Page 108 of The Encounter
Marla waved her hand in the air. “It’s never any trouble for you. Why don’t you take a seat, and I’ll buzz him.”
“Thank you so much.”
Jace stepped over to the waiting area, but stood and looked at the art on the walls instead, opting not to sit, as he knew Dave wouldn’t keep him waiting long.
Within minutes, Marla had called him back over to escort him to Dave’s office. Despite him knowing where to go, she led him back anyway.
“Mr. Locke, I don’t want to overstep, but I just needed to tell you that your girlfriend is the prettiest little thing I’ve ever seen. You were such a beautiful couple at the gala.”
Jace’s heart tripped at the comment. Not wanting to share that they had split, he offered her a small smile. “Thank you. I believe she is too.”
They stopped in front of Dave’s office, and Jace stepped inside before Marla pulled the door shut behind him.
“Jace! It’s great to see you! How’s your father?”
Dave was on the shorter side, with dark hair that receded at his forehead. He had worked his way up in the industry, as he used to be one of the reporters on the field who had covered the local gossip about Jace’s family when Jace was a child. Dave had been one of the few reporters Jace’s family had come in contact with who never strayed from the facts. He was always fair in his reporting and earned a lot of respect with Jace’s family—especially with Jace’s father Dan.
Because of it, Dan gave Dave several exclusive interviews. Those interviews helped propel Dave to the top of the ladder where he remained today.
Jace shook Dave’s hand. “He’s doing well.”
Dave held a hand out toward a chair and waited for Jace to take a seat before he sat behind his desk. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I wanted to talk to you about some articles that have been appearing in the newspaper about my girlfriend Maddie.”
He nodded, as if not surprised that Jace had brought it up. “I realize they haven’t all been favorable, but Samantha does a great job at catching our readers’ attention.”
“Some of her pieces are purely opinion pieces. They aren’t based on facts and are pure lies. She clearly has a disdain for Maddie, and it’s been apparent over several issues.”
Dave leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk and pressing his fingertips together as if he were deep in thought.
“Jace, unfortunately, it comes with the territory of dating a celebrity. I realize not all articles are going to be favorable and they may hurt her feelings, but they sell, and this is a business.”
“Dave, one reason I’m coming to you before doing anything else is because I respect you. I don’t want to cause any problems between us, but I need these articles to stop.”
“Unfortunately, I can’t do that. The readers are eating it up, and we’ve had the most ratings and views on our website than we’ve had in years. I need to let Samantha ride this out. Your girlfriend will get over it.”
Jace clenched his jaw before pulling in a deep breath through his nose and reminding himself to relax. Getting angry wouldn’t help anything.
“Very well then. I’m sorry to say that your newspaper is no longer welcome at any of the Locke family fundraiser events, nor any of the Locke company events. We will no longer offer Celebrity Status exclusive interviews, as you’re far too interested in smearing an innocent person’s name in the mud with lies than report with facts. This is a newspaper we no longer care to be associated with.”
Jace stood and buttoned the buttons on his suit jacket before turning and striding out the door.
“Jace! Wait!” Dave’s voice rang out.
Jace continued to walk as if he hadn’t heard him. Several heads popped over the tops of cubicles as they gawked at him. And one head in particular caught his attention.
Samantha stood several cubicles away with a deer-in-headlights look on her face.
Dave ran down the hallway to catch up to him.
“Jace. Stop. Let’s talk about this.”
Jace continued to walk with Dave pacing him.
“I’ve already tried to talk to you about it, and you were uninterested.”
“Jace, please. I’m under a lot of pressure. Come back to my office and let’s have a conversation.”
