Chapter 14
Present Day
Gemma
When I was called in to see Mrs Banks a week before Cade's fight I had pretty much given up hope that I'd be able to give her what she wanted. I knew, then, that the promotion I had so longed for would now be nothing more than a pipe dream.
With a consoling word of 'good luck' from Annie I left my desk and approached her office, getting the nod from Brenda, her secretary, to go straight in.
I steeled my nerves as I turned the handle to the door and walked in, away from the chatter of the office behind me, and into the quiet of the lions den.
Mrs Banks sat, as always, behind her desk, her eyes refusing to meet me for a good few moments. She did that every single time she called me to her office, a clear show that her time was far more important than mine.
Eventually she pulled her head up from whatever she was doing on her computer and looked me dead in the eye, a sinister smile creeping across her face.
“Please do take a seat Gemma,” she said, nodding at the empty chair on the other side of her desk.
I sat and waited for the inevitable.
“So, how are you coming along with our story about young Mr Logan? Have you found the sort of thing I'm looking for?”
I was prepared for the worst now, so didn't waste time trying to sugar coat things.
“I'm afraid not. I've tried, Mrs Banks, I really have, but I can't find anything interesting about Cade that you'd want to print.”
Her face went from amenable to displeased in an instant, her facade dropping.
“Well that's a real shame Gemma, it really is. Tell me, what have you done to try to find your story?”
I hesitated before telling her. Frankly I was ashamed of what I'd done.
“I looked around his apartment when he wasn't there. There was nothing.”
“You looked around his apartment? Anything else?”
“Umm, well no. I mean, I don't know what else I can do to be honest.”
She sat back in her chair, a look of total dissatisfaction spreading across her face. “Well this is disappointing.” I could see her mind ticking over deviously.
“Well, I suppose if you've tried, you've tried. I honestly thought that Mr Logan would have a few secrets you might unveil for me. But, if he's clean, he's clean.” Her voice was turning lighter, more breezy.
“So I guess I won't get that promotion then,” I asked tentatively, already knowing what she'd say.
“Well I'm afraid that's unlikely Gemma. Tara has pitched me an excellent story that I think our readers will love. It's the sort of thing I was hoping you could deliver – scandal, drama, betrayal. If it works out the way she's hoping it will, I'm afraid the job will be hers.”
I nodded. “And my current job?” I said, still sheepish.
She went silent for a second and turned away from me, looking out of the window. I couldn't tell whether she was actually thinking about it or whether she was just dragging it out to be cruel. And I didn't really know why I cared so much.
Without that promotion I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be in the job anyway, it was boring the life out of me. And knowing Mrs Banks as I now did, knowing the sort of person she was, I wasn't sure my career would be best served by staying with Us and Them.
The thought gave me some confidence, took the pressure off her decision. Go ahead and fire me then, see if I care. I'll be just fine, I'll find a good job somewhere else. I graduated from a good college, I'm smart, I'm ambitious. Yeah, do your worst Banks, because I don't give a shit anymore.
She turned back to me and my expression had changed, hardened from the soft, needy look I must have walked into the room wearing.
“You are good at what you do Gemma,” she eventually conceded in a rare moment of praise, “so it would be a shame to lose you entirely. I really don't know if you have what it takes to go that extra mile, though, to really dig deep for that great story. I fear you'll always just be adding filler to magazines and papers unless you change your outlook on all of this.”
A part of me appreciated the criticism. After all, I wanted to know where my weaknesses lay so that I could work on them. Constructive criticism was always a positive thing when taken in the right light.
And yet another part of me wanted to slap the bitch right across the face. Yeah, I got that you had to be willing to dig for a story. Yeah, I understood that you needed to be ruthless sometimes in your hunt for the truth. But what the stupid f*cking cow didn't seem to acknowledge was the fact that this was my f*cking boyfriend, and that, yes, I had sneaked into his apartment without him knowing to try to do her bidding.
It was a mistake I'd never make again. There was a moral line that I wouldn't cross. She was making it seem as though every damn journalist in the world was a backstabbing, morally devoid cretin, willing to screw anyone over to get a good story and further their career. Just because she fit that profile didn't mean everyone else did.
I stared at her for a while before thanking her for the second chance and walking back to my desk. I was, obviously, sarcastic when I thanked her, just to make sure she knew how ungrateful I actually was.
I could feel my blood boiling at her insufferable arrogance as I sat back at my desk, the dripping rainforest screensaver on my computer doing nothing to settle me down.
“You just don't have what it takes,” I muttered under my breath. “What a bitch.”
I could be ruthless when I wanted to be. Hell, if some story came up about her I'd gladly tell it.
I bet she's got a million skeletons gathering dust in her closet. She was so adamant that Cade, and everyone for that matter, had secrets they wouldn't want people to know about. Anyone who thinks like that must surely have their own.
How I'd love to find some dirt on her and watch her squirm. I could use it as collateral to get me the job or maybe give it to another magazine so that they could print it about her. I could laugh as I watch her reputation fall into ruin and her career crumble around her.
I must have been smiling deviously, as Annie picked up on the look on my face straight away, appearing suddenly in front of me over the divider between our desks.
“Hey babe, how'd it go with Banks? And...why are you smiling like that?!”
I was broken out of my little daydream – one where I was laughing maniacally as I looked down on the front page news of Martha Banks being carted from the building in shame – by Annie's voice.
“Oh, nothing, just thinking about something.”
“What...?” she asked, her voice sceptical.
“Oh, just the idea of Banks' career burning to the ground.”
“Ah. So it went badly then?” She sounded disappointed, but not wholly surprised. “It's OK, we'll find you a new job.”
“No, she said I could keep the job.”
“What! Well that's great news isn't it?” she exclaimed.
I wasn't so convinced. I was only sticking around to see if I could get promoted. No chance of that now.
“Not really. She's gonna give the promotion to that snake Tara Bradley. I mean, at least if it was someone I liked I could be OK with it, but her! It just stinks. I think I'm going to quit anyway. I can't work with Banks anymore, not now that I know what sort of person she is.”
Annie was nodding quietly, letting me vent.
“She's got it coming to her, you know. Someone's gonna play her at her own game one day, print some scandal about her instead of the other way around. Now that's a job I'd go after with relish!”
“Yeah, well I'd put that out of your mind if I were you Gem. It's a waste of time thinking like that.”
I nodded grumpily. “You're probably right. Always the voice of reason.”
“Look, you're so early in your career. It'll happen for you, if not here, then somewhere else. I mean, come on babe, you haven't been here long. Just keep working and things will happen naturally. Don't push it, OK?”
I nodded my agreement.
“You promise you'll drop it?”
“Sure,” I lied, “I promise.”