Chapter 32

Hal

Hal frowned as he took in Jesse’s despondent state.

“Hey,” he called after her as she turned and headed back into her apartment without as much as a word to him.

Hal turned and shut the door, locking it promptly behind him.

“Jess,” he said, concern rising up to the forefront of his mind. Still she did not answer him, instead taking up a seat in the middle of her couch.

Hal approached so that he was in front of her, and she looked up at him, though she seemed disinterested at best.

“Hey,” Hal crossed his arms and looked down at her. “What’s wrong with you?”

Jesse merely shrugged, and Hal had the urge to shake her if only to get that blank look off her face.

“Look, you’ve been acting weird all day,” he said, sitting down on the coffee table in front of her. “I came her so we could talk. Now talk. What happened at work today?”

Jesse looked at him vaguely for a moment before releasing a long sigh.

“That article,” she said dully. “That I wrote about you … I turned it in today. It was a piece of shit.”

Hal frowned in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Hal pressed, confused as to why this article was wreaking such havoc on her life.

“It was a generic, mediocre, dime a dozen article,” she said. “And she sent it to the publicist.”

Hal was more confused now than he was when he started.

“Well, then that’s obviously not true,” he tried to justify. “She wouldn’t publish anything that she didn’t think was at least good, certainly nothing dime a dozen.”

“Yes, she would.” Jesse sighed again. “So that everyone can see that I’m nothing more than a two-bit journalist who can’t even make an interview with Hal Roberts sound interesting. Even after being caught at a coffee shop and skipping a day off work to spend with him.”

Hal took in her words, and he was filled with a mixture of rage and guilt as he came to understand what was going on here. Elaine was selling Jesse as some sort of amateur, and showing it to the whole world, which would effectively keep Jesse from ever getting noticed as a reputable journalist.

Hal also knew that it was largely his own fault. He had revealed things to her that would have surely sent her article to new heights and allowed her to meet all the standards that Elaine had certainly set for her. She, however, being the person that she was, had decided to strike it from the record. And now she was suffering for it.

Hal was furious.

“Look,” Hal said through his teeth. “You and I both know what really happened with that article. And it’s too late to go back and change all of that. I know you’re better than this whole job.”

“No, I’m not.” Jesse shook her head, looking even more dejected. “Don’t you see? I should have just stuck to writing humor clips …”

“Jess, you know that’s not true!” Hal took Jesse by the shoulders and made her look at him. He registered alarm in her expression, and he was glad for that change if nothing else.

“Jess,” he said more calmly, loosening his grip on her. “You’re an incredible writer, and Elaine knows it. She feels threatened by you. That’s why she gave you this assignment in the first place. She knew I wouldn’t ever give you anything to work with. Little did she know, I did give it to you, but you decided not to use it because you’re an actual, caring human being, and not a sociopath like her.”

As he spoke, Hal could see some emotion rising back up into Jesse’s eyes, and he felt encouraged that he was making a difference.

“She’s just trying to cut you down so that you can’t cut her down later,” Hal said decisively.

He watched as Jesse seemed to process his words. Her eyes flashed with all manner of emotions before they settled on dismay again.

“Well, she cut me down.” Jesse shrugged. “Nobody is going to take me seriously as a writer after this article gets out.”

“That’s not going to be the defining article of your career.” Hal scoffed. “Articles about me come and go. Elaine was only tricking you into making you think I was even halfway interesting. I am just like everyone else. There are no stones to be unturned.”

Hal felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that what he told her wasn’t entirely true.

“You’re not just like everyone else,” Jesse said softly, and Hal felt a surge of panic before he saw the blush that had risen up in her cheeks, and he realized that she was talking about something else.

Hal relaxed and smiled down at her.

“Hey,” he said and lifted her chin so that she was looking up at him. “Why don’t we forget about all this for a while, okay?”

“Okay.” Jesse nodded. Hal heard a deep rumble, and he saw Jesse blushed violently and press a hand to her stomach.

“Hungry?” he asked her, raising his brow and giving her a smirk.

“Yeah,” she admitted softly. “I haven’t eaten anything today; I was too nervous.”

Hal frowned at her admission.

“Well, we’ll just have to take care of that, then,” Hal said, moving to stand and offering her his hand to help her up. “Dinner’s on me.”

“Oh, you really shouldn’t.” Jesse shook her head as she allowed him to help her stand.

“Jess …” He looked down at her. “Let me buy you some food. I have more money than I will ever be able to spend on just myself.”

Jesse looked reluctant, but she finally nodded.

“Great.” Hal smiled down at her. “Brilliant. How does Chinese sound?”

“Amazing,” Jesse said, and Hal heard her stomach release another growl in agreement.

He couldn’t help laughing.