“I’m glad you’re sitting down, because you’re getting ready to be the most excited woman in all of Louisville,” Denton announced as he placed himself onto the chair in front of her desk.
“If this is a new twist on asking me out, I’m still not interested, Denton.”
“Very funny.” He narrowed his eyes a bit, relaxing against the chair and taking on an offended air. “Am I really that terrible? We seem like a pretty good match to me.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, Harley looked away from her computer and placed both elbows on her desk, folding her arms across one another.
“Denton, it’s not you,” she insisted. “You are an intelligent, attractive, articulate, well-dressed guy. Any woman would be lucky to have you.”
“Every woman minus one,” he corrected. “Never mind—more tension for when we share the desk, right?”
She thought about making a snide comment, but decided it was best to say nothing about their relationship, or lack thereof.
“So, why exactly am I going to be the most excited woman in Louisville?”
“I nearly forgot,” he said, straightening himself in his chair and giving a pleasant smile. “Guess who’s going to be giving an interview to Trent Bauer tomorrow?”
“Trent Bauer? As in the Trent Bauer of New York morning show infamy? Wow! Denton, that is so awesome for you. Really, congratulations.”
“Honestly, Harley, sometimes you’re so clueless,” Denton stated, shaking his head as he straightened his tie. “Bauer wants to talk to Louisville’s hottest reporter…the one who’s willing to get herself blown up to get a story.”
“You’re teasing me now, aren’t you?” She wanted to give him a correcting glare or wrinkle her nose or something, but instead she sat there, looking stunned.
“Nope. Mitch was talking to his people just a few minutes ago. I’m sure he’ll be rushing this way any second now, but I happened to overhear and beat him to it. I had hoped that being the bearer of good news might soften you a little on the idea of having dinner with me.”
Jumping to her feet, she barely took notice of her abdominal stitches as she rushed around the desk and pressed a loud, smacking kiss to his cheek.
“Denton Price, I could just kiss you!” she blurted. “And I guess I did, didn’t I? This feels like a turning point.” Stopping abruptly, she straightened and pondered the situation. “It is, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is!” he insisted, rising to his feet and wrapping his hands firmly around her upper arms. “It’s going to be you and me, Harley, just like it’s meant to be. We’re a great team.”
“Get a room, you two,” Kenny muttered as he strolled by Harley’s desk. “Oh, and next time you plan to talk about the two of y’all being a great team, you might want to make sure Summer’s not standing behind you.”
Summer chose that moment to clear her throat, and Harley spun herself around, staring guiltily at the blonde newswoman who happened to be wearing an unfortunate lime green boxy blazer.
“Summer,” Harley muttered. “Hey, how are things?”
“Don’t worry, the fact that Denton has his sights set on you was not lost on me. Although you could stop being so pathetic, Denton—she doesn’t have any better offers, trust me. She made a big mistake with the way she treated Christopher Stanton, and I’m sure the Stantons have spread the word among their friends.”
Harley inwardly seethed, but she forced herself to remain calm. “I certainly hope so. I wouldn’t want any of their slimy politician friends thinking they had any inroads with me.”
“I shouldn’t worry about that now,” Summer assured her with a fake smile. “You won’t be finding yourself near any politicians anytime soon.”
“Harley!” Mitch called, abruptly rushing himself toward her desk. It didn’t escape Harley’s notice that the action left him a bit winded, and she glanced down to notice some sort of food stain near the buttons on his shirt, as usual. “Trent Bauer wants to interview you in the morning about the accident last week. You’re making national headlines, young lady. And that firefighter on camera afterwards calling you Louisville’s sweetheart is just the icing on the cake! I’ll get you all the details. Fantastic!”
Harley didn’t bother answering as he turned to walk away, instead glancing at Summer, who had narrowed her eyes a bit.
“Oh, and Harley…” Mitch continued, facing her again, “they’re having some pension debate at the capital tomorrow. After the interview with Bauer, get yourself over to Frankfort and cover it for me, would you? Talk to anyone you can, even the governor if possible.”
“Sure, Mitch,” she stated professionally and politely, even though she was inwardly squealing with delight. “Sorry for the interruption, Summer…you were saying?”
“Denton, when you have a moment, come see me,” Summer ordered, pausing as she stared intently at Harley. “You know the difference between you and me? This is my home, and our viewers are my people. You can’t wait to get out of here.”
“Partly true,” Harley admitted, “but one shouldn’t be punished for having talent and ambition, correct?”
Summer appeared to be pensive, but she quickly looked back to Denton. “Just come see me.” Turning, she strode away.
“I’m going to pay for this,” Denton murmured. “You know what would make up for it? Going to dinner with me tonight. I’ll even make it strictly a business dinner, if you want. How can you protest that?”
Laughing, Harley threw her head back in defeat. “Denton! I can’t protest that, and I do appreciate the offer, but I just can’t go to dinner with you, even as a business thing. I would feel really guilty.”
“Is this about the fraternizing again?” he wanted to know. “Because Summer just made it clear that people are already talking.”
“No,” she was quick to interject. “The truth is, I’m sort of seeing someone.”
