The bubbles from the champagne tickled my nose as I downed my second flute. The flutes were plastic, so not regulation sized. The news never slept, so we were having the New Year’s party at the Dallas Post for employees and their significant others. The location was ideal, but the budget wasn’t quite there. Springing for cheap champagne and noisemakers was the extent of the party.

Still, it wasn’t as if I had anything better to do. I was always looking for a story that would give me the promotion I deserved, but so far, I had failed to find something truly electrifying in my six years as a journalist.

One great story could make my career, so I picked up any scraps of news that I could and wrote every article as if it were my last story.

My boss, Mr. Fraser, always said, “You’re only as good as your last piece.” I lived by that motto to the fullest. My last piece was something I wanted to get past: a piece on the insect infestation at the local animal shelter. I had imaginary fleas all over my body for a week after that one.

I noticed a familiar face—outside of my co-workers’—across the room between Travis, the sports columnist, and his most recent girlfriend. I didn’t care to remember her name since she would change into a younger and blonder version by the next company event.

“Matt!” I called a little too loudly, catching the attention of a few people next to me.

I smiled and headed over to him.

He pushed past Travis and what’s-her-face—who stared at Matt for a little longer than necessary—and strode over to me.

He scooped me up into a hug and twirled me around. “I didn’t recognize you, Soph. You’re wearing a dress and heels.”

I jabbed him in the arm. “I dress up.”

“For funerals,” he deadpanned.

“Well, going out on interviews and writing stories until three in the morning doesn’t really have a dress code.”

He kissed my cheek and waggled his eyebrows. “So where is the liquor?”

“Don’t hold your breath for anything good.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that the airplane served the entire flight,” he said, grinning widely.

I pulled him into a quieter corner of the room. The party was being held in the main newsroom since there wasn’t much extra space for entertaining. People gathered around desks and squeezed through the thin aisles to mingle.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said. “I hate spending New Year’s Eve alone.”

He shrugged. “Any excuse to get out of Seattle and away from the rain for a little while.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said.

A smile lit his face. “And I couldn’t turn down a party with my best gal.”

“How’s work?” I asked.

He rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry. “This is a party. I don’t want to talk about work.”

“Me neither,” I said, even though I was standing in the room where it all happened for me.

Or in my case, didn’t.

“I thought you said everything was going swimmingly?” he asked.

“I never said ‘swimmingly,’” I said. “You’re the only one who says that word. Anyway, the work is there, but I haven’t been able to nail down the right story to show Fraser what I can do.”

“Well, keep at it.”

“I’ve been at it. For years.”

“Don’t lose hope,” he said. “Or your temper. Everything will turn out fine.”

“Why are you so optimistic?”

“Why are you so pessimistic?” he shot back.

“You sound like my mother,” I said.

He pulled a face. “She has a much deeper voice than mine.”

I laughed. “Ass. Let’s get some champagne and forget about our lives for a little while.”

“I thought you’d never ask,” he said. “I love Champagne-Soph. She’s quite the character.”

I whirled around him, and my foot wobbled. I grabbed onto a nearby desk to steady myself.

He laughed. “I see Champagne-Soph has already arrived.”

“Shut it,” I said, swatting at him. He had the foresight to move away from my hand. “I’ve only had two glasses. It’s these damn heels.”

“How about I get us something to drink while you stay here and take a load off?”

“I’d love to take these shoes off,” I muttered as he walked away. It would be incredibly unprofessional, unless I sat at my desk.

Matt had already crossed the room in the direction of the drink table, and I hoped he would be able to find me at my desk. Since he had no idea where that was, I shot him a quick text.

Sitting down at my desk near the back of the room, I sighed heavily. I kicked off the devil-heels and curled my toes into the floor. It wasn’t the most hygienic thing, but it felt so incredible after being squished in them for most of the day. The party had started right at six, so I didn’t have time to go home and change.

“Getting ahead on the new year?” a voice asked from behind me.

I twisted in my chair to see Mr. Fraser standing there. He had on his typical jacket and tie, but for once, it was loosened a little.

Feeling for my shoes with my foot, I managed to shove them back inside, squishing my toes into the pointed ends.

Standing up, I smoothed down my black dress that, yes, I had worn to a few funerals in the last five years. “Mr. Fraser. Happy New Year. Well, almost. I swear, I wasn’t working—”

“That’s okay, Sophia,” he said with a chuckle. It was the first laugh I’d heard from him in a long time. I wondered how many champagnes he’d already had. “You’re an important part of the Post. There’s no shame in hard work.”

“I do love it here.” If he’d noticed that I worked so hard, why the hell didn’t I get the promotion that I deserved? I hoped his praise wasn’t just the booze talking, though I intended to remind him of the conversation later this week if he didn’t assign a good story to me.

Matt wandered past my desk and craned his neck to find me.

