Page 76 of Love in Training
My week startsoff with a bang. Monday, I finish two staff articles I pulled from the assignment desk that I researched and wrote around Rufus. By Tuesday, I’ve scheduled video calls with two potential sources willing to talk more about Unmatched. And on Wednesday, I receive a follow-up from Maya with the sheriff’s office, who went above and beyond getting me a list of reports related to dating app safety.
Unfortunately, the week goes downhill from there.
Friday, April 2, 20__, 9:15 AM
From:[email protected]
Subject: FWD: Atrocious Reporting
Caprice,
See below—anything you want to discuss?
Randall
---------- Forwarded message ---------
Friday, April 2, 20__, 7:12 AM
From:[email protected]
Subject: Atrocious Reporting
Dear Mr. Jones,
We notified local news organizations about the Kyle Forbes Memorial Scholarship, created in honor of our late son, in order to raise awareness about the award and increase opportunities for disadvantaged local youth. Every other news outlet in Denver provided adequate coverage of the inaugural award last week except theMile High Observer,whose reporting was lackluster and insufficient. Please note that we will not associate ourselves with your publication again.
Sincerely,
W. Andrew Forbes, MD
Patricia Forbes, MD
Randall finds me on the sidewalk while I’m walking Rufus around the building to pee. I’ve managed to avoid him most of the morning. I’m pretty sure all I needed to do was reply to his email and acknowledge the feedback, but the longer I sat at my desk and considered what to say about the Forbeses, the harder that simple task seemed.
I guess I owe Drew for the heads-up on some level. Obviously, I knew enough to expect Kyle’s parents would be unpleasant. But their style is typically more passive-aggressive. When Kyle and I were together, they would just not invite me to holidays or important family events. If we spoke, they’d pretend not to remember my name. And when they finally had toacknowledge our relationship publicly, they always found a way to make me sound like a charity case.
TheObserver’scoverage of the scholarship was published without a byline. And though the Forbeses didn’t call me out personally, they obviously knew who wrote it.
Rufus lights up when he spots my boss, likely because his pockets are permanently stuffed with dog treats. But this works to my advantage while I try to figure out what to say.
“Look, Randall?—”
“How’s the research going?” he asks while the dog crunches a Milk-Bone. We both know that’s not what he came out here for, but this is timely, so I run with it.
“Actually, I’ve had a bit of a breakthrough,” I say, trying to keep my enthusiasm in check. “I think I’ve identified Colin Vanderpool’s business partner on Unmatched.”
He crosses his arms with a broad smile. “You don’t say? Who have we got? Another society page regular? Someone political?”
“Not this time.” I move a little closer, dropping my voice as we stroll. “His name is Erik Schneider. On the surface, he’s kind of a nobody. Grew up in Ohio, went to Virginia Tech. Became an IT executive, but not the flashy variety. He was the guy who physically ran the Unmatched app while Vanderpool rubbed all the elbows. But when you look closer, he’s one of those men who sits in the background with his hands in everyone else’s cookie jar. A total supervillain archetype.”
Randall arches a brow, indicating he wants facts. “What villainy was he up to aside from hosting an unsavory, but technically legal dating site?”
