is very competitive. She removed the disc from the computer and slid it into an envelope. She carried the envelope with her to the Editor-in-Chief’s office.
William Montgomery was a southern gentleman who earned the title of editor-in-chief by working his way up the corporate ladder from being a clerk. His family’s money and influence could have gotten him there much faster. He was the type of man who believed in hard work, and no one could ever accuse him of taking any favors.
Will was the person who had the final decision whether Kristine was hired. She had interviewed with other editors on the newspaper, but she felt quite sure Will had requested an interview with her. She knew she caught his eye as she toured the newsroom, just as he had caught hers. He was tall - maybe 6’4, handsome and dressed in designer clothes. His dark blond hair showed signs of graying. He had the slender body of a distance runner, and his dimples were enough to make any woman melt. He gave the impression that every line on his face was hard earned. He was the anti-Burt. Will spoke with a slight hint of a southern drawl and an intelligence that made Kristine envious. Kristine was young, impetuous and always focused on the end result. Will saw the big picture. Will was more deliberate and thoughtful in his actions. She recognized he had a maturity that she hoped she would gain with age and experience. She sometimes even caught herself trying to think like Will in situations. That’s what she needed now that she had this disc.
Will’s secretary sat outside his office like a lioness protecting her young complete with long red nails that looked like they were painted with the blood of the last person who tried to get in to see him without an appointment. Joyce didn’t like Kristine - that was obvious from day one. Joyce had a Lurch-from-the-Addams-Family quality to her. There wasn’t a feminine feature in her pale, sunken face. “Hey, Joyce,” Kristine said whimsically as she walked into the office. Kristine stood about 5’10 with her 2 ½” heels, but Joyce still had a couple of inches on her and probably about 70 pounds.
“He’s busy,” Joyce said only briefly looking away from her computer screen to see Kristine. She made a disapproving sound with her mouth. Kristine glanced down at her attire and wondered what caused the reproachful noise this time. The skirt? No. It hit her at the knee, and Joyce couldn’t see that anyway. Was it the spaghetti strap shirt? Hm…maybe. It showed her shoulders and scooped lower than what Joyce would probably deem acceptable. Kristine instinctively pushed out her modest chest to add to Joyce’s annoyance.
“Can you at least let him know I’m here to see him?” Kristine asked calmly. “It’s important.” She was more focused on the disc than verbally sparing with Joyce.
“Isn’t it always, dear?” Joyce replied in a scolding tone. That was pretty much it for Kristine.
“Yes, Joyce. I try to keep our social visits to a minimum, so if I’m here, it’s important,” Kristine grew agitated about Joyce’s dismissal of her. In Kristine’s mind, Joyce didn’t believe she had anything important to say. Joyce picked up the phone and buzzed Will.
“I’m sorry to bother you. Kristine Larkin is here to see you. I told her you were…” Joyce looked at Kristine with a disappointed expression. “Yes Sir.” She put down the phone. “You can go in,” she said in defeat and returned to her computer screen.
Kristine walked into Will’s office. He was behind his desk reading this morning’s edition. He raised his eyes and looked over his glasses at her.
“Your pit bull needs to be put on a leash,” Kristine said as she swung the door closed behind her.
“Good morning to you, too,” Will said as he removed the glasses and put them on his desk. “Nice job on the bank robbery story. What can I do for you?” Kristine had already sat down in the chair across from him. She was looking at the envelope she was holding in her pin-stripped lap and wishing she had thought more about what she would say once she was in this chair.
“I think I’d like some time to do some investigating on a lead I got this morning,” she said. “It may take some time to flesh out the story, and I’d like to be 100% dedicated to it.”
“What lead?”
“Uh, it’s this disc someone gave me. Not much to go on yet, but I’d like to look into it.”
“A disc? Who gave it to you?”
“I, uh, I’m not sure.”
Will leaned back in his chair, rested his elbows on the chair arms and put the tips of his fingers together. She felt like she needed to say something else. She searched her mind for words. She hated when he did this - she wanted to know what he was thinking.
“So, I have some information that I just want to look into. It’s not a big deal. Or, well, it could be a big deal depending on what I find. Will you say something now? I hate awkward silence.”
Her mind flashed back to her interview with Will. He sat there silently watching her answer questions. He didn’t take notes - just sat there with his finger tips touching. She hid her nervousness so well she thought she might have even amused him. She wore a black suit that looked like it had been tailored for her. The skirt ended just above the knee and the white blouse under the jacket was opened just far enough to be professional but still draw some attention. She may have accidentally let her skirt ride up her leg a little farther when she sat down and crossed her legs. She may have leaned over a little more than necessary when she reached for her clippings in her bag. She may have even twirled a wisp of hair that had fallen from the clip in a slightly flirtatious way - subtle yet detectable. She was so attracted to him she almost lost sight of the reason she was sitting in front of him. He stared at her while she spoke. He seemed relaxed and confident. If he had picked up on any of her flirtations, he didn’t say anything or make any kind of knowing gesture. Unlike the young men at college, he was mature and a gentleman. She wasn’t sure she knew what to say to him or how to say it. He threw her off balance, and she wasn’t used to that.
She honestly thought she had gotten the interview by mistake. She went to a school at a small college in the Mid-West and had no experience other than working for school newspapers. Still, she knew she had talent and sent her clips and resume to the Chronicle along with most other newspapers in the country. She certainly never expected to get the most sought after job in journalism, but here she was sitting in front of Will this time as his employee.
“Ah, Krissy,” he said in a thoughtful tone. Family members were the only other people she allowed to call her Krissy. “If most anyone else would have walked through that door asking for cart blanche, I would have asked that person to shut the door on the way out,” he sighed. “But you have an amazing instinct for recognizing a story and an angle.”
“Is that a yes?” she asked eagerly. Will had come to trust her instincts and writing but told her in a recent review of her work that she was still learning to be a great investigator. There was a pause as they looked at each other. He’s married and the father of twin girls, she reminded herself. She caught herself biting her bottom lip as she studied him and blinked her eyes hard to clear the unprofessional thoughts.
“You’re asking me to tell the rest of our staff, editors and the publisher of the paper that our rising star is off doing God-knows-what for God-knows-how-long. I need more to tell them.”
“You can’t!” She moved forward in her seat. “Will, you can’t tell anyone what I’m doing. Just tell them I have a big lead.”
“Kris, this is a business. Things don’t exactly operate like that.”
“I know, and honestly, this may pan out to be nothing. I just have a feeling this is going to go somewhere huge,” she could feel her eyes grow bigger in a begging expression.
“I’ll have to tell them something. I’ll handle it, but this had better be good,” he said leaning forward to put his elbows on his desk.
“So, this means I’m good to go?” she replied eagerly.
“It means I’ll give you some time.” Her excitement grew, but she didn’t know exactly why. She didn’t know what was going to happen next,