open in her lap, she barely glanced at it, her mind wandering as she regarded the passing landscape. The ride along the Hudson River was always scenic, but never more so than at this time of year, when the leaves were changing colors in preparation for their winter shedding. The riots of red, orange, yellow, and green were a sight to behold.
She sighed. Despite the beauty of her surroundings, she was troubled.
It was hard to remember the last time Kate had gotten a full night’s sleep.
Ruefully, Jay thought, It was probably just before she took this job, which is to say, way too long ago. The hours alone were clearly taking a toll on her partner, but even more disconcerting was the suspicious circumstances and innuendo swirling just beneath the surface at DOCS.
Had it been her integrity or credibility being called into question, Jay would have been far less concerned. But to have the media, and by extension, the general public attack Kate made Jay’s blood boil. It was all so absurdly ridiculous. Anyone who knew Kate knew she was the most upright, fair, scrupulously honest person on the planet, didn’t they? The hardest part, though, was that there wasn’t a thing Jay could do to help except to be supportive, offer an ear and a different perspective, and express her outrage at the situation.
As for her own job, perhaps Kate was right; maybe what Jay needed to do was to try pitching her editor a story of her own. Heaven knew the ones she’d been covering lately had been less than groundbreaking.
By the time the train had pulled into the station, she had made up her mind: she would talk to Trish first thing.
Lynn Ames
Jay found the editor sitting in her office with the phone to one ear, an assistant talking in the other, papers strewn across the surface of her sizable, modern workspace, and her head resting in the palm of one hand, fingers splayed through already disheveled light brown hair. Trish rolled her eyes and mimed to her ace reporter to sit in one of the visitors’ chairs in front of the desk.
“No, Chad, I don’t care if he has to crawl in here, I’m not gonna accept another lame excuse. I want that story on my desk by noon today, got it? Good.” She slammed the receiver down without waiting for a response.
“Have you ever noticed, Trish, that your New York accent gets more pronounced the louder you yell?”
“Can’t say as I’ve paid that little tidbit any mind, Jamison. But now that you mention it, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on the situation.” Sharing the usual banter with her favorite writer always managed to calm her considerable temper. Jay had that effect on everyone, Trish suspected.
“What can I do for you, other than provide your amusement for the day?”
Jay shifted in her chair, suddenly feeling slightly foolish about her desire to ask for better assignments. “Um, you know I’m grateful for the way you’ve supported me these past few months, right?” When Jay had, of her own accord, revealed to Trish that she was the other woman in the National Enquirer picture, the editor had stood by her without hesitation.
“Yeah.” The editor drew the word out. She couldn’t remember ever seeing Jay this uncomfortable, not even when she had outed herself earlier in the year. “It sure sounds like there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”
“It does?”
“Mm-hmm. Out with it, Parker. You can’t even look me in the eye.”
Jay peeked up from where she had been staring at the hands in her lap.
“Ohmigod.” Trish knew a moment of sudden panic. “Please don’t tell me you’re leaving.”
“What? No, of course not. Why on earth would you think that?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that I’ve only ever seen you look this uncomfortable once before, and I can’t imagine what could be bigger than that, except maybe a new job. So please, tell me whatever it is already before I have a heart attack.”
“It’s nothing like that, Trish. It’s just...” Jay paused
She sighed. Despite the beauty of her surroundings, she was troubled.
It was hard to remember the last time Kate had gotten a full night’s sleep.
Ruefully, Jay thought, It was probably just before she took this job, which is to say, way too long ago. The hours alone were clearly taking a toll on her partner, but even more disconcerting was the suspicious circumstances and innuendo swirling just beneath the surface at DOCS.
Had it been her integrity or credibility being called into question, Jay would have been far less concerned. But to have the media, and by extension, the general public attack Kate made Jay’s blood boil. It was all so absurdly ridiculous. Anyone who knew Kate knew she was the most upright, fair, scrupulously honest person on the planet, didn’t they? The hardest part, though, was that there wasn’t a thing Jay could do to help except to be supportive, offer an ear and a different perspective, and express her outrage at the situation.
As for her own job, perhaps Kate was right; maybe what Jay needed to do was to try pitching her editor a story of her own. Heaven knew the ones she’d been covering lately had been less than groundbreaking.
By the time the train had pulled into the station, she had made up her mind: she would talk to Trish first thing.
Lynn Ames
Jay found the editor sitting in her office with the phone to one ear, an assistant talking in the other, papers strewn across the surface of her sizable, modern workspace, and her head resting in the palm of one hand, fingers splayed through already disheveled light brown hair. Trish rolled her eyes and mimed to her ace reporter to sit in one of the visitors’ chairs in front of the desk.
“No, Chad, I don’t care if he has to crawl in here, I’m not gonna accept another lame excuse. I want that story on my desk by noon today, got it? Good.” She slammed the receiver down without waiting for a response.
“Have you ever noticed, Trish, that your New York accent gets more pronounced the louder you yell?”
“Can’t say as I’ve paid that little tidbit any mind, Jamison. But now that you mention it, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on the situation.” Sharing the usual banter with her favorite writer always managed to calm her considerable temper. Jay had that effect on everyone, Trish suspected.
“What can I do for you, other than provide your amusement for the day?”
Jay shifted in her chair, suddenly feeling slightly foolish about her desire to ask for better assignments. “Um, you know I’m grateful for the way you’ve supported me these past few months, right?” When Jay had, of her own accord, revealed to Trish that she was the other woman in the National Enquirer picture, the editor had stood by her without hesitation.
“Yeah.” The editor drew the word out. She couldn’t remember ever seeing Jay this uncomfortable, not even when she had outed herself earlier in the year. “It sure sounds like there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”
“It does?”
“Mm-hmm. Out with it, Parker. You can’t even look me in the eye.”
Jay peeked up from where she had been staring at the hands in her lap.
“Ohmigod.” Trish knew a moment of sudden panic. “Please don’t tell me you’re leaving.”
“What? No, of course not. Why on earth would you think that?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that I’ve only ever seen you look this uncomfortable once before, and I can’t imagine what could be bigger than that, except maybe a new job. So please, tell me whatever it is already before I have a heart attack.”
“It’s nothing like that, Trish. It’s just...” Jay paused
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