“You did what?!” Dylan shouted.

“Jesus, keep your voice down. I don’t need the whole office knowing about this,” I hissed as I gripped his arm and glanced around to make sure no one had heard. I hadn’t slept much the night before—not that that was out of the ordinary—because I couldn’t stop thinking about my kiss with Kile.

“Sorry, but you can’t really blame me for being surprised by the fact you asked Kile Avery out on a dinner date,” he said, his voice thankfully back at a reasonable level.

“It surprised me too but the bigger surprise was that he said yes.”

“This is nuts. Who would’ve guessed?”

“You did,” I said.

“Yeah, I guess I did. But don’t you think it’s a bit of a bad idea? What if Lee or someone else finds out? The two of you aren’t exactly low-profile kind of people,” Dylan said. He wasn’t wrong and the thought had definitely crossed my mind.

“Not to worry. The camera crew is coming with us so there won’t be any risk of funny business and we can treat it like we’re shooting an episode,” I said.

“Oh, great. You’re going on a dinner date with Kile Avery and you’re gonna record the whole thing. This just keeps getting better and better,” he said.

“Well, what else can I do?”

“You’ve got feelings for him, don’t you?”

“I’m really not sure how to answer that question,” I said, and it was true. There definitely were feelings growing but they were an odd mix of fascination and burning hatred.

“That’s a yes, then,” he said with a smirk.

“It’s complicated.”

“Obviously. Dude, this is nuts.”

“What do you think I should do? I can still call it off, we’re not supposed to go out until this weekend.”

“I dunno. Depends on what you want to get out of it,” he said with a shrug. “If you’re doing it solely for the purpose of making the documentary better, I say go for it. But if you’re doing it for, well, personal reasons, then you might want to think twice,” he said.

“How the hell did you get so smart? I wish I had half your emotional wits when I was your age,” I said and he shrugged.

“I dunno, guess it comes naturally. Or maybe I just know crazy when I see it,” he said.

“Am I crazy?” I asked. I had to wonder. Why else would I have kissed Kile Avery and asked him to go on a date with me?

“This is just a tiny bit crazy,” he said, holding up his hand and pinching his thumb and forefinger together. “But feelings make people do crazy things sometimes.”

“You have to swear you won’t say anything to Lee about it,” I said, realizing just how dangerous this was. If Lee found out, God only knew what he might do. He was all about creating drama for the sake of views and clicks.

“What? Why? You’re filming it, he’s bound to find out.”

“I know, and I can’t stop that, but I don’t want him to know anything before we’re all set up and recording,” I said. Truthfully, I didn’t want him to know about it at all. “So, swear to me. Right now.”

“Alright, fine. I swear,” he said, raising his hands defensively at me. “I won’t tell a soul. Besides, I’d never want to get on your bad side.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Just that you could probably ruin me if you really wanted to. I don’t want to be on your next on-air takedown. I’m trying to make friends in this industry, not enemies.”

“See what I mean about you being so smart?”

“Again, common sense,” he laughed. “I still can’t believe this. I’m kind of jealous, to be honest.”

“I knew you had a thing for Avery.”

“I guess that makes two of us, huh?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.”

“Please. I can tell you want to bang him. Not that I blame you. Honestly, I’m more surprised he agreed to it.”

“I do not want to bang him, for the record.”

“Uh huh, suuuure.”

“Why are you surprised he said yes?” I asked to change the subject. I didn’t really know how I felt about Avery in that regard, but entertaining the thought definitely wasn’t going to help me figure it out.

“Well, you’re not exactly the type he usually goes for.”

“How do you know his type? And what the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I don't know it, but based on the guys he’s been spotted with over the last year or so, no offense or anything, a guy like you isn’t exactly in the running.”

“True. Who knows, maybe he’s got severe daddy issues he’s just now getting in touch with or something?”

“That might explain it,” Dylan laughed. “This is wild. Jeff Taylor, the most traditional of the traditional, is going on a date with Kile Avery, the internet’s most controversial man. The world really has turned upside down, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, and hell has frozen over, too. But it’s not a date,” I said.

“It’s not a date? You’re joking, right?”

“No, it isn’t. We’re meeting for dinner to talk more about him and his life, which in case you haven’t noticed is part of my job here.”

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that, dude,” Dylan laughed. “It’s a date, I don’t care what you say. And I think Lee’s going to see it the exact same way.”