I shuffled over to him, putting the final push to get my foot into place in my shoe. Grabbing his arm, I pulled him next to me. “Mr. Fraser, this is Matt.”

Matt handed me a flute filled with the crisp, bubbly fluid and used his free hand to shake hands with my boss.

“Sophia!” Mr. Fraser’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. It’s so nice to meet you.”

“Oh,” Matt said, shaking his head furiously.

“We’re not together,” I said quickly. “We’re good friends.”

“I live in Seattle,” Matt said.

Mr. Fraser’s eyes darted between us as if he didn’t quite believe me. How did he expect me to keep up with a relationship when I was always in the office when he arrived in the morning and hours after he left at night?

“I see,” Mr. Fraser said. “Sophia, I know it’s almost midnight, but may I have a word?”

Matt downed his glass of champagne and grimaced. I stifled a laugh and the urge to tell him that I told him so. I should have had him sneak something in, but I was sure the car service from the airport wouldn’t appreciate stopping at the liquor store on the way to the party.

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Matt said and winked at me before heading in search of more booze.

“He didn’t have to go,” Mr. Fraser said, staring after Matt.

“Matt knows how important work is to me,” I said, smacking the head on the nail a little harder. If I were any more obvious, I’d need a piece of cardboard and a string of lights with the words “PICK ME” in big bold letters.

Mr. Fraser smiled, but it didn’t quite touch his eyes. “I’m afraid I had to do something rash, and I hope you will underestand.”

My eyes widened, and I leaned closer to hear him over the music filtering out of the nearby speakers. They had been strategically placed throughout the room, a little haphazardly in my opinion. I’d nearly tripped on a few of the power cords several times already throughout the night.

“The king of Qatar is stepping down,” he said.

I blinked, wondering what that had to do with me. I rarely covered anything out of the great state of Texas. “Okay.”

Mr. Fraser stared down into his glass. “I’m assuming the eldest son will be taking the throne.”

He paused again, stringing me along like a damned puppet.

“How can I help?” I asked.

“I want to be the first paper to run the story,” he said finally. “I’m giving you the assignment. I want you to talk to the heir and get a piece back to me before anyone else.”

“Wow,” I said. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you for trusting me with this.”

“It’s well deserved,” he said. “But you will have to leave for England tomorrow. The family oil business has an office there, and the son runs it from there.”

It seemed a little strange that the heir to the throne of Qatar was working in England, but what did I know about monarchies? Not much.

Placing my flute on my desk, I knew there wasn’t going to be any more drinking tonight. Packing and researching were the only things on my agenda.

“All of the details will be sent to your email shortly,” he said. “I wanted to make sure you were willing to do the piece.”

I was so willing.

He cleared his throat. “I apologize for you having to leave your friend.”

Shit. Matt.

I found myself saying, “It’s fine.”

Mr. Fraser bobbed his head, muttered a “Happy New Year,” and continued to mingle with his other employees.

My heart fluttered in my chest. If I nailed this story, it might just be enough to put me over the edge for the promotion.

“What did he say?” Matt asked the moment I was alone.

“Were you eavesdropping?” I asked, hoping that he had been. Then I wouldn’t have to give him the bad news that I was leaving him mere hours after his arrival.

“I tried to,” he said, twirling his finger in the air. “The music was too loud.”

I sighed. “He’s sending me on assignment.”

Matt grabbed my hands and squeezed. “That’s amazing. Where? When?”

“England,” I said. “Tomorrow.”

I waited for his face to fall, for the disappointed look to mar his handsome features. “You said yes, right?”

“I did,” I said. “I feel awful for leaving you after you just got here, though.”

“As long as you still give me the key to your apartment, I’m good,” he said. “This is an amazing opportunity, and I won’t allow you to mess it up because of me. I can switch my flight and come back whenever.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, unable to hold back my smile.

“Of course!”

I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed. “This is so exciting. I’ve never left the area for a story before. Now my boss wants me to go to the UK.”

“Your passport is current, right?”

Trapping my lip between my teeth, I considered that. “I think so.”

“You better hope so,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ve kept it up on the off chance that something like this would happen.”

“Or if you needed a quick getaway,” he said.

I smiled. “That too.”

“See? Good things happen to people who wait.”

“You’re going to hang this over my head for a while, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Well, it’s a good thing that I’m too happy to care.”

“That’s my girl,” he said. “Do you want to head out of here and start packing?”

I glanced at the clock. There was still another hour left until midnight, but if I was going to be any sort of prepared, I needed to leave. Mr. Fraser would understand, and my co-workers were too preoccupied to care that Matt and I left before the ball dropped.

I wondered if any of my co-workers who traveled around the globe felt this way before an assignment. Did they feel a sharp edge of anticipation cutting into their gut while goosebumps raked over their skin at the chance to break a really good story?

Even if they didn’t, I knew this feeling wouldn’t go away. This was the start of something extraordinary. I could feel it.