Page 30 of Bride Games
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O nce home, Paige didn’t bother unpacking before going to the office. Instead, she went for a run to burn off calories—and nerves. She was adamant about staying fit. Maybe once she was no longer on television she wouldn’t have to worry about cameras. That would be nice—really nice to have a big cheeseburger, fries, or an entire pizza and not give a damn about the cameras adding ten pounds. Sighing loudly, Paige said aloud to no one, “Until I’m retired, I’ll run.”
In a better mood within minutes, Paige waved to neighbors, a dog walker, and a mom pushing a stroller. With each pounding step beneath pale blue skies, she felt more at ease about the anonymous text, deciding it was a wrong number. She felt as if a weight had been lifted as she rounded the corner toward her house.
After a quick two-mile run, she showered and changed into a navy suit with a red blouse and red heels, one of her favorite power suits. Paige drove to the station on autopilot, eager to see Zach again. Once inside, she chatted with coworkers and checked her email but noticed Zach wasn’t there. His office was dark. Darn it. Paige’s mind raced as she tried to remember if he had mentioned getting together that night.
Two hours later at the station, Paige had already checked the updated NFL schedule and new football draft picks’ social media profiles. After a little research, she found some incredibly heart-warming special-interest stories. These will be an audience favorite and probably go viral, just like last time. That’ll make Mr. Hales happy and keep ATV 10 in the number one position. She couldn’t keep from smirking when she thought of how exasperated Trent must be by being at the number two station. He had walked around like the cock of the walk for years and lorded the factoid that his station was number one over and over. Since they were no longer together, she didn’t get the satisfaction of knowing just how aggravated he was but knew him well enough that she could imagine his infuriation. That alone gave her great satisfaction after he cheated on her.
She checked her cellphone again, hoping there wasn’t another weird text. Thankfully, there wasn’t. She placed her cellphone on the desk and glanced up as coworkers for the evening news strolled down the hallway toward the studio. Still feeling a pang from not anchoring the evening news but loving her new role as a sideline sports reporter, Paige eagerly waved to Stan the Man, their on-air sports guy. “How goes it, Paige?”
“Good, Stan. And you?”
Stan gave her a thumbs up. “In a rush. I need to make some graphics for tonight’s show. Talk to you later.”
Paige nodded but the usually talkative sports anchor was already out of sight. She decided to go to the lobby for a cup of coffee. The receptionist was warm but not as chatty and perky as usual. Paige noticed the receptionist nodded toward Paige and whispered something to another colleague who gave a solemn nod, followed by a one-shouldered shrug. Both women gave Paige a half smile with a mix of puzzlement and sympathy as she filled her coffee mug emblazoned with an ATV 10 logo. What the hell? What’s up with them?
Bewildered, Paige returned to her office, still sipping her coffee for an afternoon energy burst. It was too late in the day to delve into a big project so she decided to scan her social media. Her eyes widened. Oh, no. What the hell is this? Before she could finish reading the damning comments splashed across her social media pages, an email popped up from Mr. Hales’ executive assistant.
Mr. Hales would like to see you in the office at 8 o’clock sharp tomorrow.
That’s all it said. Short and sweet. Paige stared at the screen as she reread the short note. None of the usual, ‘Hi Paige’ or niceties like ‘please or thank you.’ Mouth dry, Paige attempted to swallow. This is bad. Really bad.