He wasn’t wrong, though. My head was still spinning about it. Of course, I hadn’t told him about the kiss—and I had absolutely no intention of doing so. Even now I didn’t understand what possessed me to do it. There was just something about Kile and the way he got in my head that emboldened me and made me want to take risks. Crazy, irresponsible, and immature risks. Don’t forget that this could cost you your career, Jeff, I reminded myself, though I hadn’t really ever forgotten it. This isn’t a game.

“Jeff! I’m glad you’re here. Can I talk to you?” Lee called from the other side of the office and my heart sank.

“Speak of the devil,” I groaned and Dylan laughed.

“Good luck,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said as I stood and walked to Lee’s glass cage. He clapped me on the shoulder and ushered me inside, closing the door behind him.

“What can I do for you, Lee?” I asked.

“Oh, this isn’t one of those kind of meetings,” he said as he sat down at his desk. “I just wanted to touch base with you, see how things are moving along. Ross told me you didn’t take the crew with you to Avery’s yesterday. What was that all about?” he asked, and I had to take a deep breath to steady myself. Fucking Ross, I thought, and made a mental note to be more careful what I said and how I behaved in front of the crew.

“It wasn’t anything special. Avery seemed clammy after he gave his little speech on Friday so I thought it might do us some good not to have the cameras there. You know, help him loosen up a bit,” I said.

“I see. Did it work?”

“In a way,” I said, my mind jumping back to the feeling of my lips against his, soft and warm… I kicked myself mentally to get the image away.

“Good. I didn’t dare hope for it at the time, but I’m glad to hear this little project is helping the two of you bury the hatchet. It’s good for all of us,” he said.

“Yeah, I agree.”

“I’ve seen some of the early footage and I’m impressed. You really don’t pull any punches, do you?”

“Isn’t that what you hired me for?”

“Oh, of course. I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. I love it. You’ve got a style that’s really something to behold,” he said.

“Thanks, but honestly I’m not really sure how I feel about what we’ve done so far. It’s been kind of all over the place.”

“It’s a documentary, that tends to happen. With editing, it’ll all come together in the end. I’m not worried and you shouldn’t be, either,” he said, smiling.

“I’m glad to hear that,” I said. “So, was there something in particular you wanted to chat about?”

“Well, there is one thing I wanted to mention,” he said and my body tensed. Did he know about the date with Avery already? Had Ross or someone else gotten wind of it and run back to tell him? Or was it written all over my face?

“What’s that?”

“While I love what I’ve seen, I think you could step things up a bit,” he said and I let out the breath I’d been holding, relieved he hadn’t said what I was expecting.

“How do you mean?”

“You know, push him a little further. Get him to react instead of just talk. Part of what I love about the two of you on camera is the banter you seem to have, the shots you take at each other. It’s great, and I think the viewers will appreciate more of it, too,” he said. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to pull it off, especially now that I was developing, well, something with Avery that went beyond the scope of the project.

“I think I can do that.”

“Think? What’s the hesitation?”

“Oh, there’s no real hesitation, it’s just not something I can plan ahead of time, you know? Most of it is off the cuff.”

“Makes sense. Just watch out for opportunities like that and you’ll be golden,” he said. “I haven’t looked, what’s on his agenda for the rest of the week? Any more appearances you can take advantage of?”

“No, not that I remember. I think he’s going to take us into The Flame this week, though. I asked about that already.”

“Oh, good. He’ll probably be on the defensive during that, but see if you can get something juicy about what they’re working on.”

“Are you asking me to steal from them?”

“Sharing knowledge isn’t stealing, Jeff,” he said with a wink.

“Now there’s a stretch of the truth,” I said and he laughed.

“Don’t act like you’re above it.”

“I’ll see what I can see,” I said, though I didn’t plan to make good on it.

“‘Atta boy,” he said. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out to find a text message from an unknown number. “You need to take that?”

“Yeah, sorry,” I lied, quickly shoving it back into my pocket before Lee could see what the message said.

“No worries, duty calls,” he said and I stepped out of the office to hold the phone to my ear like I was answering a call. I kept it there until I got outside of the building. It was freezing cold but I didn’t care because I’d been waiting for this text. I glanced around to make sure no one was watching and slid to unlock the screen on my phone.

>> Unknown Number: Hey, it’s Kile. What are you up to?

>> Me: Hey, Kile. I was wondering when you’d reach out. Not much going on here, I’m at the office. Did you want us to come over now?

