Page 95 of Cuts like a Knife
“Al, you submit stories to me all the time. You always put your byline on those,” Kelsang said.
“Those are features! They’re my own ideas. They’re not random wire cut downs assigned by somebody else,” I protested. “And you know, even with those, half of what’s published isn’t even my work. Like, those stories come out barely recognizable to what I submitted to you and my byline is still on them. You never take it off. So what are you talking about? I’m sorry, I’m just really confused here. What happened with that Sentinel piece was a mistake, I just—”
Owen cuts me off this time.
“Are you saying you pulled the Sentinel piece from a wire service?” He looked to Kelsang. “Is there a problem with the wire? Have we looked?”
Before Kel could answer, I piped up again.
“No, that’s what I mean about it being a mistake. It’s my fault. I f— up. I didn’t get it off the wire. I got it from the Sentinel website, but I thought it was a wire story.”
The three of them just stared at me. Stone faced.
“See?” Rian said. “She admits, she deliberately sought out the story to plagiarize it.”
“I don’t understand, Al. If you had too much on your plate you should have said something. Were you behind?”
“No, I truly thought it was a wire story.”
“On … the Sentinel website?” Kelsang looked incredulous.
“I couldn’t find it in the system, but then Rian sent me the link, so I just assumed… but I was wrong. It was a really dumb mistake.”
“Rian sent you the link? To what? To Alan’s piece?” Kel and Owen both looked at Rian, but yet again, I answered first.
“I think we just misunderstood each other, right? You were just, I don’t know, clarifying the subject?” No one needs to be blamed for this, I remember thinking. The whole thing is a mistake.
“I didn’t send you a link,” Rian says. “Why would I do that?”
For a second, I just stared.
I knew Rian didn’t like me. I knew we were never going to be friends. But he wouldn’t just blatantly lie299.
“But … Rian. I emailed you. On Friday. Remember? I said I was having trouble finding the story on the wire and I even asked to confirm if it was just a cut down. Because it was so late in the day, I knew I didn’t have any time for original reporting, so I was relieved when you responded yes and sent the link. Because cutting takes no time. Look, I’ve got the email. Can I have my laptop? I can pull it up right now. I left it in your office earlier, Kelsang,” I say, starting to stand.
“Sit, Alexis. We don’t need to get a laptop right now,” Kel said.
“Okay. I can pull it up on my phone anyway. It’s fine.” I tap into my Flash email on my phone but get an immediate error message.
Access denied. User does not exist.
I try again, and the same message pops up a second time.
I was locked out.
Chapter Twenty Five
I wasn’t just locked out, actually. I’d been fully wiped from the company system.
I had to explain. Kelsang would listen to me if I could just explain300.
“Okay, I can’t get into my email right now,” I said. “But …” My mind was racing. What was happening?
Owen was looking at his hands, like he didn’t want to be there, like it was all beneath him. Kelsang wasn’t smiling anymore. And Rian looked furious.
“See? You see?” Rian said, his voice low and angry. “This is what f—ing happens when you pluck these nobodies off the internet Kel. You didn’t vet her. She had no clips. She’s a liar and a child.”
“I’m not!” the worlds jumped out of my mouth unbidden. How dare he?
