by Laurie Nave
“It looks like your system is working well,” William said. “And I appreciate being kept in the loop. It builds trust, and it helps Multicorp promote the publication.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Celia replied. “I always thought setting up a calendar that could be partially modified was a good idea, but I could never convince John.”
William laughed. “I’m not surprised. John has never been a fan of any idea that wasn’t his own. It’s part of the reason I knew I’d have to replace him if we acquired The Journal.”
Celia studied William for a minute. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Well, John called me right after he left.”
“He did?” William interrupted. “He didn’t harass or threaten you, did he?”
“No, nothing like that,” Celia answered. “I mean, he tried to get into my head a bit, but that’s just John. That’s actually what I wanted to ask you about.”
“Okay, go on.”
“Well, there’s one story I’ve been working on that we haven’t discussed. I’ve been interviewing Natasha Bronlov. I didn’t say anything because she made it clear there could be no advanced promotion or leaks of any kind. Anything like that and her permission and access to her is gone.”
“That makes sense. You were protecting your source.”
“Yes, well, when John called, he said you knew about the interviews. He said he told you. And yet you’ve never mentioned it.”
William sat back and looked out the window. He seemed to be annoyed, but Celia didn’t sense he was annoyed with her.
“Well, being professional certainly never has been John’s way. Celia, I didn’t ask about your interviews because I know how pushy John had been. I knew if Natasha said no leak, she meant no leak. She’d do exactly what she said she’d do. I figured you would tell me about it once you had the whole story.”
His response surprised Celia. She was also flattered that he trusted her judgment. It was refreshing.
“I appreciate that, William. I want us to communicate. But this story with Natasha –“
“Is big. Maybe your biggest so far, considering the mystery around her and her upcoming execution.”
“Exactly. And I know it’s twisted, seeing that she’s a serial killer, but I want to respect her boundaries.”
“Nothing twisted about that,” William said. “Choosing to respect someone isn’t about the other person deserving it. It’s about who we choose to be. I’m sure Natasha appreciates it.” William smiled. “And that’s another reason I knew you were the right choice for Editor-in-Chief.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” William pushed himself out of the chair and buttoned his coat. “Well, I have to charm a rich bastard. It won’t be as much fun as this meeting, but it has to be done.”
“Ugh, better you than me,” Celia said. “Enjoy!”
William laughed and left the office, closing the door behind him. She heard him speak to Gladys, who laughed in response, and then he walked away. Celia smiled. It was no wonder Multicorp’s stock kept rising. The man knew how to work a room. Celia was also relieved to know he was fine with the story. She’d have continued either way, but it helped to know her boss wouldn’t try to sabotage her. In fact, he seemed to understand exactly how Tasha felt. Almost like he knew her personally. On a hunch, Celia pulled up a document listing links to articles and photos she’d collected. After a few minutes of searching, she found what she was searching for.
There they were. There were several photos of Tasha and William chatting at various events. There was a picture of them dancing, and at one of the events, he appeared to be her escort. She was a newly minted actress then and several years his junior. William and Natasha had known each other quite a few years. It made Celia more than a little curious.
Was that why he was fine with Celia’s secret, because he knew Tasha well enough to value her privacy? Were they friends, or had they been more? It was long rumored that William was gay, but since he was almost as private as Tasha, no one was sure. Then again, Celia had never shied away from seducing men to her benefit. If that was the case, however, Celia doubted William would care much about respecting her boundaries. It didn’t matter, Celia supposed. However, Celia never liked the feeling that she didn’t know all she needed to know.
Talking to William more about it was a bad idea, Celia decided. But she was certainly going to probe Natasha at the next interview. If something was going on, she wanted to know about it.
Just before 10:00, Celia slipped into the restaurant and sat at the bar. It was almost empty, and servers were already beginning to clean and sweep, removing condiments and centerpieces from the tables. The bartender smiled and brought Celia a glass of wine, and then she began to cash out her register. Marlene was probably still in the kitchen, Celia thought. She sipped the wine and waited.
“Good to see you, Celia,” Dave sat beside her.
“You too,” Celia replied. “I didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
“Yeah, I’m not always here, but I knew Marlene wanted to talk to you. I guess I’m here for moral support.”
“Wow, there really is something going on, isn’t there?”
Dave smiled and glanced at the bartender. “I’ll let Marlene tell you once it clears out here.”
The two of them chatted for about fifteen minutes, and then Marlene appeared from the kitchen, sweaty and disheveled from an evening of supervising. She grabbed a bottle of water from behind the bar. “Let’s go sit at a booth”
The three of them settled into a booth in one of the closed sections that had already been cleaned. Marlene gave Dave a quick kiss and then took a swig of her water. “Thanks for coming,” she told Celia.
“No problem. Looks like you had a busy night.”
“It was very busy. Which is a good thing for the bank account.” Marlene sniffed her shirt. “And a bad thing for personal hygiene.”
Celia laughed. “Nothing a shower can’t fix. So tell me what’s going on. I have to admit, I’m a little concerned.”
