Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Gina
The office is bustling as I hurry to the meeting.
I haven't been gone that long, but I almost feel like I'm back in a foreign land.
Working at the Waverly Estate is so different from being in my cubicle at the Whisper Cove Guardian every day.
"Hey, Gina." Louise rushes over to me with a wide smile as she sees me.
"I haven't seen you in a while. I was worried. "
"I've been working on a top-secret project," I say in a low voice and give her a quick hug. "How's everything going?" I search her face to make sure she's okay.
"Not bad," she says softly. "We should have a good gossip sesh soon. I've heard the Bond Brothers are in talks to sell the paper."
"Yikes." I let out a deep sigh and then groan as I see the time.
"I have to go, but I'll talk to you later," I say quickly and run towards the meeting room. I had to sneak out this morning, and I hope that Preston, Enid, and Hunter don’t ask me where I've been because there is no way I could tell them that I had to check in at my real job.
Especially considering how much Hunter hated journalists.
My heart sinks at the thought, but I can't focus on his dislike of the paparazzi right now.
It's not as if I’m a bottom feeder like they are.
"Oh, wow. Look who decided to join us," Jenny S. says loudly as I enter the pitch room. I don't know why I thought she wouldn't still be a bitch. I look around the room and spy Emma, who gives me a warm wave, and I grin at her as I head over to take my seat next to her.
"Hey," I say as I put my hair up into a bun. "Glad I'm not late."
"Too fancy to greet us plebes?" Jenny shouts, and everyone turns to look at me.
"What do you want me to say, Jenny?" I speak even louder to hopefully embarrass her, but I can tell by the expression on her face that she's not embarrassed whatsoever.
"I just want to know why it's okay for you to miss multiple meetings, whereas the rest of us have to be here all the time."
"I'm on a top-secret assignment, Jenny," I say, glaring at her. "Maybe if you did a better job, you could also get a top-secret assignment, as well."
"Top secret, haha. It's so top secret that we all know that you're working at the Waverly Estate."
"Ignore her, girl," Emma whispers and makes a face. "Holly told everyone where you were at Monday’s meeting."
"Good morning, everyone." Holly chooses that moment to walk into the room, like some sort of super villain in a Marvel movie, and her icy gaze turns to me.
"Ah, Gina, good to see you. I'll get an update from you after the meeting."
"Yeah, sure," I say slowly, not really knowing what I'm going to say. I feel sick just thinking about the conversation I have to have with Holly.
"Everything okay?" Emma whispers as Holly heads to the front of the room and starts a PowerPoint presentation. I'm grateful that Jenny S.'s attention is off of me, but that unsettling feeling still hasn't left me.
"Girl, you are not going to believe what happened," I whisper, not able to wait until after the meeting to tell her what had gone down with Hunter.
"Oh, no." Emma looks taken aback, and there’s a flash of fear in her eyes. “This doesn’t have to do with Patrick again, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t have to do with Patrick. Patrick is old news, girl.”
“I’m just saying, if you were going to ask me to spy on him again, I was going to say no.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have asked you." I glare at her. "Anyway, this is crazier than that."
"This is crazier than us spying on your ex?" She gawks, and I want to groan.
"Listen to me," I hiss at her, though I'm not mad, just dying to tell her what’s been going on. I felt like there is a ticking bomb in my head, and the only way to detonate it safely is by talking about it.
"What happened?"
"Guess what Hunter asked me...."
"Not to have anal." Her eyes widen, but I see the wicked smile on her face that lets me know that she's teasing me.
"Really, Emma? Why would you say such a thing?"
"I don't know. Guys ask weird things, but anyway, just tell me."
"He asked me to pretend to be his fake girlfriend."
"What?" she says, blinking rapidly. This time, I can tell she's as taken aback as I was. I never heard of people in real life needing to be in a fake relationship, and I don't know how I feel about being in one either. "Why would he do that?"
"I don't know exactly. I guess he said the paparazzi's in town and they're trying to get a story from him and—"
"Shit, are they trying to get the story about his engagement?" She blinks rapidly as she processes everything. "But wait, if he's engaged, why would he ask you to be his fake girlfriend?"
"Girl, it kept me up all night," I admit, though the kiss had kept me up even longer. How could he be in a relationship and kiss me like that? "Here's what I'm thinking," I say, lowering my voice to make sure no one can hear me.
