Page 58 of Savannah Sweethearts

“At this point, if nothing else, to get away from Alonso Ortiz.” I stood, my eyes still closed. I had to use my shirt to wipe my eyes and try to see again.

A sound came from Tyrell, but then he stopped before finally speaking. “I’ll see you later, Piper. It will all work out.”

“Thanks.” I hung up and wiped my eyes again before heading home.

I checked my voicemail on my way back. I had three messages from Alonso. Curiosity got the better of me and I listened to the first one.

“Piper, I saw the whole thing. I swear it wasn’t me. I’m not the same person I was back at SCAD. I would never want to hurt you like this. Please call me.”

Not the same person? I scoffed as I hit the second message.

“Piper.” His voice was firmer. “Listen, I know you’re upset, but you’re upset at the wrong person. The right package aired just fine. Why did you leave like that? Everyone is talking and it’s not good. You need to call me.”

I was going to lose the promotion and I hadn’t even had the chance to apply yet. I groaned as I reluctantly pressed play on the third voicemail.

This time his voice was clipped and hard. “Piper, seriously. I’m sorry this happened, but it was not my doing. I can’t believe after all this you would actually think I could do this to you. I thought... You know what. Never mind. Clearly, I was wrong.”

My chest tightened to hear his voice so full of anger. But then, didn’t I have the right to be angry? He had played me for the fool yet again, and I had every right to be beyond outraged. I had started off working with him checking every package before it aired, but I had slacked off recently because I thought he was as sincere as he claimed. Oh, how I was wrong.

Showered and dressed in my plum power suit, I headed to the studio and straight for Mr. Andrews' office. His secretary, a sweet motherly type named Barbara led me into his office.

After being invited to sit across from him, I launched into my tirade. “Mr. Andrews, last night’s debacle was orchestrated and executed by one person—Alonso Ortiz. If you’re not aware, he pulled this exact stunt on me while at school. I refuse to work with him further. I could also press charges against him and the station for spying in the women’s room.” My heart pounded, my toes curled, and I fought the urge to bang my fist on his cherrywood table.

With one eyebrow raised, Mr. Andrews stared at me a moment before licking his lips. “Ms. Campbell, if you’re done with that, I will tell you that Alonso emailed me late last night, well before I knew what was going on. He has an alibi and has assured me he is not the culprit of last night’s snafu. Now, we’re looking into it. However, I understand you not only left the newsroom but left the building altogether. Would you care to explain that?”

The color drained from my face and my throat felt suddenly arid. “I’m very sorry, sir. I was so embarrassed, I didn’t know what to do. In my panic, I simply fled. It will never happen again.”

He leaned forward in his sleek office chair. “See that it doesn’t, Ms. Campbell. I’ll let you know when we find out who messed with the video last night. Until then, have a nice day.”

I was dismissed. With a nod, I left and made my way down to my desk. I needed to find Alonso. I didn’t see how it wasn’t him who sabotaged me, but if he had an alibi, I wanted to hear it.

Alonso

Maggie’s irritated voice berated me. “How could you let this happen, Ali? Again!”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. “I didn’t. I loaded her complete, correct package into the system and then left my computer and my phone to talk to Tyrell until the cameras rolled.”

“You have to fix it.” It was a demand, not a suggestion. “Piper is the best thing to ever happen to you. Besides me, of course.”

“You will always be my number one, Mags.” I rested my head on the back of my chair and closed my eyes. Exhaustion loomed since I hadn’t slept the night before, trying to figure out what had happened. “I wish I knew what happened, I just know I didn’t have anything to do with that footage—from a room I’ve never been in—being on-air last night.”

A voice from outside my office snapped me to attention. “Then you better figure it out, big shot.”

Piper. My eyes flew open to see her in her dark purple suit, hands on hips, head cocked to one side with a scowl on her face. She towered over me, and I told Maggie I would have to call her back before abruptly hanging up on her.

“I tried to call and explain.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know. I wasn’t in a headspace to listen. All I know is I said I wanted to be anchor to you and only you, and the next thing I know, I’m making weird noises and sucking my teeth for the world to see.” She stepped forward and pointed a finger at me. “I will end up as a meme or on one of those embarrassing news YouTube videos!”

How she was still blaming me was beyond my comprehension. My own ire rose. “After all these weeks and months working together, do you really think I would do this to you again? Have you not seen that I have changed from that stupid college kid? I would never jeopardize your career, or mine for that matter, with an on-air prank like that.

“I loaded your package, labeled ‘P. Campbell Bridesmaid Package,’ and then left all electronics on my desk to see Tyrell. He can tell you there’s no way I did this. And the package I uploaded was still there, everything just as it was supposed to be.” I stood and looked Piper in the eyes, internally begging her to believe me.

“So what happened?” A look of defeat came over her and her eyes fell to the floor. I could see goosebumps rise on her arms.

I threw my hands up. “I have no idea. When I saw what was running, I immediately checked and what I loaded was there, but so was another file. ‘P. Campbell package, use this one.’ That was what aired. And it was loaded from one of the daytime intern’s computers. He had left about five hours earlier.”

Piper bit her lip, it was what she did when she was thinking. I loved to watch her, wondering what her lip tasted like, longing to be the one biting it. But not now. Hurt, disbelief, and fury filled me. I had spent months going out of my way to prove myself to her, to apologize for what had happened in the past. And she still thought the worst of me.

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