Marlene smiled. “I don’t want you to worry. It’s just that now that John has been fired, I think someone needs to know a few things.”
“So John was fired, then,” Celia said. “That was the idea I got too.”
“I can guarantee that John never would have left The Journal. He had too much to lose.”
“What do you mean?”
Marlene hesitated and looked at Dave.
“It’s okay, Marlene. Celia needs to know. It’s past time somebody knew.” Dave looked at Celia. “Marlene is worried about the NDA she signed.”
“Wait, what? When did you sign an NDA? Was it when you left? Was he worried about a story or something?”
“No,” Marlene said flatly. “He didn’t want me to sue him.”
Celia slid her wine glass away and leaned forward. “Why would you sue him? What happened?”
“It started about two years after I went to work there. John went through a crappy divorce. He cheated one too many times, I suppose. I tried to just not listen when he griped, and I did my job. I’d heard things before about his flirty behavior with others on staff. I would bet a couple of other people who left while I was there did so because he made passes. But he’d never been inappropriate with me. At least not until his divorce.”
“He flirted?”
“At first it just seemed like he wanted a shoulder. Or maybe dating advice. Sometimes I was a little uncomfortable, but it wasn’t until he started drinking even more that it got weird.”
“Define weird,” Celia asked.
“He started asking me what I would look for in a man if I was dating. He’d ask inappropriate questions about Dave. I asked him to back off more than once. He’d pretend I misunderstood and lay low for a day or two.”
“What an ass,” Celia said.
“You’re not wrong,” Dave quipped.
“Anyway,” Marlene continued.
“One night he was obviously drunk. It was at the end of the workday, and as I was about to leave, he told me I needed to stay over to make sure a story was ready for the next day. I protested, but he acted like he had told me and I forgot. He was belligerent, and I figured it would just be easier to do what he asked.”
Celia felt herself getting angry. She knew where the story was going.
“Once it was just us, he started getting in my personal space, trying to rub my shoulders as I typed. I excused myself to go to the restroom, took my purse with me so I could just slip out. I’d already talked to Dave about what was going on.”
“And I had told her more than once she had my blessing to quit. She didn’t want to put us in a financial bind, but I told her I didn’t care about money. I cared about her.”
“He did, that’s right. I was just stubborn.”
“Surprise, surprise,” Celia smiled.
“Who me?” Marlene tried to smile. “Well, I walked out of the restroom, and there he was. He pushed me back in, started trying to kiss me. His hands were everywhere. He called me a tease, along with some other choice names. I went full-on fight mode, slapped him across the face. That made him mad, and he punched me. It really rang my bell. Things got blurry, but I knew I couldn’t lose it. I flung my purse in his direction, it made contact and he fell backward.”
“I guess it was a good thing she has a monster purse,” Dave said, taking Marlene’s hand.
“True,” Marlene agreed. “I ran. I drove home and told Dave what happened. He wanted to call the police. I begged him not to do that.”
“But why?” Celia said. “He assaulted you!”
“He didn’t punch me hard enough to leave any marks. I stayed late voluntarily. By that time I knew he’d hit on others, and nothing had ever been done about it. I agreed to talk to our attorney, though, just to get an idea of what I would be in for if I reported it.”
“And how did that go?”
“He was no help at all,” Dave said.
“He was just blunt,” Marlene said. “He was honest about what would happen, how I would be questioned, what John’s side would do, and how it would all likely play out. I promised Dave I’d think about it, but it all turned out to be moot anyway.”
“Moot?”
“I missed the next day, took a sick day, which must have made John nervous. When I went back to work, he asked to see me in his office. I knew something was up.”
“Because John never wants to meet in his office,” Celia said.
“Yep. Well, his attorney was there, and they had this paperwork all laid out. I could resign quietly, sign an NDA, and he’d give me a nice chunk of money for my trouble.”
“No way!”
“Yes, way. Like I said, I have no doubt this had happened before me. It was almost like he knew the drill. I told him I needed 24 hours. Boy, he did not like that. But I’m not making any choice like that without talking to Dave.”
“I still wanted to pursue charges, but I also knew Marlene didn’t want to go through all that. And I knew how badly she had always wanted a restaurant. So we decided to look at the offer as an opportunity that came out of something crappy.”
“So you signed, and you used the money to open this place,” Celia said.
“We did.” Marlene cringed. “Do you think I’m terrible? A coward?”
“God no!” Celia said. “Look, I wish John would get locked up for his behavior. But I read the papers. Hell, we write stories like this. He said she said after hours. No marks. No complaints filed officially. I think you did exactly what was best for you. That is all that matters. I just wish I had known what you were facing.”
“I couldn’t say anything. I signed the NDA. It still makes me nervous, but him being out there and angry makes me more nervous. He gets angry when things don’t go his way.”
Celia looked at Dave and Marlene. They still seemed to be holding back, and Celia was hoping it wasn’t what she feared. “You’ve seen him, haven’t you?”
