Page 53 of Nothing But the Truth

“Sorry?” He stood up straight and smoothed his hand over his tie.

“You heard me. I want you to go on record, with me, in supporting Annie. It’s time to stand up, remember?”

He blinked, and his eyes bounced between her and Annie.

Lucy waited, hoping their conversation outside HR wasn’t just talk. “I know this is a huge ask, Chase, but it’s the right thing to do. You and I are gunning for the same promotion, but do you even want it if it’s for a man like Jonathan? I’m doing this with Annie, and we could really use your support.”

Tension strained like a balloon about to burst. Lucy found herself silently begging him, please please please, hoping he wouldn’t let her down.

Finally, he spoke. “Lucy, I can’t do that.”

All the air sucked from the room like they were at altitude and someone broke the window. Lucy felt like she was falling even though she was sitting down.

“What?”

Chase backed away, smoothing his tie again and looking nervous. He glanced at Annie. “I’m sorry, but it’s too much of a risk.”

Lucy didn’t want to believe what she was hearing. How could he do this? “So everything you said outside HR was... a lie?”

“No! Of course not. It’s just...” He swiped his hair and took another step toward the door, like he was trying to escape. “Think about what you’re doing, okay? Initiating a scandal like this could cost you everything. You haven’t even signed Lily Chu yet. Do you really want to jeopardize that?”

Lucy swallowed a surge of worry at the thought that she had nothing in writing from Lily Chu. All they had were two cheeseburgers, each other’s phone numbers, and a hug on the sidewalk. The chance that Lily would bail on a publicity agency embroiled in scandal she hadn’t even officially signed with was not zero, and Lucy hated the thought of losing her.

But she hated more that Chase wasn’t the stand-up guy she’d recently changed her mind to believe that he was.

“I am thinking about what I’m doing, Chase.” She stood from her desk, anger burning behind her eyes, and walked him toward the door. “Someone has to do something, and I thought I could count on you to help, but it looks like I was wrong.”

He gave her a pained look but didn’t try to make an excuse. He’d made his decision, and the disappointed pang in Lucy’s chest felt all too familiar.

She shut the door behind him and paused to collect herself. Her grand plan didn’t depend on his support, but it would have been stronger with it. She should have known it would be just her and Annie against the tide. What privilege for him to sit this one out while they risked their careers. Her misplaced faith pushed tears into her eyes. She wiped the thread of liquid rimming her eyelids before she turned around.

“We don’t need him.”

Annie stared up at her like a worried child.

They didn’t need him; it was true, and Lucy felt relief that the words were able to come out of her mouth. But the crushing disappointment of being rejected to their faces only reinforced how alone they were.

“Who are you going to send the statement to?” Annie asked, her voice small and soft like she was second-guessing the whole thing.

Lucy couldn’t stand the thought of Chase’s lack of backbone dousing their fire. She squared her shoulders and returned to her desk. “I was thinking Monica Brown at Deadline; she’s usually my go-to for feminist-leaning pieces.”

Annie’s eyes popped wide as if she’d underestimated Lucy’s ability to make good on her plan. “Wow. That will be... big.”

“That’s the plan,” she said, and finished typing out the message. She’d left room for Chase to add comment, but saving space had been in vain.

Annie fidgeted. “Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, maybe you should give people a heads-up first if...”

Lucy stopped typing, hearing the uncertainty in her voice. “Annie, this is up to you. I’ll pull the plug if you don’t want to do it, but I think that will lower the chances of any change coming out of this.” She paused, letting Annie deliberate and thinking of how warning a few people of the pending scandal was actually a great idea. She stood and opened the email draft on her phone. “But you make an excellent point about giving a heads-up; looks like you have a knack for chaos management.” She gave her a grateful smile. “I will only hit send with your permission, so do I have it?”

She thought for a silent moment, and Lucy could guess the plot of the story playing forward in her mind, because the same one was in hers.

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

But she didn’t hit send just yet. She escorted Annie to the back stairwell for an easier escape and then turned to head toward Joanna’s office.

Her honesty streak was alive and well, and the day’s events perfectly positioned her to say something she had kept silent for years.

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