Unfortunately, demanding she be confident never seemed to work.
Staff talked over each other, bantering about their plans for the weekend. Some sat at the table, a few were perchedonthe table, and a couple leaned against the wall. William had claimed one of the leather chairs. He tossed a worn baseball into the air, caught it, and threw it again. He intercepted her gaze and flashed his dimples. He was literally everywhere. Their shared porch, the coin-operated laundry room at the apartment building, the newsroom, and the coffee shop…everywhere.
Hello, McDimples.Tingles that had no place at work tickled along each lusty nerve in her body.
Bridgett, the afternoon producer, laughed at something he said.
Everyone quieted when Parker spoke. “Lucy is taking over as assignment editor. She’ll still produce, but she’ll also head up the weekly assignment meetings for the immediate future. Listen to her. Do what she says.” He lifted his chin to Lucy. “Good luck.”
Without anything further, he left.
Right.
So what if being the assignment editor wasn’t her dream? She could use her position to be sure she could report a few of her own stories. Make the reel that would be her ticket to reporting full-time.
She snatched a white board marker and fiddled with the cap. “Shows need content. Let’s get through this quickly”—Lucy bit at her bottom lip and waved a hand toward the room—“and you can go back to work. I realize I haven’t been here long.” Lucy scrawled the wordsStory Ideasacross the white board. “But let’s be honest. Things are messy in the newsroom. We can do better.”
A general rumble of dissent rolled through the room.
Lucy ignored it. “We’ve had multiple reporters show up for the same story three times in the past week. The Rivers Edge newspaper has scooped us on four interviews. We need better coordination. If we work as a team, we can report some real news.”
The room went silent.
Lucy met the daggers directed at her, head on. “Just because we get a press release on the Humane Society’s lack of donations doesn’t mean we need to turn the story into a three-part series urging our viewers to open their checkbooks.”
“What you’re saying is you advocate the extermination of kittens?” Anderson mumbled.
Lucy opened her mouth to respond.
“Knock it off, Anderson.” Bridgett glared his way.
Lucy gave her a smile of solidarity.
“I happen to know Lucy adores cats.” A sliver of irritation cut through William’s quiet words.
Lucy swallowed an inappropriate remark about him accosting Mitsy with a laundry basket. He wassonot one to talk.
“Why didn’t anyone ask why donations are down? Anyone know the rate of euthanasia? How does it compare nationally? It’s not our job to raise funds for kittens. Our job is to share actual news. The Edge ran a story about domestic violence rates in Confluence and how they’re at a five-year high. Where were you?” she asked instead.
No one spoke. Apparently, they had no idea where they’d been.
Lucy wasn’t giving up. She addressed the room at large. “What story ideas are everyone working on?”
The group fidgeted with their pens and notepads, but no one looked at her. Finally, she caught Anderson’s gaze. “C’mon, you have to be working on something?”
“Trying to convince you to have dinner with me. Not going well so far.” Anderson’s thousand-watt smile likely had women throwing their panties at him regularly. It didn’t work on Lucy. She preferred her panties on,thankyouverymuch.
“Work related, Anderson.” Lucy leaned forward on the table. “Not—”
“I’m considering an investigation into Twin Lakes Resorts.” William sliced through her reply. “They’re based in Denver, but the chain includes three hotels within hours of Confluence. They do these big honeymoon retreats. It’s wedding season, and we’ve been getting complaints about couples on their honeymoon being up-charged for things they didn’t order, pre-paid rooms being unavailable, and personal items going missing.”
“Great story.” Lucy scrawledHoneymoons From Hellat the top of the whiteboard.
Bridgett turned to William. “You’ll need to go undercover? Pretend you’re on your honeymoon? I like it.”
He shrugged. “Something like that. I’m working on the details.”
“That’s why we’re here. To help you work out specifics.” Lucy underlined the words on the white board. Twice, for good measure.
