Page 28 of Every Broken Promise
She tilted her head to the side.
“Endings hurt no matter what,” she told me. “All we can do is grow from them.”
I raised my cup toward her.
“Life lessons can be a real bitch.”
She nodded.
“Hey, do you want to go to Zeke’s on Friday with me? I used to try to sneak in there all the time when I was underage. It would be a shame not to go now that I am legal.”
My eyes were hurtingfrom staring at my screen. I needed to write a piece for the paper. Ronnie wanted something happy and upbeat that the Sunday readers would love. The problem was the disconnect I felt with my town. Happy and upbeat wasn’t something I seemed to be able to muster right now.
“Astrid!”
Speaking of the devil.
I slid out of my cubicle and walked into Ronnie’s office. He didn’t make a show of looking up from his work. He acted like being the editor in chief of this paper was such a hard task that he couldn’t be spared for a few seconds.
It looked like the asshole brought me in to stroke his ego. I waited silently and patiently until he finally deemed it okay to look up at me.
About two minutes later, he gave me his attention. His eyes briefly scanned my face, then quickly made their way down my body, making me feel slimy. Voicing this aloud was such adouble-edged sword, though. I wasn’t the prettiest girl in the world, and no one in the office had said a thing about Ronnie.
When you worked with men, you had to tread carefully. I didn’t want to be labeledthatgirl. Men could be pettier than girls, and I already knew firsthand how badly your reputation could be ruined because of someone else.
“We were invited to the Midwest Reporters Association. It will be held in this state this year, and I want you to go with me.”
At this, I stood a little straighter and perked up at the idea of writing a piece that could actually impact my community.
“Yes, of course. I can’t wait,” I let him know. “And would I have free rein to report on it for my column?”
He gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“We will talk about it later. Just wanted to let you know so you would make sure to be free for that weekend,” he said as he handed me a small invitation to the event.
I said my thanks and began to walk away. Right before I made it through the door, he spoke again.
“Make sure to wear something nice,” he advised me.
Augh,he had to ruin it.
I didn’t even bother to turn around and reassure him I would.
“Everything okay with Ronnie?” Ori asked.
I wanted to talk to someone about what I was feeling, but Oriana had never complained about him, and I was still too cowardly to bring it up first.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “He was just getting on my nerves.”
She nodded, probably still pissed at him for making her leave her story.
“Don’t let him get to you. He just wants to make sure the paper keeps going strong.”
Maybe it was all in my head, judging by the way Ori dismissed him. An annoying guy and a perve were two different things.
TWELVE
10 years old
