Page 19 of Ink & Ambition

Her comments shocks me a bit but I find myself nodding in agreement. “I’m happy to help. It sounds like a fun idea.” As we get to the building, I hold the door open for Sydney to pass though.

“You guys are gonna kill it,” Sydney says with a smile before walking over toward the treadmills. As I make my way toward the free weights, I think about what Sydney said.

I have to admire how headstrong Margot is. Clearly this internship means the world to her if she’s willing to basically do anything I ask her to do for this prank. I just have to make sure that I put my all into this contest for her and she’ll do the same for me. That shouldn’t be too difficult.

Chapter Ten

Margot

Thenewsroombuzzeswithkeyboard clanks and mouse clicks. Staplers and printers echo around the space and Jessy calls across the room for someone to bring her a coffee.Ah, home.

Before anyone needs to fuss, I hand Jessy the decaf black she’s asking for, the one Sydney and I picked up on the way over because we knew she’d be asking for it by this time. Jessy looks at us gratefully.

“Angels. Both of you,” she sighs, taking a sip of the hot beverage. Sydney walks over to her desk and drops behind the large desktop computer as I mosey my way over toward Nathan, trying to look as sheepish as possible.

“Hey, Nate,” I say, standing over his desk as he sits behind his computer.

Nathan looks up, pulling his large headphones off his head to rest around his neck and shoulders. “Margot, hi,” he says, with a smile. His teeth shine, and I don’t think I’ve ever noticed how straight they are.

“How was your summer?”

Nate grins wider. “Oh, same old, same old. Nothing crazy. What about you?” He asks, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, same here. Nothing special.”

Nathan nods for a second, looking at me like he’s done with the niceties and ready for me to leave so he can go back to his work. “Great,” he says, raising his eyebrows a bit. A clear dismissal if I’ve ever seen one. Time to go in for the kill.

“Hey, Nate?”

Nathan laughs, “Yes, Margot?”

“Do you think you can help me out with something?”

Nate straightens his chair so that all four legs are on the floor.

“Sure, what’s up?” He asks, but his attention is now split between me and whatever has just popped up on his computer screen.

I take a deep breath. Maybe it’s better he’s only half paying attention to me. Then maybe he’ll say yes without actually knowing what he’s signing up for. “I’m starting a podcast and I was hoping you’d help with the production of it all,” I say in a rush.

Nate glances in my direction briefly but puts his focus back on the screen, clicking away at whatever he’s working on. “A podcast? You’re going to host a podcast?” He asks and then starts typing. At this point, I’m almost positive he’s not paying attention to me. I could say anything and it would just breeze right by him.Might as well rip the band aid off then.

“Yes, I’m hosting the podcast. With Alex Prescott.”

Nathan’s fingers immediately stop their typing and his whole body freezes. I should’ve known that would be the thing that would get his attention, it seems to get every girl on campus’s attention, too. Nate hastily clicks out of whatever was on his screen and gives me his full focus again.

“You’re going to host a podcast with Alex Prescott?” He asks again with the addition this time. I nod briskly.

“Yep. And I need your help. Or at the very least, a crash course in podcast production.” Nathan laughs and it releases some of my stress.

“I’ll help you, Margot. It sounds, at the very least, like it’ll be some entertaining days in the studio.” I smile and nod again.

“Did you say Alex Prescott?” Jessy asks, stopping by Nathan’s desk.

I nod, not wanting to get into too much detail with her at the moment. I don’t want to get her hopes up until I know for sure that this is going to work out.

“I need a reporter to cover that Greek gala next Sunday, think you can score an invite from him? The Greek alumni are always so hush-hush about those events, it’s almost impossible to get a press pass through those doors.”

I thought for a moment. Lying to the Deltas about why I was in their house wasn’t sitting right with me, my journalistic integrity was being questioned and I didn’t like it. But if I actually was interviewing them for a real reason, I would feel much better about the whole thing.

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