Page 75 of Game Plan
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BECCA
I suckedin a breath and marched toward Ed's door. I raised a hand to knock, then froze like a rotisserie chicken in the deep freeze. Damn, now I was hungry for chicken.
Okay,Becca, I told myself.Youcandothis.
I sucked in another breath and was about to knock when the door opened.
I almost fell into Ed's office. Just as well I didn't, because I would have fallen right at his feet. That was exactly the place I didn't want to be. That and a vegetarian restaurant. Nothing against vegetarians, but that wouldn't satisfy my current chicken craving.
Oh great, my mind was babbling again.
"Rebecca, are you okay, sweetheart? You look pale. Come in, sit. Unless you'd prefer to lie on my desk." Ed gave me a wink.
"Uh, I'll pass." The idea was nauseating, but he did help to settle my mind. I went from seventy-two, to ninety-nine percent sure I was about to do the right thing. "I need to talk to you about that article."
He walked around his desk and flopped down on a chair which groaned under the sudden weight. For a moment I thought it would break, but it didn't.
He rested his elbows on the desk and steepled his fingers. "Which article is that?"
I was sure he knew already, but I decided to humour him. "The one about Hawk Florence's mom," I said simply.
"Ah, yes. You have it ready?" His eagerness was thinly disguised. He looked so hungry I felt slightly sick. He was clearly hoping I'd found some dirt, or hoped this story would lead to some.
"I wrote it," I said slowly. "But I won't be giving it to you." I shook my head to reinforce my words. "I showed Hawk and he insisted we not run with it."
Ed smirked. An unpleasant expression at the best of times. Right now, with so much at stake, it looked menacing.
"If I had a dollar for every celebrity who tried to stop a story from running, I could buy the Lowball Bay Humpbacks. You wanna guess how many have been successful?"
"The ones you respect?" I asked. "The one you want to have a good relationship with?”
Ed laughed. "No, the ones with grounds to sue theNational Dailyout of business." He lowered his palms to the desktop. "Look, I know you have these lofty ideals about integrity and running feel good stories and that's admirable. That's what you're good at. Human interest. This story is just that. People want to know."
"It's none of their business," I said.
I knew what his response to that would be before he spoke.
"The public think it is." He shrugged. "That's the price of fame. These folks know what they're getting into when they sign on the dotted line. They get money, success, and the public gets to live vicariously through them."
"And judge them for every failure," I said bitterly.
"Yep." Ed nodded. "The whole stinking barrel of fish. Life isn't always perfume and sunshine. People want to know it's not justtheirlives that suck."
"At the expense of the privacy of other people," I argued.
He tapped a fingertip on the table. "Exactly. It's a dog eat dog world out there, sweetheart. You can eat or be eaten."
"Or be a flea." Like Harvey. "The kind that leaves an itchy bite, long after it's gone."
"You're too young to sound as bitter as me," Ed said with a short laugh. "I guess they learn younger and younger these days." I couldn't tell if he was impressed or disappointed. Possibly both.
"Yeah, well, it's been a rough couple of days," I said. "But I won't change my mind. Hawk said he would never speak to theNational Dailyagain if you run any articles about his mother, without his consent."
"Not even to you?" Ed asked.
I turned my face. "Especially not me." I struggled to keep the hurt off my face. Ed didn't need a way in. I'd sure as hell try not to give him one.
