Page 23 of Consumed By Desire

“It’s going very well.” I try to hide my confusion by being overly enthusiastic. The deadline isn’t for another few weeks. Why does she need an update so soon? “It’s going to be great.”

“Sure,” she says. “But have you done the interview?”

“Not yet,” I admit.

Her voice goes edgy. “You need to get on that, Elena. There’s much more than meets the eye to Asher and the others, and we need to show it. As you know, it’ll be a hell of a scoop for City Scan. So I need you to tell me. What’s the hold up?”

I swallow hard, extremely uncomfortable. What can I tell her? It’s one thing to write a story about Asher’s company and his rise to success at such a young age like everyone else has already done over and over again. It’s a whole other deal to get the real story behind all of it. “Asher’s been very busy, but I’m definitely working on it. I don’t know him very well so I needto lay some groundwork first.” It’s the truth. I don’t need to mention anything else.

But Zan’s too sharp. “You haven’t started some sort of romantic relationship with him, have you? You can’t compromise your integrity and ability to write this story. I expected you to be one of the many women that Kingston takes out when he knows he’s going to be photographed, not to turn into some sort of girlfriend. That’s not what you are, is it? If that’s the case, then I’ll need you to hand off the story to Peyton. It’s got to be written by someone who can be completely objective.”

My stomach drops. “Oh no,” I say quickly. “I’m not his girlfriend. Not at all. We went out to the benefit and that’s it.”

Technically that’s true. There’s no need to mention our potential weekend date. I can’t risk letting Zan think I’d jeopardize my one shot at writing for City Scan.

“That’s good,” Zan says. “You’d also do well to interview the other CEOs to get more background information, not just Kingston. Talk to his partners too. He’s the big boss and the most public face of all three partners, but they all formed Vivojen together. The others can give you great insight into him and they never do interviews at all. If you can’t get him to agree at first, then use him as a connection to get to one or both of the others. Once you gain their trust, Kingston will likely be more open to talking to you afterwards. The biotech angle isn’t what we want the main focus of the piece to be, so minimize your time with the scientist and target the other one. Logan Blair.”

I try not to cringe visibly. How can I possibly interview Logan?

“Absolutely. I’ll certainly follow up on pursuing the others,” I tell her. Not Logan, I add silently. Never Logan.

“I’m going to need to see a first draft from you soon. Since this is your first article for us and it’s a feature, I want to makesure you’re on the right track. Peyton’s told me she hasn’t seen anything from you either. Get something to her that she and I can look over. I shouldn’t have to remind you that this is an important story. We’re putting a lot of trust in you, Elena. I’m taking a big risk by giving you this story and it’s my name on the line if you can’t pull this off. You’re brand new and I really shouldn’t have taken this big of a chance, but I have a good feeling about you.” Her eyes narrow. “Don’t let me down.”

“I won’t,” I tell her. No matter what it takes, I know I can’t.

Snapping my laptop shut, I stride to the door. I’m going to get an interview with Asher. If he’s not home, I’ll endure doing one with Logan. Either way, I’ll get something to keep Zan happy.

Chapter 11

Elena

The door opens up but it’s not Asher who answers. Thankfully it’s not Logan either. The tall man’s clear brown eyes meet mine and he waits expectantly without saying a word.

“I’m looking for Asher, is he around?” I thrust out my hand. “I’m Elena. I live down the hall.”

He shakes my hand formally without a word.

“And you are?” I try.

“Right.” He blinks as if he’s trying to pull himself into the reality of the here and now and only just realizing what he should be doing. “Julian Jensen. Nice to meet you. Asher’s still at the office.”

I steel myself. “What about Logan?”

“He was here for a few minutes to pick something up but he’s already gone out again. I don’t know where.”

“Oh, right. Sorry to have bothered you.” I’m about to turn and leave when Julian speaks up again. “Asher should be home pretty soon. I don’t know when exactly, but if you want to wait for him you can.”

I pause for only a moment. “Sure.” Why not? I can have a look around and get a sense of what Asher’s lifestyle is like. That’ll be a great start.

Julian ushers me into the living room and I stop short. I thought that the apartment I’m staying in is impressive. Asher’s place blows it right out of the water. It’s so huge, it’s almostintimidating. The living room alone is at least twice the size of mine, maybe even more. I can only imagine what the rest of the penthouse looks like. Maybe I can convince Julian to give me a tour.

“Would you like something to drink while you’re waiting?” Julian offers after gesturing towards the massive sofa. I sink into it as if it’s made of clouds.

He still has a very distracted and busy air about him as if I’ve caught him in the middle of something important. “I don’t want to interrupt you.”

He pushes his hand through his short brown hair. “You’re not. I was about to take a break.” The steel band of his watch glints as he checks it and the blue face of it catches my attention. It’s a Rolex, and a gorgeous one at that. “Actually I meant to take a break about an hour ago. It’s about time that I do. I’m told I need to take breaks more often. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like but I really don’t know when Asher said he’d be home.”

Home? “Do you live here too? That’s a lot of roommates,” I blurt out.

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