Page 31 of The Off-limits Grump Next Door

I forced a smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “I don’t want the story.”

“You don’t want it?” Anne cut in, her tone incredulous. “Are you crazy? Everyone here would kill for that chance.”

I shook my head. “I just don’t want it.”

Peter stepped in front of me, his expression serious. “What’s the real reason, Kendra? You know this is huge.”

I hesitated, glancing around to make sure no one else could hear. “I can’t do it because... I love him,” I thought silently, my chest tightening. But I couldn’t say that aloud. Instead, I just muttered, “It’s complicated, I’ll go back and beg Thompson to let someone else do it.”

Uh uh … that’s a terrible idea. “Peter said, stepping in front of me.

“Why? What's the worst that could happen? Suspension? A cut in my…”

“You'll get fired. There are two things Mr. Thompson hates the most. The first is being told ‘no’, the second is making him repeat himself… and what you're about to do is both. So, I strongly advice against it.”

“Just let her do whatever she wants, Peter. What do you care about?” He ignored Anne and kept his eyes on me. “What is it, Kendra?”

Just then, Tina walked in.

“Hey Kendra, done for the day?”

I turned to her, “yes. I'll just get my bag.”

I still had a couple of things I would have loved to work on, but the office was the last place I wanted to be. So, I shut my system, sling my purse over my shoulders and headed out with Tina.

Tina drove me home. Unlike her usual bubbly self, Tina was unusually quiet, which only added to my mounting stress.

“Okay, spill,” I said when she pulled up to my apartment. “I know you’ve got something to say.”

Tina sighed, gripping the steering wheel. “Why don’t you want to take the Michaelson story?”

I blinked. “How did you hear about that?”

“Everyone at the station knows you got the assignment. But I overheard you tell Peter you didn’t want it. Why?”

I bit my lip. I had no choice but to tell Tina the truth. “Antonio’s my neighbor.”

Tina’s eyes widened. “The annoying guy you told me about?”

I nodded, “same one”.

“Wait… what? He’s a billionaire, and you never knew?”

I shrugged. “It never came up in conversation.”

“Well, he’s hiding something, obviously. Don’t you want to know what?”

I shook my head. “No. I don’t care why he’s living here instead of some mansion. He has his reasons, and I’m not going to dig into them. Not like this.”

“But you've been living next to him for months now.”

“I know.”

“Does he know what you do?”

“I don't think so. That has never come up either.”

“Hmm, okay. But, about the story. I think you should do it.”