"Yeah?"
"I think that something crazy is going on. Like maybe some sort of double play."
"Huh, what do you mean?" She looks confused.
"I was thinking, if he's engaged, why would he be kissing me and asking me to be his fake girlfriend. Like, wouldn't his fiancée be upset?"
"He did what?" Emma screeches loudly, and the entire room goes quiet. My heart thumps as I see faces swivel towards us. I really don't want the attention right now.
"Is there something you want to share with us?" Holly says, looking over at us and frowning slightly. She really could audition for a theatrical role as an ice queen.
"No," Emma says quickly. "Sorry, I was just about to sneeze."
"Yeah, okay," Jenny says, rolling her eyes. Holly frowns and gazes at us for a few moments, then shakes her head and goes back to talking at the front of the room.
"He made out with you?" Emma whispers again. "Like, you guys got hot and heavy? What is going on?"
"I don't know. That's what I'm saying. I just don't understand. Why is he kissing me?"
"Do you think—" She wrinkles her nose. "Do you think that his relationship is fake?"
"What do you mean? You know it's fake."
"Not his relationship with you, goofy. His relationship with whoever he's engaged to."
"Well, we don't know that he's engaged."
"Come on, the signs are all there, right?"
"I don't know. I don't think so. I was doing some research, and he was dating someone like a year ago, and the talk was they were going to get engaged, and then he just disappeared, and no one's heard or seen him since."
"Fudge," she says. "But why?"
"That's the story." I stare at her. "That has to be the story everyone wants.
Why did he disappear? And what was the secret celebration about last week?
" There are so many thoughts going through my brain.
So many answers I don't have. I just don't see how he can kiss me so passionately and actually be in a relationship with someone else.
"Maybe he got married, maybe he had a baby, or maybe he decided to fly around the world. I don't know."
"So how are you going to find out?"
"I'm going to do my job as an investigative reporter," I say. "Do you think I should tell Holly?"
"I think you're going to have to tell Holly. Word is that layoffs are coming next week." She reaches over and squeezes my hand as I still. Shit, I didn't know we were at that point already.
"The new circulation numbers came in, and we've lost 25,000 subscribers in the last two months. I don't know what's going on and why we're doing so poorly, but if we don't get some breaking stories soon, we're done."
"Shit. I'm feeling conflicted here, Emma."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, Hunter asked me to be his fake girlfriend because the paparazzi is trying to break a story on him. It's already shitty that I'm a journalist and he doesn't know, and now I'm trying to break a story on him, and it just feels morally reprehensible."
"Yeah, but that's why you took the job. That's kind of how it goes when you're an undercover reporter."
"I know. I just feel shitty, and then there's the fact that someone stole his grandma's necklace."
"Yeah, you mentioned that. Who do you think it was?"
"I have no clue. He and I were talking about it last night.
We think it's either got to be someone that works there or one of the members of the book club, but I just don't know who.
" I pause. "Well, maybe Captain, because he just looks like he doesn't have two pennies to his name, if you know what I mean.
I saw him admiring a couple of pieces of art one day, and I remember thinking to myself, it would be quite easy to take a Monet.
Anyway, we have a list of suspects. I'm also on his list, which sucks. "
"What? You would never steal anything."
"I know, but—" I shrug. "He's suspicious of me, and I guess rightfully so. He's just suspicious for all the wrong reasons."
"So, what are you thinking you're going to do?"
"I don't know, girl. I just don't know. I'm going to dinner with him tonight with some of his friends and colleagues and—" I close my eyes and rub my forehead. What have I gotten myself into? "He told me to wear a really nice dress, and I'm like, how sexy do I go?"
"You've got a thing for him?"
"I don't have a thing for him."
"He's gorgeous. I get it...."
"I mean, he is kind of gorgeous. If you like blue-eyed guys."
"You love blue-eyed guys, Gina."
"I wouldn't say I love them. I mean, he's very handsome, but I like guys with brown eyes and green eyes, too.
Anyway, they've got some private investigator coming to try and figure out who stole the necklace, and he says unless I pretend to be his girlfriend, he's going to tell them all the suspicious things I've done since he's known me. "
"Like what things?"
"Like pretending to be in the FBI. Snooping in his house."
"Oh. Yeah, you have been suss." She grins. "Will it be that bad playing his fake girlfriend?"