Page 136 of Love on the Byline

Brandon: She doesn’t handle rejection well. And in theyears that follow, she rises to prominence in her field and uses that positionto exact her revenge on the young actor. On me.

At this time, I feel the need to disclose my personal connectionto Brandon Cody. He, his best friend and assistant—Oliver Benjamin—and I allattended the University of Philadelphia together. I’ve known Bran, off and on,for years. When I tell you that I believe with absolute conviction that he istelling me the truth, you may think that I am biased.

But like you, dear reader, I believed the gossip. Even aftermonths of working in this industry, and seeing how photos are framed and oftenmanipulated to support a narrative, I walked into this assignment with heavyprejudice. I believed the rumors, until I was at the center of one of them. Toclarify, I am not romantically involved with Brandon Cody. And I did not tradesexual favors to gain access to him. The Editor-in-Chief of the Los AngelesGazette personally assigned this story to me.

Blake Dillon: Why are you telling the world about thisnow, after so many years? Aren’t you afraid of reprisal? After all, if thisperson is as well-respected as you say, doesn’t she have the power to discredityou?

Brandon Cody: She does. But my hope is that, bydisclosing what happened...what is still happening...I can help the other peoplewhose lives have been tainted by this poison. Valerie Saunders-Newman. SaraHutchins. Desiree Stanley. And yourself. I hope that by opening up, I can shedsome light into a few of the dark corners of this industry. Maybe others willcome forward. Even if they don’t, I couldn’t let it go on.

This time, when Blake walked into the office, heads did turn.She encountered a few looks of surprise, a few hostile stares, and more thanone muttered jab as she made her way to Gideon’s office.

She knocked on the partially open door, surprised when shepushed, and it hit a cardboard box on the floor. She wedged her way inside andfound him filling another box on his desk.

“What’s going on?”

Gideon looked up sharply. Fury coloring his expression,followed quickly by resolve and then, surprisingly, regret.

“Well, I’m not moving into the corner office, if that’s whatyou thought.”

She took in the blank walls where his framed degrees andfront pages once hung. “She fired you?”

“She wants to see you as soon as you get in,” he replied.

“Screw her,” Blake spat, livid that a good man had gottencaught in the crossfire. “What are you going to do?”

Sighing, Gideon set the mug in his hands inside the box.“I’m going to look for another position, though I don’t know who is actuallyhiring. Maybe I’ll start a commune,” he mused. “Or launch my own independentnews website.”

“That would be pretty kick-ass.” She was trying to mustersome enthusiasm. The truth was, they both knew how difficult it was to earn aliving doing what they did.

“I didn’t mean to cost you your job,” she said, the pit inher stomach growing into a cavern.

Gideon met her gaze, his full of steely determination. “Youdidn’t cost me anything, except maybe my complacency. I let Sonja bully me fortoo long. I’m sorry it took this for me to stand up for you.”

Unthinking, she reached out and took his hand. “It may nothave seemed like it, but I loved working for you, Boss.”

He smiled. “You’re my favorite pain-in-the-ass.”

She let out a surprised laugh. “Ditto.”

She found Sonja in her office. It was only the third timeshe’d ever stepped foot inside, and Blake found it as cold and imposing as thewoman sitting behind the neatly pristine desk.

There were no stacks of paper and framed pictures coveringevery available surface. A single framed document hung on the wall, Sonja’sdegree. A spider plant sat in the window, and the desk held only her monitor, amouse, and a cup with a few pens.

“I’ll make this short,” Sonja said without preamble. Shedidn’t even bother to take her eyes off the monitor in front of her. “Clear outyour desk. If you’re not gone in fifteen minutes, security will be called toescort you out.”

“You’re not even going to deny it?” Blake asked,

Those cool gray eyes finally slid to her. “Deny what?”

She huffed out a bitter laugh. “Wow. You’re reallysomething.”

“I am?” Sonja replied, her brows lifting. “Me? You’rethe one who got in bed with your subject and let him spew a bunch of bullshitin your interview.”

“I didn’t sleep with Mr. Cody.”

“You’re the one who let him publicly defame thepaper.”

“How did he do that?” she asked. “Mr. Cody never mentionedthe name of the paper or the editor who sexually harassed him.”

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