Page 5 of The Protégé

I had plenty to work with.

CHAPTER TWO

ELENA

Frustration wasa deadly mosquito hovering around me as I sat in my boss’s office, glaring at him. Alvin Coolidge managed Channel 7 News, and I needed his assistance with a personnel matter.

“Chantel is lying,” I said, trying my best to hold my composure.

My competitive coworker—who had a face like Catherine Zeta-Jones and the body of supermodel Gisele Bündchen—was like the dirty water that bred mosquitoes. She created a dangerous working environment for me and others. But nobody seemed to care.

Alvin leaned back in his leather chair and looked at me with deep-set blue eyes. “Why would she lie? She has no reason to.”

She has every reason to. I’m a threat to her.

“Ever since the ratings for Uncover the Truth skyrocketed, she’s been making up shit about me. I’ve let things slide. But accusing me of working with a drug dealer to get the scoop for my episode is crossing the line.” Anger bubbled in me. “Do you know how many phone calls and emails—not to mentionthe social media frenzy—I had to deal with because of her accusation?”

“She said she was just being sarcastic.”

“That’s a fucking lie. And you know it.” I’d never cursed at work, but Chantel had stepped on my last nerve. Shifting in my seat, I fumed. “Her ‘sarcasm’ was on a popular podcast. She’s ruining my reputation!”

“You’re overreacting,” Alvin said calmly.

“Are you serious?” His indifference fueled the fire in me. “It’s not overreacting, Alvin. It’s calleddefendingyourself. You would understand this if you weren’t fucking her.”

His eyes widened at my bluntness.

I knew I shouldn’t have said that, but I couldn’t help it. If I didn’t need this job, I would’ve resigned a while ago. But dammit, life had a chokehold on me. I wouldn’t pretend he was being an objective manager.

I waited for him to deny it or make up some stupid excuse. I’d seen her get into his car after work and caught them kissing at a restaurant.

“That’s my personal business.”

“Which isaffectingyour ability to do your job: be objective in this matter.”

Chantel’s father was a senator in New York, and her uncle was an influential agent representing several celebrities. Alvin Coolidge was a man who wanted to be in her circle.

Dropping the subject, he said, “Upper management has been on my ass about your latest investigation. They don’t think it’s viable.”

My mouth dropped. “Itisviable when people are dying for no good reason.”

“People die every day, Elena. They get sick and they die. They get into car accidents and they die.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Do you realize how cruel that sounds? Concerned people are asking for my help about their family members’ suspicious deaths. People want the truth even if it’s ugly. What I’m hearing is thatyouandupper managementbelieve the truth isn’t worth it.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why?”

He shrugged. “Channel Seven has a new direction now. I’m sorry to say there won’t be any more Uncover the Truth.”

A heavy boulder dropped into my stomach.

“What?” My heart stopped as tears filled my eyes.

This wasmyshow. I’d made it popular from the day it first aired. I’d put my heart and soul into every story, and those stories had made me a better person.

“Upper management is reorganizing everything. You’re being reassigned to other projects.”

Uncover the Truth was the most successful segment of Channel 7 News. There had to be another reason for the sudden shift. Was Chantel paying them to squash my show? Were they creating a show just forher?

I needed to get out of here because if I had seen Chantel in the hallway, I might have strangled her. But that would put me in jail and keep me from taking care of my mother. Who would pay off the monstrous debt . . .

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