“The week after he left the paper, we were in the middle of the lunch crowd, and he walked in. I was helping out at the bar that day. Someone was out sick. He asked the hostess to seat him in the bar section. Since she had no idea who he was, she did.”
“Had he ever been here before?”
“Never. In fact, I don’t know that I have even run into him since I left the paper. But that day he sat there and ate the slowest lunch anyone has ever eaten here. And he just stared up at the bar. I knew he was watching, so I just avoided looking in his direction. I was supposed to go home between lunch and dinner, but it made me so nervous, I just stayed. I didn’t know if he was waiting outside or what.”
“Has he been back?”
“No, he hasn’t. But I have no idea if he is still in the city or if he has left. I watch everything around me when I go out, and I hate thinking about having to serve him again. But I can’t throw him out. People would wonder why.”
“And he made sure you couldn’t tell them, or you’d be in breach of that agreement.”
“Exactly.”
“What an ass,” Celia said. “Look, I’ll see what I can find out. In the meantime, document every single thing that even feels off. And never be here alone.”
“No worries there,” Marlene smiled. “Dave has been hovering since I found out I was pregnant.”
“Not hovering!” Dave protested. “Just...protecting.”
“Good,” Celia said. “I have to go. But I’ll be snooping, and I’ll let you know, okay?”
“You don’t want anything to eat?” Marlene asked.
“I’m not hungry. Besides, if I eat garlic and then go to bed, I’ll regret it in the morning.” Celia hugged Marlene, nodded at Dave, and left the restaurant.
Chapter 23
Keith and Celia decided to meet at a local Tex-Mex place. At 7:00, Celia arrived to see Keith already seated, sipping a Michelob Ultra. She tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned his head quickly. “I didn’t peg you as a light beer guy.”
“Celia, glad you’re here.” He flexed a bit. “Yeah, gotta watch the figure.”
“Oh brother,” she rolled her eyes. “A macho cop.”
“Gotta stay ahead of the bad guys. Want something to drink?”
“I’ll take a margarita.”
Keith flagged down a waiter, and Celia ordered her drink. She grabbed a chip and looked at Keith. “So this is you relaxing. I’m glad to see you actually do it.”
“I try to as much as I can.”
“Yeah, I’m sure things at the prison aren’t always calm.”
“Believe it or not, now that I work in Natasha’s section, it’s much better than I worked with the general population. Who knew women could be so violent.”
“That’s a little sexist, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just, my first job was at a men’s jail. Those guys were rowdy and always up for a fight. You could never let your guard down. I mean, they’d crack a guy’s head open if he got more eggs than they did. It’s been my experience that most women aren’t that ridiculous. That smarter sex.”
“Nice save,” Celia teased. “No, sadly, women can be just as petty and ridiculous. We just do it over different things sometimes. Though if someone got between me and a really good western omelet, I might punch them.”
“I’ll remember that. Figure or not, I’m thinking you might take me.”
“I could.”
Their food arrived, and they ate in silence for a few minutes. Keith put down his fork and waved at their waiter to request another beer. “So what made you want to be a journalist?”
“I’ve always had a gift with words. I guess it’s corny to say, but I’ve loved words since I was little. But I didn’t write stories or poems like most kids. I liked finding things out, writing down what I saw. I was an avid reader too.”
“Wow, you were the smart kid.”
“I did well in school. I wasn’t much of a social butterfly,
especially once we all hit puberty and most of the girls in my class became obsessed with makeup and boyfriends. I guess I was a bit of a nerd.”
“Nothing wrong with nerds. They change the world and make the money,” Keith laughed. “So you were the scholar and not the cheerleader.”
“I started a newspaper in high school. We’d had one before I got there, but when the English teacher who headed it up retired, no one wanted to take her place. I hounded the principal until he relented and said it could be completely student-run.”
“I can see that. You’re pretty determined.”
“It used to drive my parents crazy. My mom said I could charm or argue anyone into or out of anything.”
“Ha!” Keith laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t become a lawyer.”
“My parents were hoping for that. But no. Too much drama and ass-kissing.”
Keith blinked. “Tell me how you really feel.”
Celia laughed. “The law is fluid. That’s one thing I’ve figured out. Not that it upsets me. I just don’t want to be part of all the constant scrutiny and politics.”
“That’s interesting,” Keith said. “I’d think your job involves a lot of scrutiny.”
“True, but I’m the one doing the scrutinizing.” Celia sipped her margarita. “So what about you? Why corrections?”
Keith shrugged. “I started out thinking I’d be a cop. But then I did some work in a juvenile facility. Sad to say, a lot of the people I worked with were frustrated guys who hadn’t made cops.”
“Yeah, I could see that.”
“The kids were just...too much for me. But the prison system itself? I thought I could do some good. I wasn’t thrilled that my first job was at a women’s prison. But as it turns out, it was the perfect job.”
“How so?”
“After what my sister went through, I guess I saw women a bit differently. Not as weak or in a bad way. But women don’t get the respect they deserve all the time in the system. I wanted to be different.”