Wife and Girlfriend

Chapter 9

Hunter

Georgia wouldn't leave me alone. She'd taken to showing up at the office unannounced, and I had to stay on guard, with my door always half-cracked, to ensure I could catch her arrival. If I didn't, she'd inevitably end up milling around Tani's desk until I finally corralled her into my office.

After the week I was having, the last thing I wanted to do was field further questions from her about my love life. She was acting like an insecure teenager, always asking questions and wanting me to disclose my 'true feelings.'

It was getting downright annoying after about the second time that she'd dropped by unexpectedly, and if I was being honest, it was beginning to affect our relationship.

Especially as my days were filled with phone call after email seeking input on why my magazine wasn't taking the lead on printing any stories about the surprise love affair uncovered at a press conference to announce Tiger Davis' move to the Charlotte Football Club.

"For the last time, Sayed, there's no fucking story there," I'd been working on trying to keep my cool of late. I would refrain from immediately turning to my whiskey stash in my office cabinet when I needed something to take the edge off. I took walks after my morning coffee to try and settle my nerves so I didn't walk into the office with an irritable chip on my shoulder. Georgia had even convinced me during her first office visit to try some of her tantric breathing exercises. However, I was far from being in a place where I'd consider either her or her yoga instructor capable of speaking into my life with things that would make it easier.

But I was still about to lose it whenever I had a call like this where it started with an accusation that I was suppressing a significant news story.

"I don't care. You know better than that. I would never jeopardize my journalistic integrity to protect someone who worked in my office. Sayed, you know me better than that. It's simply not true, and I would hate for someone's reputation and image to get dragged through the carnage we call the 24-hour news cycle just because of a well-timed pic taken and posted on social media. This isn't news. So, let's fucking move on already," I paused for effect. And when there was no pushback, I recognized that I'd done it again, what I'd been trying to do over the last several days since the press conference, getting out in front of the story and putting a stop to it. Full stop.

I was thankful that none of the calls I'd been fielding from respected colleagues and leaders in the media business were coming through Tani's desk. Everyone who had the power to add lighter fluid to a story like this one had my personal cellphone number. And they weren't hesitating to use it.

But nowhere had been safe. I had to have HR send out a memo via the internal office messaging system, which Tani hadn't yet been connected to for some reason or another, to remind other employees about using the office as a source for any outside new stories. Such betrayal would not be tolerated was a line that I'd ensured would be included even though legal and compliance had fought me on it. I didn't want any confusion about what alliances I expected our staff to share between them. And I wasn't above making them pick sides.

We were a small, ballsy, but professional group, and most of the people on staff who weren't reporters were people I'd gone to school with. It was a tight-knit family for the most part, and now that Tani was considered one of our own, I didn't want anything to mess with that.

Undoubtedly, everyone in the office had seen the first couple of oversized flower bouquets that had arrived here for her. So large that it left no doubt that someone with immense means had splurged on them. If anyone were even to get a picture of one of the cards, which was always signed Tiger D, it would be the seed any legitimate press outfit would need to start digging like a dog trying to find a bone. And I couldn't let that happen.