13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
K endra
It had been weeks since Kendra learned that her late husband, Elon, and her next-door neighbor, Antonio Michaelson, had once been the best of friends.
Yet, despite the passage of time, she still couldn’t wrap her head around why Elon never mentioned it.
Why had her husband kept such important parts of his life from her? And why was she only now discovering that Antonio and Jake, their mutual friend, cared so much about her wellbeing?
Both men had begun treating her like fragile glass since the revelation. At first, the attention was comforting, but now, Kendra found herself growing more anxious. Especially whenever Antonio was nearby.
His very presence wreaked havoc on her thoughts, stirring emotions she tried so hard to bury. Every glance, every brief touch, sent sparks through her body, making it harder and harder to purge him from under her skin.
She clicked away at her keyboard, trying to lose herself in the story she was working on, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Antonio. Why is this happening? She shook her head, frustrated at her wandering mind.
“Hey, Kendra, Mr. Thompson wants you in his office,” Anne's voice broke through her reverie.
Kendra looked up, noticing Anne's furrowed brow as she settled into her desk. “Is there a problem?” Kendra asked, sensing an edge in her coworker’s tone.
Anne shrugged dismissively. “Why don’t you go find out for yourself?”
The snap in Anne's voice made Kendra pause, but before she could respond, she heard Peter chuckle from across the room.
“Is something funny, Peter?” Anne asked, her voice hardening.
“Yeah, the look on your face is. You do this all the time.” Peter leaned back, a grin on his face.
“Do what?” Kendra asked, glancing between them.
“Don’t worry about it, Kendra,” Peter replied, waving her off. “Just go see Mr. Thompson and let Miss Grumpy keep being grumpy.”
Anne shot Peter a scathing look. “Go to hell, Peter,” she hissed.
“No thanks.” Peter laughed, popping in his air pods and ignoring her.
I blinked, bewildered by the exchange. Anne and Peter always had a tense dynamic, but today it felt off. Anne wasn’t usually this prickly.
Shaking it off, I got up from my desk and made my way to Mr. Thompson’s office. Whatever was bothering Anne, I didn’t want to get involved.
I knocked twice before letting myself in. “Good afternoon, sir. You asked to see me?”
Mr. Thompson leaned back in his chair, gesturing for me to sit. “Ah, Kendra. Yes, please, have a seat.”
“Thank you, sir,” I replied, settling into the chair across from him.
“I’ve got a new story for you,” he began, his tone calm but measured. “It’s big—probably the biggest of the year. If you crack it, it could make your career.”
My heart skipped a beat. The biggest story of the year? A smile tugged at my lips, excitement blooming in my chest.
“Thank you, sir. I’m honored, but... why me? I’ve only been here a short time.”
“Because I like what you’ve done so far,” Thompson said, leaning forward slightly. “And more importantly, you have connections to the center of our story.”
My smile faltered. Connections? “Sorry, sir, what connection? And who’s the story about?”
“Antonio Michaelson.”
The name hit me like a freight train. My neighbor? Antonio? “You want me to write about Antonio Michaelson?” she repeated, her voice unsteady.
“Not about him personally,” Thompson clarified. “But about his family business.”
“His family business?” My mind reeled. “The winery?”
“Bellavista Winery, yes. There’s been talk for months about some big developments there. Something’s going on behind the scenes, and nobody’s been able to get close enough to figure out what. But you… you’re already close. You can get the inside scoop, Kendra.”
I stared at him, my thoughts in turmoil. Antonio? The quiet, brooding man who lived next door was the heir to Bellavista, one of the most prestigious wineries in the state?
I had heard about the Michaelson family in passing, but I never connected the dots. Why would a man from a billionaire family be living in a modest apartment like me?
“Kendra. Kendra!” Thompson’s voice snapped her out of her daze.
“Yes, sir?”
“You’re not saying anything.”
I didn’t need to think about it. I couldn’t do this. Writing a story about Antonio’s family felt... wrong. “Could I pass on the assignment, sir?” I asked softly, my voice barely above a whisper.
