t like him.”
“It’s a lot more than that. I’m trying to protect you,” he said, stealing a glance over at her. “I know him, you don’t. Alex and I have been enemies for a long time. He’d do anything to get to me, including hurting you.”
“That doesn’t make sense, we don’t even like each other,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air. “I don’t know why you’re trying to ruin this for me. I would think you’d be happy. This should distract me from trying to figure out what I saw…”
She clamped her mouth shut, afraid she’d said too much, but when she saw the look on Ryan’s face, she knew that it was too late. “So, you admit that you were snooping,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “I knew it and I’m going to tell Hattie; she’ll fire you so fast your head will spin.”
“That’s fine, then I’ll have more time to work on getting a real job, a job at a newspaper like Alex’s,” she shot back at him. “And just for the record, I didn’t snoop that much. There isn’t exactly a lot to snoop through. You people are boring. Besides, if you would just tell me what…well…you know… that was that night... I keep thinking I went crazy…”
Ryan didn’t say anything as he parked the van, then turned it off, “I wish I could,” he finally said, turning to face her. “But believe me when I say you don’t want to know. It would just put you in danger, and I’m not sure I could protect you.”
