My meeting with Jay Barkley was scheduled for the next afternoon and I could not feel more nauseous about the entire situation. It was obviously about the article being written about his father because that was the only thing that made sense, but I had no idea that he even knew about the article. He wouldn't have made the meeting so last minute if it wasn't important.
I knew that Eleanor talked to her half-brother sometimes, but I trusted that she wouldn't tell him about this. He was very close to his father and would absolutely tip him off about such an article being written about him.
I arrived at the building half an hour early so that I could calm down in the bathroom beforehand. I needed to look tough, like I couldn't be intimidated by him or his slimy father. I was wearing a very clean blouse and sharp black pants. I looked very professional, very much like I would not take any shit.
After some breathing exercises in the mirror, I finally departed for Jay's office. We met very briefly at Eleanor's wedding, but I hardly remembered anything about the guy other than he was slightly handsome and walked around with a lot of confidence in his square shoulders.
His secretary welcomed me into the lobby and then led me through a door into Jay's office. My heart was in my stomach as he stood from his desk and greeted me with a charismatic smile. "Josie, it is so good to see you. Please, have a seat." To his secretary, he said, "Thank you James, I'll take it from here."
He shut the door to the office and I took one of the two cushioned seats across from his desk. "You're looking well. I was surprised to get summoned, and especially on such late notice."
"I appreciate you squeezing me in," he said as he took his seat. He had the same brown eyes as Eleanor, the same wide smile and dark hair. But he was a bit older with some frown lines and wrinkles under his eyes starting to form. "I'm sure you know what this is about."
"I'm not sure I do," I responded evenly.
"I've heard that you've been asking around about my father," he informed me. "Does Eleanor know you're looking into him?"
"Who did you hear that from?" I asked him with raised eyebrows.
"You're a journalist, Josie. You know I can't give away my source," Jay reminded me in a tone of voice that made it sound like he was talking to an old friend, rubbing his chin before he leaned forward on both of his elbows. "I'm not here to debate whether or not you're trying to write a story on the man. I know you are. I just want to know what I've got to do to make it go away."
"I don't think I can help you there," I said, being sure to maintain eye contact and keep my breaths even. Do not cower, no matter how intimidating the man looked. Even with the soft voice he was using, there was an undertone of threat to it. I knew he was good friends with Micah and probably was harmless... most of the time. But I was threatening his father and that was probably a threat to him as well. "I've got a pretty determined source. If I don't tell their story, they'll just go to someone else."
"What is it, another mistress?" he wondered curiously, his head cocked to the side. Before I had a chance to respond, he waved off the question and said, "Doesn't matter. How much would it cost to keep them silent?"
"I'm not sure there is a price," I stated. "Like I said, they're determined."
"Look, I know my dad's a piece of shit, alright?" he said to me in a hushed tone of voice. "But he's in his last term. He's retiring at the end of this run, no more re-elections. He doesn't give a shit about a scandal coming out, his career is over. He's made his money. It's me and my re-election that'll be in jeopardy if anything comes out."
"There's nothing I can do." I stuck to my guns and looked him directly in the eye so he knew that I was serious. This was Shiloh's story and like I told Jay, if I didn't write it, she would find somebody else. If anything, he should be grateful that I was the person writing the story so that I could do my best to maintain as much privacy as possible.
"Can you get me a meeting with this person?" he asked me. "Bring Micah, or they can bring their own lawyer, and we'll get this sorted out. Why should I be punished for my father's terrible behavior?"
"I'm sure Eleanor shares that same sentiment," I commented, which probably wasn't professional, but I couldn't really help myself. Quick to recover, I said, "I'll see if they're open to it."
The meeting ended shortly after that and I returned to the bathroom to relax my body and debrief after that short meeting.
I would have to have a meeting with Shiloh to explain what just happened and see if she would be interested in sitting down with Jay. I was sure he would bribe her for silence and I didn't think she'd go for it, but if I didn't assure him I'd ask, he probably would have tracked her down himself.
For a moment, I feel a bit disappointed that the article might not happen. Not only had I put so much work into it, but this was going to be my big break. My way to win over Kim and become the hot shot journalist I've always wanted to be.