I’d completely forgotten that we were due to film today, as if it wasn’t now a part of the routine. Lee had totally thrown me off—not that it took much given the day prior and how mixed up I’d felt since then. I quickly programmed Kile’s number into my phone so I wouldn’t lose it.

>> Kile: No, that’s OK. Take your time. I’m going to brunch with a friend soon—and no, you and your crew aren’t invited—but I thought I’d just follow up with you about the dinner thing while I had a minute.

>> Me: Oh, yeah, right. I was thinking we should probably just go to my place for that to avoid cameras and suspicious gazes and all that.

>> Kile: You really want to bring a camera crew into your house to film us eating? Where’s your sense of adventure?

>> Me: What do you mean?

>> Kile: Who cares if anyone sees us? Everyone’s got to know by now that you and I are working together; they’ll probably just think we’re on assignment or something, especially with the camera crew.

>> Me: I’m glad you brought that up because I was hoping I could get you to reconsider recording it.

My finger hovered over the “send” button on the last message I’d typed. It was a stupid idea—the two of us alone, in my house—and risky beyond belief, but now that I knew Ross and the rest of the crew probably couldn’t keep their mouths shut I didn’t want to risk including them in our not-a-date. With a deep breath, I smashed the send button and waited for his reply. It came a few seconds later.

>> Kile: Why?

>> Me: I don’t want them asking any questions or getting the wrong idea.

>> Kile: And you think us being alone in your house won’t give them the wrong idea? I’m sorry, but I’m not meeting you if cameras aren’t gonna be there—especially if it’s going to be at your house.

>> Me: Fine. I’m willing to go to a restaurant if you’re willing to go without the cameras.

My heart raced while I waited for his reply. If having no cameras wasn’t stupid enough, now I was more or less inviting the entire world to see us together and clearly not for work. It’ll be fine. It’s just dinner, remember? I thought. Besides, the world thinks we’re best friends now thanks to his stunt at the press conference. My phone vibrated and snapped my attention back to the screen.

>> Kile: I keep underestimating you. Alright, fine. No cameras but I’ll pick the venue.

>> Me: Sounds good.

Of course, it sounded the complete opposite.

>> Kile: I’ll pick you up around 8 on Friday.

>> Me: You don’t need to do that.

>> Kile: If you don’t want to be seen until we get to the restaurant, then yes I do.

>> Me: Alright, I’ll look for your car or driver or whatever.

>> Kile: This is a terrible idea.

>> Me: You’re probably right.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and felt my stomach slip into a state of dread along with it. Like it or not, something was brewing between Avery and me and I didn’t know what to do about it.

This is just business, that’s all, I told myself. If things get weird, you can always call it off and go home. The kiss was a fluke, a shock tactic taken right from Avery’s playbook and nothing more.

Still, the thought of going to dinner with Avery made me feel nervous in a way I hadn’t felt in years; in a decade, in fact. It also made me think about Jeremy.

Jeremy Holtz. I’d never forget his name. He was the beat reporter who’d gotten deep inside of my head and heart. Despite the fact we were both journalists, I’d been so blind with Jeremy, so naïve about him… We fell hard and fast for each other and lived much the same way, until one night I found him in the bathroom at the same club we’d met in, in a less than flattering position with two other guys. I’d been crushed, and I was horribly depressed for months afterward, so much so that it almost cost me the promotion to lead anchor at GNN. I didn’t dare date again after that for the sake of my career.

But Kile wasn’t Jeremy. Not even close. From what I knew, he’d gone through something similar. Beyond that, whatever feelings I had for Kile were very different from the ones I’d had for Jeremy. Maybe that’s why I was so nervous? If it went well, who knew what might happen afterwards? But then again, if it went poorly, we could just go right back to the status quo of hating each other.

Hating Avery was so much easier, so much less complicated. But I couldn’t say I hated him anymore, or at least not easily. The kiss we shared changed that in and of itself, but I’d also grown to respect certain aspects of him. He was determined and ruthless, two things that would make anyone a star in this industry, and he didn’t take anyone’s shit. Clearly, there was more to him than I’d thought at first glance. My gut instinct about people was rarely wrong, but it obviously had been in Avery’s case and that concerned me more than anything else about him.

Clearly, this dinner was going to be so much more than a meal. It was a test to see if what I saw in him was actually there or if it was something I only thought I saw in him. Part of me assumed he’d almost certainly fail the test, but another part of me hoped he wouldn’t.

Time will tell, I thought as I shook my head and stepped back into the office.