Page 13 of Voice to Raise
“Nice try, Mr. Forestal. I saw the footage. Those two officers did have to imperil themselves to get you unchained. Things could have gone badly—for all three of you. This isn’t something we could ever support. I was just making that clear.”
“By going to CNC? The Canadian News Channel? That’s the only interview I caught. Were there more? You went to their studio—and met with the important anchor. That meant yourdiscussionwasn’t an impromptu thing.”
So much to unpack in those words. I tried to sort out where his anger was coming from—but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “Was it the choice of network, that anchor in particular, or the fact I made arrangements that bothers you the most?”
He glared. “Perhaps the words you said?”
“Oh.” I wracked my brains. I’d said a lot of things, but when I’d watched the interview later, it’d been edited.Was something out of context? Everything seemed pretty clear to me.
“Which words?”
“Likes and clicks.”
“Ah.” His retort brought things into sharp focus. “Well, if you don’t like being referred to as a want-to-be-celebrity, perhaps you shouldn’t act like one. Now, I have work to—”
“Where do you get off?” He spat out the words. “You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me.”
“Well, considering much of your life is splashed across—”
“You checked me out?” In a heartbeat, his anger morphed back into predatory.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course I checked you out. You’re claiming to represent this organization. This group means everything to me—”
“You mean it pays your bills.”
“What?” I frowned.
“You draw a salary.”
I pressed a hand to my temple.Fuck, not now. Not fucking now.But migraines would wait for no one, and stress was a huge trigger.So why did you take this job?“Yes, I am paid. This is my full-time employment. I don’t have enough money to live if I don’t pay myself. I’m paid at parity with many others and less than still more. I’m making far less in this job than I did in my last—”
“Why’d you leave?”
“What?” I fought not to squint.
“Your last job? Why did you leave such a lucrative position to take a cut in salary and a job you’re not even good at?”
“Hey, that’s rude. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I do around here. You waltz in with your attitude and your ignorance—”
“I am not ignorant.” He said the words with low menace. “And you haven’t answered my question.”
Because I’m not going to. You don’t deserve to know something so personal. So intimate. That’s between me, Pike, and his God.I didn’t have a God. I might’ve before my friend’s death, but I certainly didn’t have one now. If pressed, I might’ve said Mother Nature. That was about as good as it got. “I’m not answering your question, Mr. Forestal. You can see yourself out and please do not do anything illegal in our name again. Themembers of This Land is Ours will not be thanking you. We don’t need unwarranted scrutiny. We just want to—”
“What are you hiding?”
Geometric patterns danced in the periphery of my vision.Fuck, fuck, fuckety fuck.From this moment on, nothing good was going to happen. “I need you to leave.”
“I’m not finished. We’re going to hash this out, you’re going to apologize—”
“Fine. I’m sorry. I was wrong. You’re a good guy. Now please get out of my office.”You just need to hold it together for a little bit longer. You’ll be okay if—
“What’s wrong?”
His face swam as tears filled my eyes. Even through the physiological reactions my body was enduring, I could spot the concern. “Just go.” My voice broke. My knees wobbled as indescribable pain crashed through my temples. A screwdriver into my brain.
“Yeah. Okay.” He turned and stalked out.
I dropped heavily into my chair. I opened my drawer, but I couldn’t sort out which pill bottle I needed.
