He reached his arm out, brushing it against my side-boob. I watched him refresh the screen a couple of times before he harrumphed to himself, as if I wasn’t capable of refreshing the screens myself. When he walked away, I released the breath I had been holding and I leaned my head back.
At least I could take cat naps while on the job.
I miss you, Mom.
Losing my mother had been wildly painful, but it didn’t compare to the aching loss of my father a few years back. In fact, my father’s death was what got me interested in investigative journalism in the first place. I knew his death in prison hadn’t been an accident. In fact, I was pretty sure he shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place. The “proof” the police had of his “crime” had been dubious, at best, and having my father imprisoned like that strung my mother out to dry.
She got hooked on drugs, and the rest was history.
The only family I had left was my older sister Nadia. Being near her again was the main reason I moved back to my hometown after graduating college. It helped me feel some semblance of normalcy.
And yet, there I was—with my eyes closed and my body cocked back in the chair—wishing I had been anywhere else on the planet.
However, my phone buzzing against my desk shot me upright in a heartbeat.
“Please be something juicy,” I murmured.
Giselle: Something is wrong at Heist nightclub. I have never been so scared in my life.
Giselle was one of my high school friends and someone I could always rely on to give me the lowdown of anything that happened with the local nightlife. I quickly texted her back.
Aria: Are you alright?
Giselle: Yeah, I’m fine now. But something is not right. Something happened inside.
I rushed away from my desk and charged through my assignment editor’s office, vibrating with such anticipation that I could only turn the phone around and let him read the message.
My assignment editor, Randy, swiveled toward his computer and started dicking around by typing shit in.
And when nothing popped up, he shook his head. “Gotta already be confirmed to go on the news.”
I sighed. “Then, let me get out there myself. Let me see for myself what’s going on. It might not be top of the hour news, but it definitely sounds like something that should be reported.”
“Which isn’t your avenue tonight. Let me handle it.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it isn’t your avenue either.”
He slowly turned around and stared me down. “How long have you been here?”
I blinked. “Two days.”
He nodded. “And you still want to keep your job?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Yes.”
“Then do as you’re told and get back to your station. I’ll handle this one.”
“But the club is right down the—”
He stood to his feet. “Heist is one of the most private, most exclusive clubs in the Twin Bays area, Aria. The owners of that nightclub probably already have things under wraps. Nothing escapes that place. Absolutely nothing. So, I will go and check it out, but I guarantee you I won’t come back with shit. Want to know why?”
“Because you’re not good at your job?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’ve got one last shot with me before I have your job.”
“The station is already understaffed and you really want to threaten my job? All you’re doing is saying ‘no’ to me while saying ‘maybe’ to the story. So, let me prove to you that I’m more than capable of—”
He pointed over my shoulder. “Desk. Now.”
