Page 36 of All Superheroes Need PR
“He skated with them for almost an hour. Looks like he just left. And you weren’t there?” Margerie says, making me jolt when I realize she’s still on the line.
“He didn’t tell me he was going.”
“Funny, because when I saw him in the office this morning, he said it was your idea, you planned the whole thing, and the only reason you weren’t going was because of your foot.”
I gape down at the phone. “That’s entrapment.”
She laughs. My doorbell rings, and I hobble over to it. I have a vague suspicion of who it might be, but that doesn’t at all soothe the pattering of my heart as I wonder if it might be him ... No. Memorial Park isn’t that close. He couldn’t have gotten here yet. Why would he even want to come here after what I said to him? I don’t even want to see him after what he said to me. But ...
I pull the door open to see Margerie standing there holding a tray of four coffees and an enormous handled paper bag. “You two need to get your story straight.”
I feel a blush on my cheeks. “What are you ...”
“Why are you standing up? Your boyfriend warned me you’d be trying to move around on that ankle. It’s the size of a bowling ball, Vanessa. Go sit down. I’ll bring you all the cinnamon rolls your heart desires, just sit. Shoo!” She shoves me into the house and back onto the living room couch, where I have essentially been living for the past twenty-four hours.
“I should probably shower,” I say on a yawn. “Also, he’s my fake boyfriend.”
“That’s what he said you’d say. Trouble in paradise?”
“You could say that.”
She gives me a once-over. I’m pretty sure that’s a Chanel logo on her tweed suit jacket. She’s paired it with jeans and literally looks like a runway model. Her sunglasses are pushed up onto her head, and she gives a big sniff in my direction. “You smell fine. Besides, we have work to do. Did you see the email from Mr. Singkham?”
“Yeah.” The COE is planning to send the Wyvern on his first mission. In two weeks, the forest rangers are planning to do controlled burns over twenty-one acres in Vermont. The US Forest Service has asked the COE for the Wyvern’s help. They think he can help spread the fire, but his powers are also in controlling flame. He can put them out after and ensure they don’t spread beyond the designated boundaries. It’s a great idea.
“I should be healed enough by then to be able to be on-site with him,” I say, just as my front door opens and Garrison and Vanya come in carrying what looks like an entire office’s worth of supplies. Garrison trips over a loose cable, and Vanya tries to catch his arm, but the box of pens she’d been carrying goes flying, and pens go shooting out like throwing stars.
“Oh my gosh, are y’all okay?”
Garrison and Vanya are laughing, so I take that as a good sign. Margerie starts off toward them, and together they get things upright. “Are you sure you want to go?” Margerie says as she and the marketing team completely take over my dining room table. It’s an open-plan space, more or less, and I can see through the wide archway from my living room to the dining room easily. Past that is the kitchen.
“I’m not the best photographer, but as the, um ... Lois Lane, it would be good to show support.”
“We’ll have an on-site photographer with you,” Margerie says. “No worries.”
“You found one?”
“We poached Monika,” Vanya squeals from the dining table.
“You did not!” I gasp, doing my best to sound incensed, though inside I’m elated. “What did you have to pay her for her to leave Vayne?” Vayne is an online journal that we’ve had run-ins with in the past. Its CEO is a sexist pig, but unfortunately it’s one of the largest online news outlets and the most consumed e-journal by Gen Z and millennials.
“Ask Jeremy,” Margerie says. “But she’s coming on next week.”
“We’re never going to get placement with Vayne again. You know that, right?” I’m still grinning. My team is amazing. Monika is one of the best reporters in our industry.
With a background in war journalism, she’s deeply underutilized at Vayne. Working with our team, tagging along on the Wyvern’s missions, she’ll get the best of both worlds. It’s a good move for her too.
“Luckily for us, we work with the COE now. Vayne has a contract with them for a minimum number of placements a month,” Garrison adds, opening up his laptop.
I kick my feet, giddy. “Yeee!”
The other two laugh, but Margerie comes over and slaps me with my own ice pack. “This isn’t even cold anymore,” she huffs. “We’ll book your flights with Monika and the Wyvern then, if you’re planning on going to Vermont.”
“Does he want me to go?” I say, feeling strangely exposed as Margerie returns from the kitchen with an ice pack that’s as chilly as her expression.
“What? You two have a fight or something?” Her voice is casual. Too casual.
I shrug, wincing when she drops the ice onto my leg. “I’m not a good Lois.”
