Lucy’s heart sank. So much for first impressions. And so much for avoiding William Covington.
Chapter Four
William thumped his pencil on his notepad as he worked alone from the leather couch in Parker’s office. In contrast to the bare-bones newsroom, Parker’s office was plush—white walls, straight lines, and not a particleboard to be found. He deserved it. Parker had hustled his way up from the wrong side of the tracks, put himself through college, and worked his ass off to become station manager at KDVX. He hadn’t been handed a thing. Ever.
News staff milled around William’s cubicle, making it impossible to concentrate. Add in the distraction of Lucy, sitting only two desks down, and he got nothing done out there.
The introduction to the afternoon news promo played on a large television mounted in the corner of the office, directly in line of sight from where he worked. A perky reporter with chin-length blonde hair started the news hour with a story about the humane society and their donation shortage.
Not the best lead-in.
He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. Overnight, one of the largest methamphetamine drug rings in the state had been taken down near Confluence. That should be the lead. The entire town buzzed about it. Both the morning and midday news had led withthatstory.
William chewed on the end of his pencil when Parker breezed through the door. His assistant scurried behind him with a fistful of message slips.
Parker stilled as the television came into view. Several volunteers paraded across the set with a menagerie of cats, dogs, and rabbits that did not seem to be enjoying their moment in the spotlight. Parker motioned to the screen. “Things are out of hand in the newsroom.”
“No kidding,” William replied.
“You found a place to live, huh?” Parker waved the assistant out and leaned against the desk, arms folded across his chest.
“Barely, but yeah. I found a place.”
“All that time you spent as a kid trying to convince your parents to move away, and you still wind up here. Brilliant.” Parker sorted through the message slips.
“I’ve been around the world. All roads lead back to Confluence, and there’s no reason to put people here out of work if I don’t have to.”
“Still only two things to do in town. Chase tumbleweeds and women.” Parker grinned a wry smile.
“You never cared much for tumbleweeds,” William said mildly.
“Nope.” Parker full on smirked. “Neither did you.”
That was a long time ago. William stopped being the “next, please” guy as soon as he grew the hell up. He wasn’t that guy now. Not anymore.
On the television feed, a dog barked. A kitten hissed and jumped from the anchor’s arms to bolt across the set. Two mutts howled and charged after the cat. The man holding the leashes hurtled off the set behind them.
William shook his head at the screen until someone in the control room finally cut to a commercial break. “You’ve got a plan for that?”
“I’m working on one.” Parker moved to his chair. “The new morning producer’s really good. Hopefully she can turn things around.”
Lucy.
He’d barely gone ten minutes without her invading his thoughts, since he’d scraped her off the concrete of the gas station and waited with her for the glass repair guy.
“What do you know about Lucy?” William rested his elbow on the edge of the couch and kept his expression neutral.
Parker’s face hardened. “Oh no. I’ve seen that look in your eyes way too many times. Trust me, you don’t want to go there with staff.”
“Go where?” William played innocent.
Parker pointed at him. “Where you’re trying togo. She’s off-limits.”
“She’s funny, and pretty.”With freckles. I adore her freckles.And no way in hell was he going to be dictated to on who was off-limits when it came to his life.
“She’s a challenge.” Parker stared him down. “Drop whatever this thing is you’ve got going on in your head about her.”
William’s phone buzzed. “I’ve got to take this. My attorney.”
