Page 26 of Home of the Brave

But I didn’t need anything.

Unless Miles requested a piece of equipment and didn’t let me know, there wasn’t any other reason for this meetup that I could think of.

What a fool.

Joe stood there, looking far too polished for the early hour and his late flight. His perfectly uniform teeth, which were an unnatural shade of white, the tan I knew he hadn’t earned from stepping foot outside, combined with his knit polo and pressed slacks, gave off the vibe of forced charm. Like he tried really, really hard to look like he wasn’t trying at all.

I shouldn’t be so hard on him, or the other men in my field. We were all fighting against unrealistic standards in our own ways.

“Hi, Joe,” I gave him a small wave as I approached.

He looked me over, not quite smiling back. “Hello.”

I fought to keep my smile in place. “I’m Victoria.”

Something in his eyes clicked. “Ah, yes.”

Did he not recognize me? We weren’t close friends, but we’d worked together for four years on the same floor. Yes, we were often away on assignments, but there was no way he simply had no idea who I was.

“Chris didn’t mention what you were bringing.” I lifted my hand to accept whatever it was he was here to drop off.

He smiled in the most demeaning way. “I’m not here to––”

“Victoria, there you are!” Miles was running up to us, a look of panic in his eyes. “I’ve been trying to call you.”

I checked my phone screen and saw it was still on Do Not Disturb from last night. “Sorry.”

“You’re Miles?” Joe eyed him for a brief moment before extending his hand. “Joe Banks.”

“We’ve worked together before.” Miles didn’t bother to hide his bitterness like I had.

“Have we?” Joe looked off into the distance as if trying to recall. “Well, that’s probably why they paired us together again.”

“What?” The word was out faster than I could process. He was paired with Miles? Oh, what? Was he picking Miles up for their next assignment? Was that why Miles had been trying to call? Why didn’t Chris tell me that?

I didn’t want to start over with a new cameraman, but better now than in a week.

Joe glanced at me like he’d forgotten I was there, “Victoria, is it? Chris said you had notes. You can go ahead and send them my way.” He winked, then began speaking to Miles. “Now, I have some locations I’d like to check––”

“What?” It was the only word my brain seemed able to speak.

Joe sighed and turned his whole body to face me. “Perhaps you could be more specific in your question?” He shot me a practiced smile. “You are a journalist, are you not?”

The urge to punch him in his perfectly sculpted nose was almost too much to ignore, but Miles stepped in before I could resort to violence.

“Joe is here to provide additional coverage of the event.” Miles shot him a side glance before looking back at me. “With the additional focus on the women’s teams, the network decided to send out Joe and Cambrie, but she must not have arrived yet.”

Joe shrugged. “She was on my flight, can’t imagine where she got lost to.”

“She was on your flight, but you didn’t wait for her? Didn’t share a car?” Miles asked.

“My driver was already here. She had several bags she had to wait for at baggage claim.”

“So you didn’t wait to help her with the bags?” he asked, looking disgusted.

“It’s not my fault she over-packed.” Joe looked around the lobby.

“It’s camera equipment." Miles pointed out.