Page 81 of Bargains with Benefits
I was trying to sneak out early to help her, and I was about ready to make my escape.
“Vincent, a word.” Patricia stood leaning against the door frame of her office, arms folded over her chest.
“That doesn’t look good,” Daisy said quietly.
I swallowed, tending to agree with her, but reached for a little of Luna’s eternal optimism instead. “We’ll see.” I stood and walked to Patricia’s office.
“Take a seat.” She gestured to the chair before her desk.
I did, but the whole thing felt too familiar. Wasn’t this how the investigation into Darius had begun?
“You did well with the story I gave you.”
I tended to disagree. I’d fulfilled the task, but I hadn’t pressed forward once we found out it wasn’t Darius. Clearing his name had been such a relief, I’d forgotten to ask the biggerquestion: if not Darius, who was bribing the governor? While I’d gotten there eventually, it had been a close call.
“You may not have had the answer when it would have been more convenient, but under normal circumstances, putting in the work and chasing down the lead, even to determine it was false, would have been enough. It wasn’t your fault that powers beyond your control were working against you.”
Powers beyond my control…I didn’t care for her phrasing, especially when she was the one who had made the call, but this was a job for her as much as it was for me. I had no idea what kind of leverage my parents had had on her and how they had applied it. They were resourceful when they wanted to be. Too bad it was in the service of terrible initiatives.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m glad we found a solution that worked for everyone.” I was not new to the world of power. I’d been raised to respect it and to wield it. It was disappointing to know that the paper wasn’t beyond the influence of power in the city. The paper was supposed to be a tool that kept power in check. It was supposed to report truths, even when they weren’t flattering. Though everything had worked out in the end, the paper had disappointed me regarding our position on the feature story. Only the outpouring of support for the change in “Benefits of Magic” kept me satisfied with my employment.
“I know you were interested in doing more here,” she started. “To write feature stories, to have more of a platform to influence change in the city.” She gave me a knowing look. “Is that still your goal?”
I folded my hands in my lap before responding. To have a platform to influence change in the city was still a desire I held close. Yet, now that I’d realized the ability to build community through “The Benefits of Magic,” I wasn’t sure things needed to change so drastically for me to do it. I hadn’t responded when Patricia kept speaking.
“I didn’t think it would be a quick response. So, while you’repondering, let me run an idea by you. You showed adeptness in accounting when you brought the data to clear Darius’s name and the evidence to condemn your parents. I knew you were from an old fae family; I didn’t realize that meant you were trained to run an estate.” She tapped her finger on her chin as if she didn’t quite comprehend this detail. “I understand you plan to stay on. You don’t intend to run your family home in their absence.”
“That’s correct.”
“Interesting.” She didn’t actually sound that interested. “As it happens, the new governor was…not pleased with your parents’ ability to influence the paper on top of everything else.”
That had been another quick change. My evidence had made it clear that Marion had accepted bribes from both sides of the school issue. She hadn’t decided what to do with them, but the citizens weren’t happy she’d accepted them. An emergency election had been held, and she’d been replaced.
“So, the new governor put a vote before the city council that provides funding for the paper from the people, since she believes it’s them we should truly be working for. The vote passed, and now she needs someone to manage the reports between our office and the city council meetings. She asked if you would be interested.”
My mouth hung open in a way my parents would have hated. The thought made me happy, so I let it hang open for a few moments longer than necessary. “The people are going to fund the paper?” I asked, not sure I’d heard her correctly.
She nodded. “No more private donors. It leaves too much room for…undue influence.” She tapped her nails on the desk. “We’re supposed to be the voice for the people, the ones investigating the Compass Points and the city leaders. We’re supposed to keep power in check with the truth.”
“And do you agree with this appointment?” I asked. Icouldn’t quite tell where Patricia fell on this. Was this her once again caving to someone in power?
“I suggested your name to the new governor,” she said matter-of-factly. “As long as you can keep writing ‘The Benefits of Magic.’ We’ve received excellent feedback on the new direction of the column.”
I finally let a full smile break across my once-stoic face. “This sounds great. When do I start?”
“You’ll have your first meeting with the governor after Long Night. You’ll agree on format and reporting frequency, and we’ll take it from there.”
I stood, reaching to shake Patricia’s outstretched hand. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, Vincent. The article about Darius was not going to be my finest moment.” She pursed her lips. “I didn’t know what to do, but you didn’t stop fighting. You gave me the solution I didn’t know I needed, and I can’t thank you enough for that.” She coughed as if she’d said too much. Clearing her throat, she added, “Now, I think you must be going, right? I hear you have a Long Night celebration on the cliff to prepare for.”
I dipped my chin and headed for the door.
38
Luna
Vincent kissed my neck as he zipped the back of my dress. After slipping my feet into shoes that I’d take off as soon as we got to the beach, we walked hand in hand to the inn. It was finally Long Night. There was one room vacant, but looking at the warm glow emanating from the inn’s windows, I could happily say I was alright with that. We’d filled almost ten rooms in as many days. I couldn’t be prouder. Plus, tonight, we were hostingthecelebration to be at to make a solstice wish.