“Another politician? Is that why Mitch is sending you to Frankfort?”
Unable to stop herself, Harley reached out and pinched him in the upper arm. “You deserve that. What a rude thing to say! No, he is not a politician, and I really don’t want to talk about it, okay? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have lots of work to do. Really important pension-related research.”
“Fine,” he added with a smile. “In case anyone wonders, I will be going to my own Summer-directed funeral now.”
“Have fun,” she stated, providing a smile of her own.
Harley awoke at four o’clock in the morning, flipped on the light in her bedroom, and blinked her eyes really hard a few times. She had been nearly too excited to sleep, and her eyelids felt like they were covered with glue on the inside. Plodding down the hall and into the bathroom, she quickly fished out some eye drops and pried her eyes open to try to give them some life.
“You look terrible, Harley Elaine,” she whispered to the mirror, where her hair was sticking up awkwardly on one side and plastered to her head on the other. As she brushed her teeth, the ringtone of her phone sounded from her bedroom, and she hurried across the hall, stepping on a jagged spot in the floor and hobbling the rest of the way across the wood.
“Ouch!” she exclaimed around her toothbrush, realizing too late that she’d already hit the button to accept the phone call. “Hello?”
“Harley? You okay?”
Ryan.
The mere realization sent her into a tizzy of emotion. She nearly forgot about the pain in her side from the pull of her stab wound, and could have almost looked past the fact that her rush through the hall had landed her a sizable splinter in the heel of her foot.
“Yeah, fine, just clumsy.” She glanced up through the window into the pitch black night sky, and alarm bells began ringing in her brain. “Why are you calling at this hour? Is it Kelsey?”
“No,” he quickly answered. “Wow, I’m sorry, I wasn’t even thinking. I had a late shift, and I just wanted to call before I fell asleep. I probably woke you up.”
“You didn’t.” Pulling
her leg up, she glanced at the bottom of her foot to try to locate the offending splinter of wood. “I have an early morning, actually.” She pondered telling him about Trent Bauer, but decided he might be tired.
“So…I had a message from Tiny that he might need me tomorrow night. Actually tonight, I guess. Score one for me because it’s Friday, right?”
“Yeah, TGIF and all that,” she muttered, concentrating on grabbing that tiny bit of wood with her fingernails.
“TGIF?” he attempted to clarify, laughing quietly. “I really don’t care that it’s Friday, other than the fact that there’s this incredible girl who comes by Tiny’s on Friday nights.”
“Really?” Suddenly, the splinter became a lot less interesting. “Tell me about this girl.”
“She’s stunningly beautiful, wicked smart, and she has a heart of gold.”
“Sounds like you made her up,” she teased, standing up and placing weight on the splintered heel, nearly causing another fall. Carefully lowering herself to the bed, she made sure she lifted her foot to the bed as well so she wouldn’t make that mistake again.
“Oh no, she’s very real.”
“If that’s the case, then she must be way out of your league.”
“Totally and completely.” He paused a moment, and she wondered if she should say something. “So, what are you doing tonight?”
“Me?” she asked innocently. “Oh, I don’t know. I’m very busy and I have to go to the capitol today, after which I’ll try to interview the governor. But perhaps this evening I might drop by Tiny’s—so I can get a peek at this girl.”
“If you’re lucky, I’ll make you a Caramel Delight.”
“I know what this is,” she said, biting her lip to keep from giggling. “You’ve got a new tattoo and want to show it to me, don’t you? Last time you tempted me with the Caramel Delight, you just wanted to show me every inch of your torso.”
His laugh was so rich and resounding, she imagined Kelsey was probably waking up in her bedroom from the sound.
“Yep, it says Harley, and it’s on my—”
“I don’t want to know,” she insisted. “The last time I ate at Tiny’s, it was with another gentleman who indicated that he might have my name tattooed on his arm. What is it with you people?”
“Are you kidding me?” he asked with a sigh. “Please tell me you don’t take dates to Tiny’s. And especially not that Denton guy from TV who always winks after your reports.”
“No he doesn’t!” she protested, mentally wondering if he was correct. “I think someone’s jealous.”
“I’m telling you, that guy has the hots for you. I’m surprised he hasn’t already tied you down, to be honest.”
Unable to hold it in, Harley let out a short, loud laugh. “Denton asks me out every day, practically. He asked me to go out with him last night.”
“Did you?” he asked quietly.
“No, I didn’t,” she informed him slowly and deliberately. “I’m waiting for someone to knock the door down.”
“Someone?” His voice was rather hesitant, and she felt the butterflies begin fighting in her stomach.
“Yeah, one specific person, really.”
“Green beans,” he whispered. “Green beans, green beans, green beans…”
“What are you doing?” she asked, on the verge of laughing.
“Convincing my head to keep my priorities straight.”
“Is it working?”
“Not one bit,” he admitted. “I’ll look for you tonight…and for any guys who have Harley tattoos, so we can toss them from the establishment.”
“You won’t have to look far,” she stated with a slight grin as she stared at her bedroom wall. “You’ll find him on the bench outside. Get some sleep, Ryan.”
