Dispute Resolution

Chapter Two

Quinn took a seat at the back of the auditorium and Kat and Summer sidled in beside her as they waited for the man of the moment to appear. There was a hushed murmur among her colleagues as they waited, but the room fell silent as the senior editor, James Landolt walked onto the stage followed by Gray Holloway. The women watched as though they could undress him with their eyes and the men looked on in admiration. Already he was popular among the staff and he hadn't even opened his mouth yet.

"I'm sure you've all heard the buzz by now," James began getting straight to the point. "We have a new owner and CEO of The Daily Times. I have known of this for several weeks. However, the news has been embargoed until now. But I can now finally, formally introduce you to Grayson Holloway."

A round of applause shot up from the crowd as Grayson Holloway took centre stage. Kat and Summer clapped enthusiastically beside her but Quinn kept her hands firmly on her lap.

"Thank you, James. And please, call me Gray," he said, addressing everyone in the room.

His voice was soft and humble, which made Quinn almost laugh out loud. The man was not soft or humble. He was obnoxious, arrogant and wow, really good-looking. She knew this, of course, she'd seen photos of him, but the reality of seeing him in the flesh was a shock to the system. Kat had been right- sex on legs and he was in incredible shape at the age of thirty-two, a fact Quinn knew from her article research. He was tall with unruly, ash brown hair and piercing, intelligent eyes. She couldn't make out their colour from this distance but Quinn could've sworn that at one point during his speech they'd connected directly with hers, holding her complete attention. What he was saying, Quinn had no idea, but she was breathless anyway. His eyes shifted away from hers and she snapped back to attention.

"...and most importantly I would like to reassure all of you that there will be no job cuts at this point," Gray said and this time Quinn couldn't help herself, she laughed out loud, a mocking laugh that cut through the echoing acoustics of the auditorium. People turned their heads as Quinn sank into her seat, beside her, Summer and Kat did the same.

"What was that for?" Summer whispered harshly.

Quinn shrugged her shoulders meekly. Maybe if she shrunk down into her seat far enough, he wouldn't work out where the laugh had come from. Gray had paused a beat before he continued, the split second of silence enough to let Quinn and everyone else in the room know that he was displeased.

"I have however reviewed the current structure over the past few weeks and some changes will take effect. You will be notified by the end of the day if this concerns you," he continued, his eyes seeming to find hers once again as though he was directing his words at her.

"In the meantime, we have a paper to run and deadlines to meet. I look forward to meeting all of you in the coming weeks," he said by way of dismissal.

Almost immediately the crowd of journalists rose from their seats and piled back out of the auditorium to their desks. Quinn noticed several of the male journalists had gone to the front of the room to shake hands with Gray. They were laughing jovially like old university buddies.

"Jobs for the boys," Quinn said to Kat and Summer while trying to remain inconspicuous as she left the room.

Half an hour later Gordy called her into his office. This is it, Quinn thought, her marching orders.

"Gordy," Quinn said as she entered his office. "Give it to me straight. What is going on?"

"A good question," he said as he rubbed his shiny, bald head, something he did only when he was under pressure.