Normally, Aria and I would have driven to The Sentinel together, but she’s still upset with me. I can tell. She avoided me at the party on Friday night after our talk by the bathrooms. I know she’s bent out of shape over the interviews. I hope Mr. Monohan is right and this interview impresses Paul Weston enough that he keeps Aria in mind when he has another editorial position open up. If she moved here too, things could be...

Aria comes walking out of Mr. Weston’s office with a smile on her face. “It was great to meet you, and thank you again for the opportunity.”

“The pleasure was all mine, Ms. Carmichael. Someone will be in touch soon.” Even though his words are generic, I can see the glimmer in his eyes. Aria blew him away. I smile, hoping Weston will be inclined to change his mind about hiring me.

Aria stops when she sees me. “Nate. Hi.”

I stand up and whisper, “Looks like you wowed him.”

She turns around to face Weston, who is still smiling at her. She gives a small wave before turning back to me. “If this wasn’t fixed, I’d be feeling really good about that interview.”

I reach for her elbow. “He could change his mind. He’d be stupid not to.”

Her eyes lock on mine, and I think she might cave. She might drop this wall she’s constructed between us. “Good luck, not that you need it.”

“Did you open my gift?” I ask as she starts walking away.

She shakes her head. “I haven’t opened any yet. I spent the weekend visiting my parents.”

She went to Delaware? “Oh. How are they?”

“Fine.” She motions over my shoulder. “I think Mr. Weston is waiting for you.”

“Aria.” I step toward her. “Open the gift.”

She nods and leaves the office.

I turn around and walk over to Mr. Weston. “I’m Nate Dixon.”

“Mr. Dixon, pleasure to meet you. I’m Paul Weston. Please”—he motions for me to enter his office—“come inside.”

I look back over my shoulder quickly, but Aria’s already gone. Then I step into the office. Everything about The Sentinel is bigger than Priority News. Not that I wasn’t anticipating that, but it’s a little overwhelming. Awards hang on the wall behind Mr. Weston’s desk. The paper does well; that’s for sure.

“So, Mr. Dixon—”

“Please, call me Nate,” I say, sitting down in the dark brown leather chair opposite Weston’s desk.

“Nate, I’ve heard many great things about you.” He picks up my resume, which I faxed over on Friday. “Team player, hard worker, graduated with honors, four years experience—most of which is editorial. Tell me, how did you move up the ranks so quickly?”

“I have to thank Mr. Monohan for that. He knew my aspirations, and thankfully he was nice enough to help me achieve them.”

Weston laughs. “You’re being modest, Nate. Terry told me how you’re always logging extra hours and helping people outside of your department.”

I fold my hands in my lap. “I don’t have to tell you newspapers are about teamwork.”

“No, you don’t. But it’s more than that. One of your colleagues spoke very highly of you this morning.”

I know it wasn’t Oliver, but what would possess Aria to do that when she knows this is all a formality and I already have the job? “I work with great people. Aria, for example.”

“I have to admit I was impressed with her. If she had more editorial experience, I might have a difficult decision to make.”

“Did you know the other staff writers were sending their pieces to Aria before forwarding them to their editor?”

He cocks his head. “Why?”

“Because she’s an amazing editor, and everyone saw the potential she had. She’s a natural leader. When problems arise, Aria always has a solution. It never mattered that it wasn’t her job to find one. She did it because she loves that paper and the people she works with.”

Weston leans forward, resting his arms on the desk between us. “Nate, I have to say this was a very interesting interview process for me today. Only one interviewee actually lobbied for himself. The other two spent their time arguing for each other to get the position. Why is that?”

I straighten in my seat and meet his gaze. “Mr. Weston, let me be clear that I’d love to work for you. Your reputation and the reputation of the paper are phenomenal, and I’d be lucky to be a small part of it. But I don’t want this job without earning it.”

“What makes you think you haven’t?” He laces his fingers in front of his face, his elbows resting on the desk. “I’ve read your former work when you were a staff writer. I’ve seen the ads you’ve designed. You can do it all: layout, design, write, and edit. And you come highly recommended by Terry. Why wouldn’t I hire you over a less experienced but quality writer and editor like Ms. Carmichael or a pompous ass despite his writing talent like Strauss?”

I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off.

“The reason this paper is so successful is because I hire the best. Do you really believe Ms. Carmichael would do a better job as my managing editor than you?”

“She’d do just as good a job as I could.”

“Really?” He leans back in his chair. “Let me throw out a hypothetical situation. The paper is ready to go to print, but one of the ads isn’t positioned correctly. We’re on deadline to send the issue to the printer and need an immediate fix. Would Ms. Carmichael know how to fix it herself?”

“That’s not fair. She’s never worked with ads before.”

He holds both palms face up. “Therein lies my point. You’ve done it all.”

“But she could learn.”

“In the mere minutes she has to correct the issue before it needs to be emailed to the printer?”

I don’t feel the need to answer, but he dips his head in my direction, clearly wanting me to say it aloud. “No.”

“I like that you’re willing to go to bat for your coworkers. The staff here will definitely appreciate that. I can tell you they aren’t happy that I’m bringing in an outsider instead of promoting from within.”

I didn’t think about the trouble that could cause. I’ll be walking in here as a hated man.

“I have no doubt you’ll show them why I hired you, though.” He studies my face. “That is, if we’re in agreement.”

He’s offering me the job right on the spot. God, what if Aria stuck around and is in the parking lot? I’ll have to tell her she drove out here for nothing. At least if he gives it a day to mull over, she might believe she made the decision difficult for him.

“Nate?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Great.” He stands up and extends a hand to me, thinking I’m agreeing.

My mind whirls. Do I tell him I was only letting him know I was listening? I take his hand and shake it.

“Let’s sign some paperwork, and then I’ll introduce you to your coworkers.” He’s all smiles as he calls his secretary and has her bring in the paperwork. Monohan doesn’t even have a secretary, which shows how much smaller Priority News is. I’m in a daze as the business manager, a short man with glasses named Liam Marks, goes over everything with me. I only break out of my haze when Liam mentions my salary, which is double what I’m currently making.

“If everything I’ve explained makes sense to you, you can go ahead and sign where the Post-it flags are.” He motions to the bright yellow Post-it arrows indicating where my signature is needed.

“When would I be starting?” I ask, trying to still the pen in my shaking hand.

“Monday. That will give you one week to get packed up and find an apartment here,” Weston says. “Will that suffice?”

One week. How do I pack up my entire life in one week? He could give me a year and I still wouldn’t have the first clue how to say good-bye to Aria.