5. Dani
Dani
“Five… four… three… two… one… and we’re out. Great show, everybody,” the broadcast director says into his headset.
Applause breaks out in the technical booth, and only then do I realize I’ve been holding my breath.
I usually watch the show from my desk, half monitoring, half anticipating whatever might go wrong.
But today was different. This was too important.
Maybe the most important newscast of my career to experience from a distance.
I needed to be in here, surrounded by the monitors and equipment, feeling every second as it happened.
And the show delivered. It was everything it needed to be.
Alexa was fearless. Her story wasn’t just strong, it was airtight.
The kind of reporting that reminds people why journalism still matters.
She kept pressing, layering question after question, never giving Tate a moment to regroup.
By the end, he was so rattled he might as well have confessed outright.
Buying City Council votes almost stopped being an accusation and started sounding like a fact.
I lean back, heart still racing, and let the moment wash over me. This wasn’t luck. This was the payoff.
Walking back into the newsroom, I see Gavin step out of his office. My chest tightens for half a second on instinct, but then it loosens, replaced by something warm and electric. Even he can’t ruin this moment.
I can still feel the show humming under my skin. Every choice we made paid off in real time. That was one of the best broadcasts this station has seen since I took over the afternoon team. I know it in my bones.
Gavin’s words from earlier echo faintly in my head, all smug certainty and thinly veiled criticism, but I don’t let them get to me. Tomorrow, when the ratings come in, he’ll be forced to swallow every one of them. The thought makes my lips curve into a smile I don’t bother hiding.
“Dani,” Gavin yells. “Can you come here for a moment?”
I walk over to find him standing in the doorframe of his office, and he gestures for me to move inside. I slide past him, careful not to graze our bodies, and take a seat. He closes the door behind him, taking a seat across from me.
Stormy blue eyes meet mine as we stare at each other for a moment. A quiet tension settles between us. I refuse to look away. I won’t back down and give him the dominant hand here.
“So.” I smile. “You wanted to see me?”
“That’s a look I haven’t seen in a very long time,” he quips.
“Huh?”
“You’re smiling. It’s nice to see. I missed it.”
I can’t stop the blush that creeps onto my cheeks. Despite the anger I still feel towards him, nothing is going to ruin my good mood. “Well, I don’t know if you saw, but we just had an amazing show.”
“I will admit,” he sighs, “the Tate story was impressive. I definitely wasn’t expecting that and should’ve given you and Alexa the benefit of the doubt. However…” He straightens in his chair. “We still need to see where the ratings are tomorrow.”
I stand up and place my hands on his desk, leaning slightly towards him, making sure he gets the full impact of my words. “Fine. We’ll see how the numbers are. But when I’m right, I’m expecting the world’s biggest apology from you.”
He stands and leans in to meet my eye line. “You sound pretty confident in yourself.”
I keep the smile fixed on my face, even as the space between us disappears. It takes a moment to register just how close we are, barely a foot apart, but I don’t pull away. I can’t.
Something unfamiliar, yet achingly familiar at the same time, sweeps through me. A feeling I haven’t let myself touch in years. His leather cologne drifts in, slow and steady, stirring memories I thought I’d buried. Late nights, laughter, the ease we once shared.
Flutters bloom low in my stomach, just like the first time our eyes met.
My heartbeat stumbles, too fast to ignore, heat spreading through me in quiet waves.
I study his face, noticing the faint flush in his cheeks.
When his gaze drops to my lips, my breath catches, and before I can stop myself, my eyes catch on to his lips as well.
A sudden knock on the door forces us both to jump back, the moment shattering as quickly as it started.
“Come in,” Gavin says, pulling the edges of his vest down, clearly a way to compose himself.
“There you are!” Alexa exclaims. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, D. It’s seven o’clock and I owe you some drinks, remember? Gavin, can I steal her away now?”
“Of course. I just need a few more moments with her and she’s all yours. By the way, Alexa, great job on the story.”
“Thanks, boss! Dani, just meet me over at Doolies when you’re done.”
She gives me one of our silent are you okay looks. I give her a small reassuring nod, which must be enough, because Alexa smiles, and closes the door behind her as she leaves.
Gavin and I turn to look at each other, and he steps around the desk closing the distance between us once again.
“What happened before Alexa walked in here?” he asks in disbelief.
“Something that can’t happen again,” I whisper.
I look up at him and see something I’m not expecting. Regret. It’s right there in his eyes, mixed with pain and something that looks too much like love. It doesn’t matter. He’s a decade too late.
He lifts his hand to tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear. The sensation sends a quiet shiver through me, which is unwanted and unwelcome. I step back before it can turn into anything more.
“Why not?” he whispers. “Clearly there’s still something here.”
I push his hand away and keep moving back. “I’ve moved on with my life.” I muster with everything I have. “I’m in a good place with someone and I’m finally happy.”