Thompson leaned back, raising an eyebrow. “That depends. Is there another Kendra Ryan living next door to Antonio Michaelson?”
I let out a defeated sigh. “No, sir.”
“Then no, you can’t pass on the job.”
I bit my lips, my stomach twisting into knots. “And what if I don’t want to do it?”
His tone darkened. “It wasn’t a request, Miss Ryan.”
“But, sir—”
“You’ll get the details by the end of the day,” Thompson said, cutting her off. “I expect you to deliver, Kendra. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Sir…” I stuttered again, trying to get words out, but they stayed stuck in my throat. I couldn't imagine myself doing what he wanted me to for several reasons.
And the most important reason for them was; to be able to get the information needed for this story, I would need to be more than just neighbors… but it would all be just a ruse.
“That would be all, Miss Ryan.” Thompson said, dismissing me. He picked his phone and got on a call, ignoring my presence.
I walked out of the office, still reeling from the conversation. What am I supposed to do?
Peter was the first to notice my expression when I returned. “That’s not the face of someone who just got the biggest story of the year,” he teased.
I forced a smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “I don’t want the story.”
“You don’t want it?” Anne cut in, her tone incredulous. “Are you crazy? Everyone here would kill for that chance.”
I shook my head. “I just don’t want it.”
Peter stepped in front of me, his expression serious. “What’s the real reason, Kendra? You know this is huge.”
I hesitated, glancing around to make sure no one else could hear. “I can’t do it because... I love him,” I thought silently, my chest tightening. But I couldn’t say that aloud. Instead, I just muttered, “It’s complicated, I’ll go back and beg Thompson to let someone else do it.”
Uh uh … that’s a terrible idea. “Peter said, stepping in front of me.
“Why? What's the worst that could happen? Suspension? A cut in my…”
“You'll get fired. There are two things Mr. Thompson hates the most. The first is being told ‘no’, the second is making him repeat himself… and what you're about to do is both. So, I strongly advice against it.”
“Just let her do whatever she wants, Peter. What do you care about?” He ignored Anne and kept his eyes on me. “What is it, Kendra?”
Just then, Tina walked in.
“Hey Kendra, done for the day?”
I turned to her, “yes. I'll just get my bag.”
I still had a couple of things I would have loved to work on, but the office was the last place I wanted to be. So, I shut my system, sling my purse over my shoulders and headed out with Tina.
Tina drove me home. Unlike her usual bubbly self, Tina was unusually quiet, which only added to my mounting stress.
“Okay, spill,” I said when she pulled up to my apartment. “I know you’ve got something to say.”
Tina sighed, gripping the steering wheel. “Why don’t you want to take the Michaelson story?”
I blinked. “How did you hear about that?”
“Everyone at the station knows you got the assignment. But I overheard you tell Peter you didn’t want it. Why?”
I bit my lip. I had no choice but to tell Tina the truth. “Antonio’s my neighbor.”
Tina’s eyes widened. “The annoying guy you told me about?”
I nodded, “same one”.
“Wait… what? He’s a billionaire, and you never knew?”
I shrugged. “It never came up in conversation.”
“Well, he’s hiding something, obviously. Don’t you want to know what?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t care why he’s living here instead of some mansion. He has his reasons, and I’m not going to dig into them. Not like this.”
“But you've been living next to him for months now.”
“I know.”
“Does he know what you do?”
“I don't think so. That has never come up either.”
“Hmm, okay. But, about the story. I think you should do it.”
“Not you too, please, Tina.”
“Come on, girl… this is going to be really big.”
“That doesn't matter to me.”
“Then what does? Don't you want to find out the reason why he's been hiding here, pretending to be what he's not.
“He must have had good reasons to, and I really have no interest in finding out why.”
“Are you kidding me? Aren't you even the least bit curious now?
“No, and no.”
“Level with me here girl, what's going on? There's something you're not saying.” Tina sighed.
“Kendra… you’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Kendra didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. The silence said it all.