Page 69 of Bargains with Benefits
“Do you have the letter?” she tried again.
“I don’t have it here with me, but I can get it today if required.” I used my unshakeable fae confidence voice. I had lost track of the documents when we left Pierce House, but I was pretty sure Luna had them. I’d had other things on my mind when we returned to Luna’s cottage, but to clear Darius’s name, I’d brave returning to Pierce House if we’d left them there. I held Patricia’s stare. She was acting incredibly suspicious about this.
She waved her hand at my comment. “Don’t bother. We’re printing the tip anyway. Have it written up today.”
I shook my head slowly, wondering if I’d misheard. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” She glared at a document on her desk like it did her personal harm. “We’re printing the tip. Write it up. You wanted a feature piece.”
“Not one I know to be untrue.”
“Someone is paying to hold off the school development,” she said.
Darius had said as much as well. “Even if someone is, naming the wrong person will be incredibly detrimental.”
Her lips pressed into a thin line. “He’s Norden, what do you care?”
“Because I did what you asked, I looked into him, and I know what you’re saying to be untrue. Why would we still publish it?”
“Do you have another name?” she asked.
“No, but?—”
“Then we print Darius Pierce.”
“That will ruin his reputation with the new Norden Point.”
She glanced up and met my gaze. Hers was hard.
“You already know that.” I swallowed. “It’s your goal? Why?”
“That’s above your pay grade. All I need is for you to write the feature.”
“I won’t,” I replied. “Not when I know it to be a lie.”
“You’ll write it, or you’ll find other employment.” She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest.
“Patricia.” I leaned forward. She may not have always given me what I wanted, but she’d always been reasonable. This seemed entirely out of character. “What is going on?”
She ignored me and continued. “If you can’t write this, don’t bother submitting your next recommendation piece, either.”
I stood, not believing what I was hearing. “‘Benefits of Magic’ is a staple. You can’t go without it.”
Her smile didn’t meet her eyes as she replied. “It is, but I don’t need you to write it.”
I clenched my teeth. “Alright, then.” My wind rustled inside me. It wanted to burst free and wreak havoc with the papers on this desk. At least this kind of reaction was one I could still control.
I wouldn’t show Patricia my emotions. It was clear that wouldn’t make a difference. I wouldn’t tell her that this job was the one thing that kept me from my parents’ leash. Writing “Benefits of Magic” funded my apartment and granted me distance from my parents’ destructive opinions.
None of that would matter to Patricia. Something was forcing her hand.
I shook my head in frustration. Writing a piece about anyone—especially Luna’s father—that I knew to be false was unacceptable, as was returning to Andiveron House. I’d figure something out.
“This is simply the way of things,” she said, dismissing me.The hair on the back of my neck prickled at the familiarity of the phrase. “Both drafts on my desk by the end of the day.” She didn’t glance up at me as she waved me away. Her focus returned to the notes before her.
I grabbed my things and left the office. Unfortunately, I knew what I had to do next.
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