"I know. You're the typical middle child."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that you overthink everything because you're trying so desperately hard to be noticed without being seen for the wrong reasons. You want to be acknowledged, but you don't want to get in trouble. You don't want to get called out."
"Are you taking psychology classes?"
"Nah.” She laughs. “I just read a lot. I’m a typical youngest child and only daughter.” My phone rings, and I groan loudly when I realize that it’s Holly.
“I don’t want to answer it.”
“You should. Maybe it’s something good.” I give her a look, and she bursts out laughing. “Okay, it’s highly unlikely that it’s anything good. But you never know.”
“Yeah, I don’t. Maybe she’s going to offer me, like, ten billion dollars." Emma snorts, and I answer the phone. "Hi, this is Gina."
"Gina, it's Holly Unger, your editor in chief."
"I know who you are, Holly. How can I help you?"
"I am calling to see if you've got the story yet."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm calling to see if you've got us a story yet."
"Holly, I literally started today. I have barely met the Waverlys. No, I don't have a story yet." There's silence on the other side of the line, and my heart drops slightly. A couple of minutes go by, and she still says nothing. I clear my throat. "Are you still there?"
"I'm here. I was hoping to hear good news."
"I guess the good news is that I even got the job in the first place. Look, Holly, I am trying my best. I can't get blood out of a stone."
"Well, maybe you're not squeezing hard enough." She’s curt, and I’m annoyed.
"Maybe I don't even have the stone." She lets out a deep sigh, and I freeze.
Holly never sighs.
"Look, I know you just got there." She lowers her voice. "Believe it or not, I am not trying to pressure you, but this is make-or-break for the newspaper."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we have some deep issues. Circulation is down 40 percent. Unless we start selling more papers and acquiring at least 50 new advertisers, the paper is going to change hands. There's talk that the Bonds are going to sell partial ownership of the newspaper, and if that happens, and we still have dwindling circulation numbers, I cannot guarantee that we will have a print newspaper, period."
"What? I didn't know that."
"Why would you?”
“I mean, Emma is my best friend, and her family kind of owns the paper."
"Does her family talk about every business decision with her?" Holly says coldly. “She’s not exactly on the executive rung.” I'm about to say something to her, but I don't. I don’t want Emma to know how mean Holly is being.
"Listen to me, Gina. This story could make or break the job that we both love." I want to call her out because I don't really think she loves it, but I decide not to.
"I mean, I don't even have a story yet. I don't know what you want from me."
"Listen to me, Gina. The Waverlys are royalty in Whisper Cove, but more than that, they are royalty in America. They are one of the richest families in the country. People care about them. People want their stories. They are elusive, and that makes a story about them even more valuable. If you can break a story before any other publication, that will give us credibility. That will ensure that we live to see another day."
"And if I don't get the story?"
