“All right, Harper,” he mutters. “Audrey Abbot is our cover story. Make it happen.”
“Yes! Thank you!” I cry ecstatically, skipping out of his office feeling like I could burst with happiness, followed by Rakhee.
When we get back to our seats, I let out a squeal of excitement and then lean over to Rakhee to say, “I know it’s probably caused you a lot of stress, but I am so pleased that Don Bright mucked up his interview.”
“He didn’t,” she whispers back calmly, opening an email on her screen.
I stare at her. “What?”
“Do you think I was going to let anyone but Audrey Abbot grace our front cover?” She turns to look at me with a sly smile. “Not on my watch.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“I would like to propose a toast,” Mimi declares, holding her glass of Prosecco aloft. “To my two astounding colleagues: Harper, for landing a fabulous scoop, and Rakhee, for fooling our idiot of an editor and making sure the right person is gracing our cover this weekend. To teamwork!”
Rakhee and I laugh, leaning over to clink our glasses. The Old Oak is just down the road from the office and is the unofficialCorrespondencenewspaper hangout. No matter how good our intentions are to try somewhere else, we always end up here. The pub is familiar and cozy and has hosted many a memorable night for us, from the evenings when we’ve needed to drown our sorrows to those when we’ve required a celebration. Happily, tonight is the latter.
“I still can’t believe you made up that story about Don Bright,” I say to Rakhee, shaking my head. “I didn’t doubt you for a moment!”
“I had to be convincing,” she says.
“What if he phones the lawyers? I don’t want you getting in trouble.”
“Firstly, he won’t, because he knows deep down that he wouldn’t be able to change their minds. He knows if anyone could, it’s me,” Rakhee says confidently.
Mimi nods. “She makes a good point.”
“Secondly, I don’t care about getting in trouble. Audrey Abbot had to be the cover story, there was no question about it. I’dhave brought the matter to our publishers if I had to—they’d agree, I know it.”
“You are so badass,” I say, impressed.
“Says the woman who landed Audrey Abbot’s first interview in sixteen years. I take it you’ve finished writing the piece, otherwise you wouldn’t be here?” Mimi adds.
I grimace. “Uh. Sort of.”
She rolls her eyes. “The subs are going to kill you. You need to give them time to fact check and do the layout!”
“I’m going to finish it on my laptop when I get home,” I insist. “It’s almost there. It just needs polishing. And I have to go out tonight anyway, so I might as well squeeze in a drink with you two.”
“Where are you going tonight?” Rakhee asks.
“A book launch. A member of Parliament has written his autobiography.”
“Juicy,” Mimi comments sarcastically.
“He came runner-up in a reality TV show last year, so I’m sure the book is not without its glitz and glamour,” I inform her. “He could be a good subject for a feature.”
Mimi shoots me a concerned look. “Shouldn’t you be giving yourself a night off sometime soon? You haven’t stopped in a while.”
“I have nights off,” I argue. “Yesterday, I was at home and Liam cooked for me. It was very pleasant.”
“Pleasant,” she says, unconvinced. “I meant more like a night for yourself, where you just… stop. There’s a great press trip coming up that you should take—a beautiful boutique hotel in the Kent countryside that you could review. You can get away from everything and relax.”
“I don’tneedto relax,” I insist. “I like being busy. You know that.”
Rakhee laughs. “You must be a nightmare on holiday. One ofthose people who always wants to be doing activities rather than lazing about on the beach.”
“You’re wrong,” I tell her proudly. “I’m very relaxed on holiday. I read all the books I’ve been sent to review.”
