“Alright, so we’re running with that as our top story tomorrow?” Edgar asked, earning nods from all around the room.

Kayla was tucked away into a corner, watching her boss speak. He was a short, but straight-backed man, with a round, soft stomach and full cheeks. But his eyes were sharp, and so were his words.

Everyone was gathered around a long desk on one end of the conference room, as the last meeting of the day was coming to a close. WBTV, Cleveland’s local news station, had been a second home for Kayla for two years now, as she struggled to go from production assistant to journalist.

She knew if given a chance, she could really be great at it. There had always been a passion in her to tell people’s stories and to get to the truth, but as of now, she lacked the opportunity to prove herself.

Edgar definitely wasn’t bending over backwards to give her a shot. But after everything that had happened with Seth, Kayla was more determined than ever to make her dreams come true.

So when the meeting came to a close and people started filing out, she hung back, waiting for an opportunity to speak with her boss. Standing by the door, she started speaking as soon as Edgar was in earshot, knowing from experience how the man liked to pretend not to notice her.

“Ed, hey, there’s something I want to talk to you about,” she called out, as he brushed past her.

He grunted something in response, and Kayla hurried to keep up with him.

“It’s about my work… When I started here, you said…”

“Taylor, right?” Edgar asked, sparing a glance at her.

“Kayla,” she quickly corrected him.

“Right. You’re the one who got my coffee order wrong last time,” he replied.

Oh, so that he remembers.

“Very sorry, but you did ask for your regular and I hadn’t realized your regular had changed,” Kayla explained, while Edgar looked markedly disinterested. “Anyway, what I wanted to talk about was me getting a chance to work on a story. When I started here, you said that if I prove myself as a production assistant…” she said, before she was cut off.

“And you think you’ve done that?” Edgar asked, coming to a stop in front of his office door.

“I’ve been here for two years and besides your coffee order, my work has been beyond reproach,” Kayla replied, squaring her shoulders as she looked at him.

“I’ll give it some thought,” Edgar said, as his phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out, thumbing across the screen.

“That’s what you said last time, and…” Kayla tried to argue, but it was clear Edgar was more interested in his phone than her.

“Listen, Taylor, I’m busy right now. If I said I’ll give it some thought, I’ll give it some thought, okay?” he stated, not even looking at her, before disappearing into his office.

Kayla let out a frustrated sigh as the door was slammed in her face. She was so sick and tired of being invisible, but she didn’t know how to change that. From early on, since she was just a small child, her mom had instilled in her a sense of humbleness and always putting other people first. God forbid she ever inconvenienced anyone in any way.

It was turning out to be a real hard habit to shake.

So she retreated to her desk, or more precisely, the rickety chair and piece of plywood that claimed to be her desk. The old, blue office chair squeaked as she sunk into it and opened up her laptop.

Kayla had spent most of the day after Seth left crying, obsessively cleaning the kitchen, and trying to find a goddamn roommate. None of her friends needed a place to say, so she had to resort to different internet message boards. Living with a stranger wasn’t something she thought she would be doing at this point in her life, but then again, her expectations were sinking lower by the minute.

She had just packed up her things when her phone dinged with a new message. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she fished her phone out of her pocket, tapping against the screen to get to her inbox.

The perfect roommate, the title line read, making her chuckle.

Whoever it is, at least they’re confident.Quickly typing back a response as she headed for the elevator, Kayla’s spirits were lifting already.

Maybe I’ll get out of this mess, yet.

* * *

Sitting behind a small table in her local coffee shop, Kayla was sipping a latte and trying not to feel sorry for herself as she waited for her potential roommate to arrive.

It was getting late, and she was tired, but Ezra had insisted they meet as soon as possible.

Maybe she’s in a similar bind, Kayla mused, looking down at her phone. She should be here by now…

In her distracted state, she didn’t even notice an older man trying to edge past her, resulting in him knocking her mug over with his elbow, walking along as if nothing had happened.

“Shit,” Kayla muttered, grabbing the cup and patting at the droplets of coffee with a napkin.

“Hello,” a male voice suddenly said, almost making her drop the mug in her hand. “Need a hand?”

Eyes snapping up, Kayla was ready with a polite ‘no, thank you’, but ended up gaping at the stranger, instead. Dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans, he was standing on the other side of the table, tall and built and looking like he just stepped out of every woman’s fantasy.

“I have plenty of hands,” she blurted out. “And I’m waiting for someone.”

“Maybe that someone is me?” he grinned at her, gray eyes giving her a slow-once over.

Kayla could feel her cheeks grow red as she struggled to find a reply. With his high cheekbones, square, stubbled jaw and brilliant smile, he didn’t look quite real.

Normal people don’t look that god without Photoshop, do they?

“Not unless your name is Ezra,” Kayla said, throwing him a nervous smile.

“Well, then, you’re in luck,” he replied, reaching out a hand. “Kayla, I presume?”

Hesitating for a second, Kayla slid her hand in his and gave it a quick squeeze. His skin was cool and smooth against hers, and the way he was still looking at her, completely focused, with that grin on his face, made the contact feel a lot more intimate than it was.

“You’re a man,” she mumbled, feeling a bit dazed.

Goddamn it, why did I just assume Ezra had to be a woman? I can’t just shack up with some dude I don’t even know.

“I’d like to think so,” he laughed, grabbing some napkins to wipe up the table. “Is that a problem?”

It might be, Kayla gulped, unable to take her eyes off him.