“You have a boyfriend?”
“I do.”
Gavin’s eyes go wide. Shock flashing across his face.
“What did you expect?” I scoff. “You told me all those years ago you didn’t love me. You thought I would just become celibate and sit around pining?”
“I guess I thought us finding each other again after all this time was meant to be or something.”
“No! You don’t get to do that.” Now I’m pissed.
“You don’t get to decide after all this time that you’re finally ready because of fate or whatever.
It doesn’t work that way. You blew it. You used me all those years ago.
” I walk towards the door. “Even if I wasn’t with someone, if you think I would ever give you another chance, you must really have an ego on you. ”
I open the door, slamming it shut behind me.
Quickly grabbing my things and rushing to the parking lot, I hear Gavin chasing after me, yelling my name.
I turn to find him trying to catch his breath. “I’m sorry for what I said. I guess I’m just a little jealous. But I also shouldn’t be surprised you found someone. The fact is the universe did bring us together again. And I would rather have you in my life as a friend, than not at all.”
“I don’t know if I can do that, Gavin.”
“Dani, please. I promise no funny business. Just friends.” He holds up two fingers together. “Scout’s honor.”
I read his face, studying every line, every flicker of expression. His eyes are steady, almost convincing in their sincerity, but there’s something else. Hesitation, guilt, a shadow of the man I once knew. I see the weight of what we lost, and for a moment, it almost throws me off balance.
But I’m not ready to let him back into my life. Not outside of work. I can’t risk slipping back into the person I once was. Madly, deeply in love. Completely consumed with Gavin.
When he left, I was shattered. Pieces of me vanished in ways I can’t even name. I hate that he had that kind of power over me. That he could leave me hollow like that. It took years to rebuild, to trust that love could exist without destroying me.
I can’t let him back in. Not as a friend, not even close. The part of me that loved him still exists, and I can’t make it vulnerable again. I can’t trust him. Not now, maybe not ever.
“I’m sorry, Gavin. I can’t. We can obviously work together, and I promise to be civil inside the station. But anything outside of that, I just can’t.” I turn back towards my car and get in.
Luckily, Doolies Bar isn’t far from the station. I snag a parking spot right in front and step inside.
The place leans more toward a sports pub than anything fancy.
TVs broadcast games from every angle, neon beer signs buzz softly, and the faint scent of fried food mingles with spilled beer on the floor.
The chatter of regulars and clinking glasses fills the air.
Drinks are cheap and strong, and the bartenders know most customers by name.
I spot Alexa at the bar and slide onto the stool next to her.
“About time you showed up,” she says. “Here, I got you your vodka tonic, extra limes.”
“Wow. I really am predictable,” I sigh.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just something Gavin said. Even after ten years, he knew what to order for me at lunch today.”
“You’re not predictable. You just know what you like. Nothing wrong with that.”
“I guess.”
“Speaking of Gavin, you need to tell me what happened today. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there to run interference.”
“It’s fine.” I take a large sip of my cocktail. “It’s probably better you weren’t. A lot of revelations came out, and a lot of tears.”
“Ugh, that jerk. What did he say about the whole basically leading-you-on thing?”
“Not much. Kinda felt like he was blaming me for it.” I end up chugging the rest of my drink down. The burn from the alcohol helps numb the thousands of thoughts going through my head.
“Are you fucking kidding me? How can he be that stupid?”
“I don’t know and honestly, don’t care. He asked to be friends.”
“I hope you said no.”
“I did. Told him we can be colleagues. That’s all I can do right now. It’s not like I’m going to see him outside of work anyway.”
Alexa holds out her glass. “Cheers to that.”
I decide not to mention anything about what almost happened in Gavin’s office. As much as I love Alexa, I’m too exhausted to rehash everything and have a three-hour conversation about it.
We each have one more drink before closing out our tab and heading home. As we’re walking to our cars, I feel my phone buzz in my purse.
SAM:
Heyy babe. Went out for drinkz after the workout an not really able drive home. Slepng on Tim’s couch. Luv you. C U 2morw.
My face drops at the message.
“Sam not coming home again tonight?” Alexa asks.
I laugh. “Amazing how you always know what’s going on before I even say it. I’m just gonna head home and go to bed early. It’s been a hell of a day. See you tomorrow!”
We hug and head our separate ways.
As I get into my car, I feel my phone again. I pull it out expecting another text from Sam, but it’s a number I don’t recognize.
UNKNOWN:
Dani, it’s Gavin. Hoping this is still your number after all this time or someone’s about to be really confused. Here’s my new number. See you at work tomorrow.
I don’t know if it’s the emotional exhaustion of the day or what, but for some reason the text makes me smile.
Dammit. Stop it, emotions. We hate him, remember?
I quickly type out a reply.
ME:
Still my number. See you and our amazing ratings tomorrow.