Chapter 19
The iBet product launch went better than Christie could have ever imagined. She got plenty of information, the press release kit and everything else she could have possibly needed for a fantastic story.
Even Jane was beaming and Christie knew that she was well and truly onto something with this media launch. Kevin smiled as she turned to leave, “You’re welcome. Now, Christie…” He frowned a little in thought, “The launch is at 12pm, okay?”
“Got it! No publishing anything before that.” Christie wanted to skip down the hall. Instead, she smiled, “But at twelve o’ one, it will hit the news!” Christie laughed and Kevin grinned, “Yes, that’s fine. Good luck with your story.”
Jane was smiling as they left the building and Christie was feeling elated. Everything was finally falling into place and Christie felt like the weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Ace cared. He had to care, at least a little, to help her find this story. And the story was great- exactly what she needed to keep this job and look after the baby. She sighed, a deep, satisfied sigh as they hailed a cab and raced through the streets back towards their office.
“We’ll have to hurry to meet the press deadline.” Jane smiled, a challenge sparkling in her eye.
“Then we’ll just have to hurry!” Christie sped into the office and to her desk, throwing down the information and typing out the rough draft from the press release kit. Then she printed it out, gathered it all up and raced to her boss' door. Knocking on it, she didn’t even wait for his reply before swinging the door open.
“I have it!” He looked up, surprised with confusion written all over his face. He was not used to his employees bursting in unless they had a good story to show him, and even then, he had never expected one from Christie.
She waved her paperwork and ran over to his desk, setting it all down, along with a soft copy on a thumb-drive, in front of him. She was flushed with excitement, “Huge new betting app by iBet. It launches at 12pm today, and I have the exclusive. I have permission to publish at 12:01 - in time for the afternoon edition.”
Her boss picked up the paper work and skimmed through it, his eyes widening a little as he took it in. This was good. This was big news even for a big city, “Do you have photos?”
“Jane’s printing them now.”
“Right.” He grabbed his phone and dialed up, “Hold the print run, we have a new story. And make sure you get our online editors on this one. I want it on Twitter the second the company makes its announcement, and with a couple of photos!”
Christie beamed with pride at the fuss that her boss was making over her story. She had made the right call in following this and listening to Ace’s advice. It was going to be okay now. One look at her boss’s face told her everything that she needed to know. She would be keeping this job and there was no way she would lose it now. The thought sent a flush of pleasure up her spine and made her smile.
As he walked out of the office, barking orders to anyone who would listen, he stopped and glanced at Christie, “Is this your story?”
“Yes sir.”
“Then consider your contract renewed. Three months on the job and you’re already pulling in stories like this…” He shook his head slowly, “You're going to give everyone here a run for their money. I’ll get the contract to you by the end of the week. Congratulations!”
And as her story was taken out of her hands and pulled to the print run, Christie realized that she needed to phone Ace. She needed to thank him and let her know that he had made a real difference for her work.
She grabbed her mobile and headed outside, dialing his number, her brain and her body still buzzing with the sheer rush of making it work, finally, after all the trial and error that she had been through.
He picked up after a few rings, “Hello?”
He sounded distracted and Christie noticed that she could hear something in the background of many people talking all at once. Where was he, she wondered.
“Hi, Ace. I just wanted to say thank you.” She couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice, “It’s all worked out. The story was such a hit. Thank you.”
“It was? I’m glad.” Something in his voice sounded flat, on edge, and dull. He was happy, but there was something else on his mind. After a moment, he spoke again, “You got the job, then?”
“Yeah. I have the job now.” She smiled, the reality of it still hitting her, spilling through the cracks of her heart and helping to mend it.
“Thank you for sending me that text.”
“Mmm hum.” He murmured, before she heard the smile in his voice, “I’m glad, Christie, I really am.” A bell rang in the distance, “Look, I have to go. Good luck and I hope I see your name in the papers, okay?”
He put down before Christie could even answer.
She frowned and tried to think. He didn’t sound upset. Just distracted. The crowds, the sound of the bell…
The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Ace was fighting that day! It was the day of the big match that everyone had been talking about. The huge one, the dangerous one, the one that Ace had been stressing over for weeks.
Christie felt a sickness wash over her. She hadn’t even wished him luck. What if he got hurt? What if something happened to him while he was fighting? The thought now seemed impossible horrific. After he had helped her, worried about her safety and done everything he could… To have him hurt before they had made up, before she had found out if he still wanted to be with her.
The thought left her cold. She didn’t know what to think, or what to do. The elation of the story was still buzzing in her chest, but she wanted to be by Ace’s side if anything happened. She realized, with a startling clarity even with the problems they had, she cared for him and she wanted to know that he was okay; that he was safe and well.
With dread in her stomach, Christie raced to catch a cab. She didn’t know where he would be, but she would scour the city until she found him. If not, she’d wait at his apartment. If he didn’t show, she’d go to the hospital.
Christie refused to entertain any other thoughts because Ace was going to be just fine. He was going to win this and they were going to be okay. Christie wouldn’t let herself believe anything different.