1 Chapter 1: The Interview

No matter how hard she tried, Rory Jenkins was late to everything. She could set five alarms and the power would go off, order an Uber and she'd hit an accident--it didn't matter. It was the reason her editor had put her on probation. She met her deadlines but, she rarely, if ever, made an interview on time. Still, it had always worked out. Until the day she was late meeting Micah Kyle.

After the subway got delayed because of construction, she'd sprinted the last ten blocks to the historic building the New York developer Micah Kyle intended to tear down.

"You have to let me in," she insisted, staring past the burly bodyguard to the closed doors of the red brick three-story structure. Behind her, the Sunday traffic outside of Central Park had picked up, and with Summer in full swing, the park had never looked more appealing. It was emptier than usual, however, and she knew it had to do with the wolf that had escaped the Central Park Zoo and was suspected to be hiding out in Central Park.

The bodyguard glared at her. "Press got here an hour ago. You're late."

"I'm aware, but I'm here now," she said, thrusting her journalism badge in his face and adjusting her glasses. "That has to mean something. Rory Jenkins. My name's on the list. It was just added this morning. I have an interview with Mr. Kyle."

The bodyguard looked her up and down, and she saw the judgment etched in his face. In an attempt to appear professional, she was wearing her only pair of heels, but it didn’t help much. She still had last night's makeup on, and her black blouse was wrinkled and half tucked into a twenty dollar pair of Dillards slacks. Rory looked more like a 24-year-old partier than a journalist. She couldn't deny that karaoke had gotten a little out of hand the night before. The aroma of vodka was definitely seeping out of her pores.

"Mr. Kyle does not like people who are late. You're out of luck, kid."

She narrowed her green eyes at him, and brushed her reddish-brown waves out of her face. "Fine."

She stormed away from the entrance, and paused at the busy corner. Kid. What a joke. She might be young, but the bodyguard was underestimating how determined she was--especially when her job depended on it.

Her coworker and friend Jared had bailed on the story last minute after the date he'd brought to karaoke had invited him on a last minute trip upstate. He also knew Rory needed the story, and this was a big one.

Micah Kyle was not only the son of the NYC mayor, but had inherited his father's company and just been promoted to CEO. At 27, he was already a billionaire. Micah's decision to destroy the building–his first move as CEO–was very controversial.

Around the corner, a back door to the historic building opened, and a young girl carrying two coffees was ushered inside--and Rory started formulating a plan.

She grabbed three coffees from the shop across the street, and to her surprise, when she knocked on the back door of the historic building, it opened immediately. She quickly tucked her journalist badge in her shirt. The woman holding open the door was texting away on her phone.

"Hi--um--I'm the assistant to Mr. Kyle, I have his coffee," Rory lied.

The woman waved her in, barely glancing up from her phone. Riley was shocked at how easy it worked, but she quickly realized she hadn't thought about the next phase of her plan. The long hallway had a dozen doors and as the woman walked away, Rory called after her.

"Which room is his?"

"That one," the woman said, pointing behind her.

Rory spun around, having no idea which room the woman was talking about. It dawned on her that she had no idea what Micah Kyle even looked like. She always did research on her stories, but Jared had given her the story after four vodkas, and with no advanced notice she had no idea who she was supposed to be looking for.

She tossed the coffees in the trash and picked a random dressing room. The room had two couches, a vanity mirror, a closet of suits, and a door she presumed led to a bathroom. To her relief it was empty. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and just as she opened google to search Micah's name, her phone rang, and Jared's name popped up.

"Oh, Jared, thank God," Rory said.

"Rory!" Jared said. She could tell he was drunk by the slur in his voice.

"Sounds like you're having fun," she said. She could hear laughter in the background.

"Becca and I just got back from brunch. Third date and she already wants my kids."

"What else is new?"

"I can't help that I'm perfect. Has nothing to do with my good looks and money." Jared's dad worked in politics, enabling them to get the interview to begin with. "Hey, how'd the interview go?"

She collapsed on one of the couches."Well, speaking of a job that you don't need and I do...I messed up."

"No--don't tell me you missed it."

"Who does construction on the subway on a Sunday?"

"Rory."

"I know...but I also may have done something not super legal."

"Well, that's not the first time I've heard you say that," Jared said.

"Micah's speech was still going on when I got here, so I pretended to be his assistant and now I'm in some random dressing room hoping I can meet him after and get the interview."

"I give you points for creativity."

"Yeah, except I have no idea what he looks like," she said. "Or what I'm going to talk to him about. The guy sounds like an assh*le. And the mayor should be accused of nepotism. I mean, he promoted his son to CEO in an election year. And then gives him approval to demolish Park Place, one of the most historic buildings left in New York, just so he can replace it with an apartment building. As if we don't have enough of those in New York City. All because he wants to help his dad fulfill his campaign promise of expanding real estate for the one percent. It's bullsh*it."

Jared sighed. "You know, if I had remembered your feelings about this last night, I probably wouldn't have offered you this story."

"No--I need it, or Colton's going to fire me. All I've ever wanted was to be a journalist, to use my voice to change the world, and Colton is out to get me. This job is everything to me."

"Well, my dad told the mayor it was going to be a fluff piece,” Jared said. “But if you want to be a real reporter, Rory, f*ck that and f*ck Colton. Tell Micah what you just said. Write a piece so scathing you'll have job offers coming from every paper in the city."

“And what am I supposed to say?” Rory asked. “Nice to meet you, Micah Kyle. My name is Rory, I think you're a spoiled, rich brat who has never had to pay rent once in your life. You’ve probably never sang karaoke, or rode the subway, and you're kissing your dad's ass to demolish a building you know nothing about just so you can stay on Forbes list of hottest billionaire bachelors under 30."

"Exactly," Jared said. "You let me know how that goes."

She snorted. "Bye."

She hung up just as Jared texted her a photograph of Micah Kyle. He had a chiseled jaw, dark brown eyes, and perfectly tanned skin. She would have found him attractive if he had smiled, but she had a feeling men like Micah didn't know how to do that.

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened--except it wasn't a bathroom, but the entrance to a conference room. The man who emerged was taller than she expected from his photo, but just as cold. Micah Kyle narrowed his eyes at her, and Rory knew immediately that he had heard everything she had just said. He fixed his suit as a second man stepped out of the conference room. Rory's stomach dropped.

Her editor stared at her with nothing short of contempt, fuming.

Micah turned and shook her editor's hand. "It was nice speaking with you, Mr. Colton." As he walked past Rory, he paused. "Rory, was it?"

His gaze was like a laser, freezing her to the spot. She forced herself to nod.

"For the record," Micah said, “I enjoy karaoke." There was no warmth in his voice. He spun on his heel and left the dressing room.

"Mr. Colton," she started.

Her editor lifted a finger. "No, Rory. Go to the office and pack your things. You're fired."

Her editor left the room, the word ‘fired’ resounding in her brain on repeat.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was the same woman who'd let her in.

"Rory?"

"Huh?" Rory asked.

"Mr. Kyle asked me to give this to you."

She handed Rory a sheet of paper, and Rory quickly unfolded it.

Mill's Tavern, 8pm, SHARP. You can have your interview--M. Kyle