Page 69 of Always a Chance
He was right. It wasn’t like her at all. I’d been in love with the same girl for more than ten years. Whatever I’d said to her, I did know her. I knew her heart. There was no way.
“She didn’t write this.” I knew it without a doubt.
“It has her name on it.”
I shook my head. I’d never been more sure of anything. “I don’t know what happened, but Talia wouldn’t do this. Come on, Aidan, think of the girl we knew, who never had a bad word to say about anyone. The one who brought your sisters cookies every time they had their hearts broken. Is she capable of this?”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because I love her.”
A smile spread across Aidan’s face. “About time, dude. The article can be fixed. Your reputation doesn’t really matter if it’s not who you are. I have watched you love Talia Hillson since we were teenagers. Are you going to wait another decade to be happy?”
As sure as I was that she didn’t do this, I also knew I’d messed everything up. “I said some really awful things to her. How am I supposed to forgive myself for telling her to leave?”
He sighed. “You two and your forgiveness. Let me ask you this… if she did write this article, these words about you, would you love her any less?”
I thought about that for a moment, thought of a hurt Talia penning a hit piece that would damage my career. But all I saw was the girl I’d always loved finding a way through the pain. “No. I’m sure it wasn’t her, but if it was, I’d still want her, need her. I can’t believe I let her go again.”
“Ten years ago, you tried to forget and move on.”
“I was a kid.”
“You’re not anymore,” he said. “What are you going to do this time?”
I stood, needing to move. “This time, I’m going to tell her to choose me.”
33
TALIA
My foot tapped anxiously against the floor. Mr. Irons refused to meet with me yesterday when the article posted, but today he wouldn’t get out of it.
I waited for his door to open, for him to acknowledge I was here, that I’d been here for over an hour. Finally, he yanked it open and stood in the doorway. “Talia.” He sighed. “It wasn’t my decision. The board decided to side with the publisher.”
“By making Johnny out to be the bad guy?” I stood, pushing past him into the office. “They forced him into it. He was just a kid, and they promised to make his dreams come true as long as he wrote under a woman’s pen name.”
“I don’t see what’s so wrong with pen names. Most readers won’t.”
“There is nothing wrong with them. Unless you pretend to be a woman, going so far as to hire a stand-in, while your readers email you questions about romance.”
He pressed his lips together. “Well, legal seems to agree with your indignation. Mr. Kelly is threatening to sue for defamation, so we will post a retraction today. It should be going live in,” he checked his watch, “about five minutes.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, oh. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?”
I’d thought about this a lot since the feature went live. “Yes, I’m sorry, but I cannot accept a role on the digital team. If being digital means writing sensationalist articles for clicks, then it’s not for me.” I’d always hated clickbait. Many online publications managed to balance that with real news, but I couldn’t have any part.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sorry I have to say it.”
I was already dialing Barrett’s number when I stepped out onto the street.
“Hey, love. How’d the meeting go?”
“I quit my job.”
