Chapter 3 Ashton
ASHTON
TEN MINUTES EARLIER
“What the hell was that?” Skylar throws her hands up, placing them on her hips, and directing a scowl at me.
“Sorry,” I mutter.
“Sorry? You were supposed to announce the promotion tomorrow when I’ve had a chance to get my bearings and I don’t look like an actual dumpster fire.
Ashton, I’m a complete mess. I haven’t slept in two days.
I haven’t eaten. I’m pretty sure I had a banana yesterday, but I can’t be certain it wasn’t a hallucination.
Not to mention the last time I showered—”
“Sky. Look at me.”
Her bright green eyes flick up to meet mine.
“You’re going to be okay. This…” I gesture around the now empty room, “is all going to be okay.” Which I truly believed this morning, until I saw Alexandra Montgomery sitting in the middle of the conference room.
I shouldn’t be surprised. I knew this was a possibility.
I told Emory about the food writer position here a few weeks ago.
How the hell could I have known I would be thrust into being editor-in-chief, and therefore Allie’s new boss, with less than two days’ notice?
“How do you know?” Skylar interrupts my thoughts.
“Because you’re you.” I cross over to the door and open it, gesturing for her to go out first. “Remember when we had to dissect that frog in ninth grade and you were freaking out?”
“Yeah, you passed out after making the first cut, and I had to do the whole thing by myself while you kicked your feet up and ate graham crackers in the nurse’s office.”
“Right. But before that…what did you do the entire day before?”
“I freaked out.”
“Exactly. I was carefree about the whole thing. Yet, I was the one who passed out and you got us an A. You always second-guess yourself, Sky, but you know what you’re doing.”
She sighs and walks through the doorway. “Thanks. Although now I’m more worried about you. I forgot that you faint under pressure.”
“I grew out of that,” I say, narrowing my eyes at her. “Now, why don’t you walk me to my big, important private office?”
Skylar rolls her eyes as we walk through the main area of the newsroom. “Okay, but—shit, we have a runner.” She takes off down the hall, and I’m hot on her heels as she nearly throws herself in front of Allie, who is almost out the front door.
“Please don’t go,” she pleads. “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out, but I can’t add finding a new food writer to my plate right now. No pun intended.” She snorts at her own bad joke.
Meanwhile, Allie looks…speechless.
I take a step forward.
“Leaving so soon, Alexandra?”
Allie takes a slow, calculated step to her right so that I’m fully in her line of sight. She pops her right hip out, piercing blue eyes storming behind black-rimmed glasses.
“I was under the impression I would be working with different leadership,” she says, slowly moving her eyes up and down in pure disgust. She has the nerve to look at me that way?
“Circumstances have changed. Adaptation is a sign of intelligence, so I guess it makes sense that you would have trouble with it.”
“Trouble with—did you just call me stupid?”
“Of course not. I can’t say I’m surprised, though. Running is your MO. But if you’re going to take off at the slightest little change of plans, then maybe this isn’t the right job for you.”
I’m not sure how it’s possible, but her eyes flood with so much disdain, I’m afraid they’re going to spill over like a fucking volcano.
That’s when I remember Skylar is still standing there. She looks back and forth between the two of us, her eyes as wide as saucers.
“Do you two know each other?” she manages to grit out.
I say, “Yes,” at the same time Allie says, “No.”
“She’s Emory’s friend,” I explain.
“Emory?” Skylar’s brows furrow as she tries to recall something. “Oh, yes! That sweet girl your parents tried to set you up with a while ago. I remember her.”
She turns her back to Allie and stands on her tiptoes so she can talk in my ear, but she has the subtlety of a crocodile in an antique store. “Is this going to be a problem?” she stage-whispers.
“I don’t know,” I say at full volume. “Is it, Alexandra?”
“It’s Allie. And no, there’s no problem here. I wasn’t running. I just…forgot something in my car. I’ll get it later.” She looks at Skylar. “Could you please show me to my desk?”
“Yeah, of course,” Skylar says with some hesitation. “I’ll have Jay set you up with your login info. Follow me.”
“Oh, Alexandra,” I call as they both turn to walk away. “Please come to my office when you’re done getting set up.”
The glare Allie shoots me could cut glass. “Why?”
“Because I told you to.”
Allie’s eyes widen, and if I didn’t know better, I would think there’s a hint of lust mixed with the anger emanating from them. “See you soon,” I say cheerily as I turn on my heel before she can get the last word in.
I attempt to calm my racing heart and the barrage of thoughts circulating in my head as I enter Theo’s office.
It’s exactly the same as the last time I was here.
A sharp pang of guilt works its way through my belly when I think about when that was—over three years ago.
I’d gotten so busy once I started working at my parents’ hotel business after college that I barely had time to breathe, let alone visit a newspaper office.
I take in the collection of classic books on the shelf behind the large mahogany desk. Forgot something in her car. Yeah, fucking right. She was running away again. After all, it’s what she does best.
Skylar must have tidied up in here because all the papers on Theo’s desk are stacked in neat little rows with little sticky notes on top, rather than in the haphazard, coffee-stained piles there would normally be.
Pretending she didn’t even know me. This girl has some fucking nerve coming in here and acting like we’ve never met.
I scan over the frames on the wall and my eyes land on the very first edition of The Emberfield Lantern—its single yellowed page boasting about a new diner that just opened up down the road and the upcoming election for mayor of Emberfield.
I glance at the date: May 20, 1976. Theo was only a year older than I am now when he started this paper forty years ago.
I tap my index finger on a pile marked “new hires” and inhale a shaky breath.
My hand goes instinctively to my pocket where I feel the cool metal, and mindlessly start flicking the clasp open.
I can’t let Theo down. He’s one of the only people who has ever seen me as more than a spoiled rich kid or the class clown.
It’s why I didn’t hesitate to give up everything I had worked for when I heard he needed help.
Of course, I wasn’t expecting a five-foot-four dark-haired spitfire with glasses to put a wrench in the whole thing.
Why did I even tell Emory about the job opening for Allie?
Because you care about her.
I wave my annoying inner voice away. Maybe I cared at one point, but she ruined it.
She gave me something invaluable that night and then snatched it away with her very next breath.
It doesn’t matter. I told Emory about the job because she was worried about her friend, and I care about Emory—that’s all.
But if she thinks I’m going to make this easy on her, she’s dead wrong. It’s about time someone put Alexandra Montgomery in her place.