But then I remind myself that after that kiss last night with the source's brother, there was no way in hell I was unbiased enough to finish the article no matter what. If Shiloh wouldn't take the bribe, I would have to hand my research and half-written article to somebody who worked in the politics section to finish anyway.
This article wasn't mine anymore, no matter which why I spun it.
On the bright side, it seemed like I already was working my way into Kim's good graces. I was getting assigned to more high profile crimes like murders and armed robbery, following some important court cases. It wasn't like my entire career rode on the back of this one article anyway and I would be fine without it, but it was disappointing that my name wouldn't be attached to such a sensational story.
Back home that night, I was still pondering the situation, wondering what would become of these months of research. All these stories that might never get told if Shiloh takes the bribe. Maybe it was for the best, since Silas wasn't going for re-election so it didn't really matter. No damage would really be done in any way that he'd care about.
As I'm heating up a frozen pizza for dinner, my phone started to ring and I nearly tripped over my own feet to traverse the kitchen in hopes that it was Casey.
The knot that has been in my stomach for almost twenty four hours now, ever since I got the Jay Barkley email, started to unwind with ease when I saw Casey's name on my screen.
"Hey," I answered the phone, already deciding that I wouldn't tell him about the meeting with Jay. Not only did I want to not think about it anymore, but I didn't want anybody to talk to Shiloh until I could do so myself.
"Hey, how was work?" he asked me.
"Busy, as usual. You? How are your saplings?"
"They are beautiful," he gushed. "Twenty leaves on each sapling, at least. We're really getting our hopes up about this batch. I'm already running some genetics testing on them."
"That's amazing." I plopped myself on my couch while I waited for my pizza to finish cooking. "Ready to defeat climate change once and for all?"
"We're getting there," he chuckled at me. "You want to come back to the lab sometime? They've grown so much since the last time you were here."
I could tell that he was absolutely thinking about the video he saw of me admitting that I jerked off to the image of him in his lab coat and I hated him for it. "Sure, maybe sometime," I said instead, because it would only be more humiliating if I called him out on it and brought up the whole incident again.
"Anyway, the main reason I'm calling is because I wanted to check in about yesterday," he told me. "Was it everything you thought it'd be?"
"The date or the kiss?" I wondered with a little laugh.
"Both, I guess?"
I leaned back into the couch and said, "It was better. Both of them were better than I expected."
"Really?" he seemed surprised about that.
"You don't think it was better?"
"No, I absolutely think it was better than anything," he was quick to reassure me. "I just didn't know if you did."
"I do," I confirmed for him again. "It was... rougher than I expected. The kiss, not the date. The date was very soft and lovely."
"Rough?" He suddenly sounded worried. "Was it too much? I didn't mean to-"
"No, stop," I interrupted him before he could apologize for something that wasn't an issue. I could already see his anxious brain churning up too much anxiety than was unnecessary for this situation and I didn't want him to stress out about it. "It wasn't too much. It was really good."
"Oh," he said and then after a pause of thought, he added, "So you didn't expect me to be a good kisser?"
"Not that good," I admitted with a laugh. "I mean, you've only kissed one other person, so I had my doubts."
"Well, now I know you like it rough," he teased me. "That's good to know."
The oven dinged with my pizza so I sprang off of the couch to hurry back into the kitchen. "Don't start talking like that right now," I scolded him, feeling my lower tummy start to heat up hotter than the oven in front of me. "I'm eating dinner."
Casey gave me a mouthwatering laugh over the phone and said, "It's a little late for dinner, isn't it?"
"I had a long day at work," I answered quickly, trying to leave it at that without going into detail about what my day entailed. "Anyway, I have my plan set for Saturday and it's going to knock your socks off. You'll have to dress warm and be prepared for lots of walking."
"Okay..." he said slowly. "Do I get any hints?"
"Those were your hints," I laughed.
"That could be anything. Is it outdoors?"
"Goodnight, Casey." I couldn't stay on the phone without letting anything accidentally slip, so I had to end the call there. I really wanted it to be a surprise.