Dropping her phone onto the bed, she rose again to head to the bathroom and try to make herself presentable, resorting to a limp as she once again put pressure on the splinter. Stepping into the bathroom, she propped her leg up on the counter as she retrieved her tweezers.
“You’re a mess, Harley Elaine,” she whispered at her reflection again, allowing a grin to spread across her face. “Why that guy, huh? And stop smiling at yourself like an idiot.”
Sitting in the black director’s chair in front of a huge Channel Six Action News logo, Harley had to admit she felt oddly glamorous for such an early morning interview. Wearing a pale green fitted button-down shirt and a simple black pencil skirt, she knew she exuded confidence and sophistication. It didn’t hurt that she had convinced Annie to let her borrow the Valentino shoes she viewed Wednesday night, with the lace on the sides.
“You’re a rock star,” Kenny had informed her when he sidled up to her desk right before the interview.
Yes—yes, I am. A news reporting rock star. Today I will chat with Trent Bauer, and then interview the governor.
“A week ago today, Channel Six Action News reporter Harley Laine from Louisville, Kentucky was the first person from the media on the scene at a warehouse fire,” Trent Bauer began. “Little did she know, a few moments later she herself would be the news story as an explosion rocked the area and landed her in the hospital. She is here with us today. Harley Laine, good morning. This Friday is looking better than your last, I take it?”
“Right now it is, Trent, but it’s still early. I’m headed to the state capitol today, and who knows what kind of fireworks I’ll face.”
“None that would send you to the hospital, let’s hope,” he stated with a smile. “Let’s go back to last week, because I really want to know what happened in the moments leading up to that fateful explosion. Can you tell us what was going through your mind?”
Definitely not. Hmm…a cleaned up reporter version perhaps?
“It was the day after Thanksgiving, and my cameraman and I were doing some routine stories when we heard the sirens and saw that the warehouse was on fire. When we came closer and realized they had pulled at least one gentleman from the building, we hurried onto the scene. A very kind firefighter tried to persuade me to stay back, but being quite stubborn, I stepped closer trying to see what the paramedics were doing.”
“And that’s when the explosion happened?”
“Yes. I heard it and felt the shaking a bit, but almost immediately I noticed a cramping sensation in my abdomen. When I reached for my stomach, that’s when I realized that I had been hit with a piece of debris from the building.”
“A piece of metal that effectively sliced into you like a knife…” Trent attempted to clarify.
“…and it was still protruding from me at that moment. Since the paramedics weren’t certain what damage had been done internally, I was taken by ambulance with the metal still in place.”
“We have a picture of you being carried to the ambulance by the firefighter you mentioned, Lieutenant Ken Burris. Have you and Lieutenant Burris spoken since that day?”
“No, I haven’t had that pleasure, but I would love to tell him thank you.”
“He called you Louisville’s sweetheart,” Trent continued, and Harley laughed quietly.
“He was probably referring to a poll that went out in the newspaper that same morning listing me as the most popular reporter,” she assured him, playing it down. “He was very kind to me, and I’m grateful for his quick action.”
“You probably never considered that morning that something could happen to you that day,” Trent suggested.
“Of course not, but isn’t that the way it is with most of life’s momentous occurrences?”
“So a clean bill of health after the hospital trip, though?”
“Good as new, with some battle wounds, of course.”
“So, Harley, I have to ask you another question,” Trent interjected. “A lot of times when people have a traumatic experience, it serves as a turning point. Have you gone through anything like that this week?”
With a pang of guilt, Harley thought of her hospital stay and peeking across at Kelsey down the hall.
�
�Actually, Trent, something about my hospital stay really affected me deeply,” Harley began, taking a second to regroup her thoughts. “When I was about to be released to go home, I was peeking into the hallway looking for a nurse, and I happened to lock eyes with a seventeen-year-old girl who was doing the same. We wound up becoming very quick friends, and I can’t stop thinking about her. She needs a liver transplant, and her situation just forced me to think about life and what’s important. It’s so easy to become obsessed with things, especially during the holidays, but it’s people we should care about…people like Kelsey and her wonderful family who are just struggling to keep themselves afloat through difficult circumstances.”
“Such an important message during the holidays,” Trent agreed.
“I would just encourage people—don’t take those around you for granted. There are people in your circle of influence who are in need. Also, Zac Efron, there is a seventeen-year-old girl in Louisville who would love to meet you.”
“Equally important,” Trent stated with a laugh. “Harley Laine, it is a pleasure to speak with you. Take care out there, and no more explosions.”
“I promise you, I will do my best to avoid explosions. Thank you for having me.”
“Harley Laine, expecting a call from Zac Efron. Back in a minute.”
C hapter Sixteen
Being on morning television with Trent Bauer had a way of making a small-time reporter pretty irresistible, apparently, because Harley had no problems making inroads with the governor’s office when she contacted them that morning. In fact, she pounded out details for a sit-down exclusive before she ever left Louisville to head towards Frankfort.
On her way there, she also received a phone call from Mitch.
“When you’re finished with the governor, hurry back here to do a story on that girl you brought up in the interview this morning,” he ordered.
Crowned (Girls of Wonder Lane Book 2) Page 16