Page 60 of Breaking News

The show carried on like normal. I read headlines. Bernard warned about rainfall amounts over the next few days. We aired Chase’s pre-recorded story about a cornhole tournament. Everything was smooth.

But beneath it all, I couldn't help but notice a subtle shift in everyone’s attitude, like they were walking on eggshells. Every single member of the crew only had kind things to say when I arrived that morning, checking on me and asking me if I needed anything. I was grateful, of course, but there was this underlying vibe like they were all afraid I was on the verge of crashing out again.

The moment I finished my goodbye and the cameras shut off, I let my shoulders drop and exhaled slowly.I did it. I’m back.I leaned forward and gathered my notes into a neat little stack, pretending like I hadn’t fled this desk in tears just two mornings ago.

Olivia and Graham approached the desk at the same time, him with his hands in his pockets and her frowning like there was a storm cloud over her head. It was hard not to notice the way her brows furrowed or how she barely looked up from her clipboard. But knowing how teenagers can be, I decided not to acknowledge her obvious bad mood, choosing instead to look up at Graham, who wore a handsome gray button-up with his sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

“How did I do?” I asked, laying my hands on the desk, one hand on top of the other. I had to pretend this was just a normal conversation with my boss, as if he didn’t blindfold and bind me less than twelve hours ago.

“Perfect,” he answered, glancing at his daughter before turning back to me. “But it sort of lacked that unhinged, chaotic energy of the last two shows.”

I grinned. “I could try fainting into Bernard’s arms tomorrow, if you think that would help?”

Graham slid his hands into his pockets, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Could you? It’ll keep the viewers locked in, never knowing what might happen next.”

We smiled at each other like a couple of lust-drunk idiots, barely managing to mask the sexual tension with professionalism. I glanced over at Olivia just in time to catch the confused, disgusted look she gave her dad before she rolled her eyes and said, “I have to go call the president of the Chamber of Commerce.”

She dropped her clipboard on the news desk and walked around the corner to my cubicle without glancing back.

Graham’s mouth was agape. “My daughter has to go call the president,” he said, beaming like the proud father he was.

“Of the Chamber of Commerce,” I clarified with a smirk. “But it’s still impressive. She’s setting up an interview for me. Also, what the hell did you guys do to that girl while I was out?”

“What do you mean?”

“The moodiness?” I said, motioning her direction with one hand like this was the most obvious thing in the world. “She seems really down today.”

“Welcome to Olivia’s roller coaster of emotions,” Graham said, leaning his hands on the desk. “Her mood swings give me whiplash sometimes, and she’ll never open up about what’s bothering her.”

“Hmm,” I said, tapping my fingers on the desk just inches from where Graham’s hand rested. “Maybe I can crack her.”

“Yeah, good luck,” he said, shaking his head. “I wish she would talk to me about her problems like she used to. But then again, her problems used to be… a boy pushing her at recess. I could make one phone call to the school and take care of it. Now…” He shook his head, letting the rest trail off.

“You can’t fix her problems with a simple phone call,” I guessed.

“Exactly.” His gaze dropped to the floor, and my heart ached for him. He was trying so hard to be a good father, but Olivia was keeping him at arm’s length. I could see that it broke him a little.

“What about Caleb?” I asked, wishing I knew more about Graham’s life outside of this building—and our bedrooms. “Is he as closed off as she is?”

“Not quite,” Graham said, shifting on his feet. “He’ll spend hours on his Xbox, not speaking a word to me, but then he’ll join me on the couch and talk for an hour about how he and his friends took down another squad.”

“Fortnite?”

“What else?” He laughed. He talked about Caleb some more, and I hung onto every word, like I was getting a rare peek into a part of his life I knew very little about. On the surface, it probably looked like nothing more than a casual conversation between a CEO and his morning news anchor, but this felt like… intimacy. A different kind of closeness than what we shared the night before.

I swallowed, realizing I’d been craving a connection with a man like this for a very long time.

Maybe there was a way to make this work.

Or maybe I was delusional.

Olivia reappeared a few minutes later, twisting her hair between her fingers as she said, “Devon said Monday at two o’clock is fine. I went ahead and added it to your calendar.”

“You’re amazing! Thank you.”

She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Graham touched her on the shoulder. “Hey kid, do you want to have lunch with me in my office today?”

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