Page 76 of Power Pucking Play

Hard and fast and completely.

And I have no idea how I'm supposed to let her go.

Chapter 24

Lexi

The editing room feels more like a prison cell than a workplace. I've been staring at the same footage of Gio for hours, trying to cobble together a feature that doesn't scream, "I'm hopelessly in love with my subject".

So far, I'm failing miserably.

My eyes burn from lack of sleep, and the coffee in my mug has long gone cold. I can't remember the last time I ate something that wasn't from a vending machine.

This is what rock bottom feels like, I think. This is what happens when you rip your own heart out and try to pretend like it never existed.

Every time Gio's face appears on the screen, grinning or staring or just being his infuriatingly charming self, it's like a knife twisting in my gut.

I did this. I pushed him away.

I broke us before we even had a chance to begin.

My phone buzzes for the umpteenth time today. Another missed call from Gabi. I wince, guilt gnawing at my insides. Ishould talk to her, explain everything. But it feels kinda fucked telling your best friend that you broke her brother's heart...and your own in the process.

The thought of Gabi sends a fresh wave of ache to my chest.

I've lost not just Gio, but potentially my best friend too.

All in the name of what? Professional integrity? A career that suddenly feels hollow and meaningless?

I catch a glimpse of myself in the dark computer screen.

Pale, red-eyed, a shadow of the bold-ass reporter I used to be.

Is this really what success looks like? Loneliness wrapped in a veneer of journalistic ethics?

"Alexandra?" The editor, Mike, breaks through my brooding. "You okay? You've been staring at that same clip for ten minutes."

I force a smile, but it feels more like a grimace. "Yeah, sorry. Just...trying to find the right angle."

Mike nods, but I can see the concern in his eyes. "Look, I know this isn't easy…but we've got enough here for a solid piece. Maybe not the exposé Charlie was hoping for, but…"

"It'll be fine," I cut him off, probably more sharply than necessary. "I just need a little more time."

"All right. If that's what you want." He pauses. "I'm gonna grab some coffee. Want anything?"

I shake my head, already turning back to the screen. Back to Gio's face, his smile, his eyes that seem to look right through me even in pixelated form.

I can still remember the first time I met him, at Gabi's birthday party. He was charming and witty, with a glint in his eyes that hinted at something more beneath the surface.

Over the years, we'd circled each other like vultures. Pecking at each other. Sniping.

But there was always a unspoken mutual respect.

Until now.

I'm so lost in my own misery that I almost miss the tentative knock at the door. "Come in," I call out, not bothering to look up.

"Um, Miss Brookes—Lexi? Do you have a minute?"

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