Page 50 of Breaking News

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said. “How’d it go at City Hall?”

Jill and Olivia exchanged looks like they had a secret, but Jill answered, “Couldn’t have gone better. Olivia’s a huge help.” She bent one leg at the knee to slip off her heels, wobbling a little as she did. On instinct, I offered her my arm, and she accepted it to steady herself. “Thanks,” she said, looking up at my face. Our eyes met for a second too long, and I wondered if we were both thinking about Friday night.

Olivia let out a melodramatic sigh, fanning herself again. “I’m thirsty. And starving.”

“How does a Caesar salad from Moretti’s sound?” I asked, and she tilted her head in interest. “That’s what I thought. I’ll order it in a few. Eat with me in my office?”

On Friday, she’d spent the entirety of her break with me. The most shocking part was that it was her idea. Olivia nodded, and it sort of felt like winning the lottery twice in a row.

Jill clutched her heels to her chest and looked over at Olivia. “They have the best salads in town, don’t they? Those house-made croutons…”

Before Olivia could speak up and agree, I cleared my throat. “I can order you one, too.”

“No, no,” Jill said, lifting a hand in a casual wave. “I brought my lunch today. But thank you.”

Olivia announced she needed to use the bathroom, hollering over her shoulder for me to hurry up and order the food on her way out. I watched her go before turning back to Jill, who was smiling up at me with a familiar glint in her eye.

She had no idea how much thatI know what we’re both thinking about right nowlook killed me. It nearly knocked the breath out of my lungs. I wanted to flirt with her, to say something that would leave her equally breathless, but the studio was buzzing with people all around us. And with Noah’s ominous threat fresh on my mind, I swallowed back everything I wanted to say.

Jill moved in closer, stealing a quick glance at the camera crew before leaning close to my ear. “Stop looking at me like you’ve seen me naked, Graham.”

Jill pulled back with a mischievous smile, raking her fingers through her hair as she turned to walk away. She tossed one last glance over her shoulder, still smirking like the tease she was, before disappearing around the corner toward her cubicle.

And somehow, I just knew that extra swing in her hips was for me.

***

I watched in amusement as Olivia scooted her leather chair backwards without standing up, pushing her feet against the floor until the seat was flush against the wall.

Eight feet away from my desk.

All because I had the audacity to eat “stinky shrimp” in front of her.

“Come on, it can’t bethatbad,” I said, shaking my head as I twirled some of my fettuccine around my fork. “I’ve seen you eat seafood before.”

Balancing a Styrofoam container on her lap, she shook her head and tore open a packet of Caesar dressing. “Just because I like to eat it doesn’t mean I like to smell it.”

I chuckled. There was a minute or two of quiet while we both dug into our food, but then Olivia spoke again.

“So,” she said, licking some dressing off her thumb. “What’s the deal with Jill and Xander?”

My fork froze midair. “What do you mean?”

“I know they broke up recently, but they were a little flirty today,” she said, stabbing at her salad without looking up. “They seem like they make a good couple. The star news anchor and star newspaper reporter? It’s kind of perfect.”

I put down my fork and took a long sip of my drink, trying to appear casual. My stomach twisted into a knot, but I tried to sound calm when I said, “Well, for starters, Xander is not the star reporter. If anything, that’s Meghan.”

“Okay, whatever. I just wonder what happened between them.” She took a sip of her lemonade. “I’ll probably just ask Jill. She’s kind of an open book.”

“Yeah?” I asked, my voice cracking as I picked up my fork to stir my pasta again. My mind was filled with so many questions, I didn’t even know which one to ask first—or which one wouldbe the least inappropriate. “So they were… flirting? What do you mean by that?”

She shrugged with one shoulder. “I’m not saying you need to call HR on them or anything. It’s not like that. They just spoke in private for a little bit.”

“Ah.” I managed to force down a bite of shrimp, even though my meal didn’t seem very appetizing anymore. Olivia changed the subject, ranting about Caleb leaving their shared bathroom a mess that morning, but I had trouble focusing.

Olivia ate quickly, saying she had promised Richie she’d call him on her break. She tossed her half-eaten salad in the trash, returned her chair to its original spot, and flew out of my office with a quick goodbye. I sat there in silence, folding my hands with my elbows on the desk, replaying every moment of my night with Jill in my head.

How she laughed. How she listened to me ramble about my kids. How she opened up to me about her childhood in Tennessee.

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