“Oh, please don’t call me that,” I say.“I’m not wrong, am I? Who else could have written that eloquently? I know it was you, Esther.”“Yeah, well. Maybe keep it under wraps…”The downward lilt of my voice must put him on alert. His smile fades and he sounds more focused.“What happened?”It’s not f
“Don’t you know?” he asks in reply.“If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked,” I say.He chuckles a little. “Well. You are the journalist, Esther. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Someone calls out for him, I hear it through his line. “I have to go. Talk soon.” He hangs up.For a while longer, I sit in my c
I open my mouth, close it, open it again. I don’t know how to answer this.Yes, I want Lila to be caught and held accountable for everything she’s done to me and others, but this feels a lot like snitching.“She is,” Cynthia says.“I need to hear it from Esther’s mouth,” Hugo tells Cynthia gently.C
Hugo clears his throat. “If you’ll excuse me…”The moment he steps away, Miles lets his hand fall away from my face. I glower at him. It’s clear he was only touching me to annoy Hugo.“That wasn’t necessary,” I tell him.Miles shrugs, nonchalant. “He didn’t need to be that close to you.”Cynthia gla
His smile widens. “You are objective in your articles, Esther. You are professional at work, you don’t need to worry about that. What happens in your heart is another matter, but fortunately for us both, what happens in your heart isn’t your job’s business.”He’s right. I can be both Miles’s friend
Half of me wants to storm right over to that table and ask Erica to back all the way off, but two things stop me.One, Miles is not my boyfriend. I have no claim on him at all, and certainly no reason to be mad.And two, Miles is attempting to win favor with one of the most influential groups in the
Casting my glance over the cubicle pit, I spot many qualified, considering faces. Kimberly, I can tell, is giving it serious consideration. She’s usually typing away, even during meetings, but right now she’s staring off into space like she’s thinking things through.Unfortunately, so is Amber.I tr
“Esther,” Kimberly says. Unlike Lila, she’s actually come out of her office. Standing in front of my cubicle wall, she reaches over it to hand me a paper. On it is an idea for an honest to God legitimate article and a few bullet points she wants covered. “Get me this assignment ASAP.”“Yes, ma’am,”