Back at the newsroom, I found Scott and Jessica talking in the photography department, her ever-present camera crew recording everything. She looked up and smiled as I walked over.

Keep it civil, I told myself.

“Thanks for coming in,” Scott said.

“Not like I had much of a choice,” I muttered then smiled. “What are we shooting today?”

“Oh, the photo shoot can’t happen today,” Jessica said. “But we can talk about it.”

I glanced over at Scott but said nothing to him.

“That okay with you?” Jessica asked.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go in the conference room.” I looked at Scott. “You coming?”

Jessica smiled at me.

“We’ll be fine on our own,” she said.

I sighed like a moody teenager then turned and walked toward the conference room.

“Be nice,” Scott called out.

As soon as we were in the conference room with the door closed, her demeanor changed. She instructed her camera crew to wait outside and turned to me with a snarl.

“How are you and Toby getting along?” she asked.

We made eye contact.

“Great.”

“Oh, yeah? He’s not mad at you?”

“Let’s cut the crap, okay? I know what you told him and what you took from me.”

“He’s going down,” she said, still smiling. “And there’s nothing you or him can do about it.”

“How did you even think this up?”

“Well, when I saw your name on the photos of the team, I recognized it. Toby’s never completely gotten over you. So, when I found out you worked here, I thought I would come by to hassle you. It helps the ratings to stir up drama, you know? When I saw the flash drive in your computer, I took it to throw it away later, just to cause you problems. Curiosity got the best of me, though, and I peeked at the photos. I’m glad I did.”

“You’re a sick, twisted bitch.”

She laughed.

“You think your names hurt me? He called me names too, but it was his fists that hurt me the most.”

“Whatever. I don’t believe you. Toby is a good guy.”

“You’re so naïve. It’s almost cute.”

“Please give the photos back,” I said politely.

“No.”

“We’re going to fight you on this.”

“Good luck. You don’t realize how much power I hold right now, do you? Not only can I take his career down, I can ruin yours too. At this point, I’m not sure any amount of money he could give me would be worth giving up the pleasure of bringing him down.”

I stared into her evil eyes, concentrating on my breathing to control my emotions. She did not look away, meeting my gaze. We stayed this way a moment.

“I’ve still not decided what I’m going to do, to be honest. In fact, I’m not even sure if I’m going to go through with this advertising campaign. Probably not.”

We both turned as Scott walked in, a goofy smile on his face.

“How’s it going in here?” he asked, stopping in front of us next to the conference table.

“We’ve only been in here a minute,” I said, my brow furrowed as I looked at him.

“Yeah, but I know how you can be, Haley.” He turned his attention to Jessica. “Everything going okay with you? We have to make big advertisers like you happy at all costs.”

Jessica glanced over, her face daring me to say something. I kept my mouth shut.

“We’re fine, Scott. You can go now. We’ll work this out.”

“Now, now, Haley. Why don’t you go get us some coffee? Would you like something to drink, Jessica?”

“No, I think I’m done here. I’ll be in touch, Haley. Be sure to answer your phone, dear. Whenever I call.”

“Sure,” I said.

“So soon?” Scott asked. “We could go over all your options.”

She walked out of the conference room without acknowledging him, her crew following her like puppy dogs.

“Oh well,” Scott said. “She’ll be back.”

I shook my head but said nothing and returned to work. By the end of my shift at midnight, I felt a bit better about everything. I called Toby on my drive home. He didn’t answer. Damn. Instead of blowing his phone up, I turned the radio on and jammed to some tunes, trying to relax and not let stress get the best of me.

Things will get better.