The girl glanced back down at her computer screen and pushed her long blond hair behind her shoulder. Her plump lips were set in a permanent pout, as though she had a camera on her at all times. “Fred’s currently in a meeting. It says here that Susan and Farida were supposed to meet with you, as well. You can head over to the second conference room and wait there for them, if you want.”
Yvette leaned forward on the white desk, which was so clean it reflected her tan skin from its surface. “Is there any way I can find out where they are right now? I can just meet with them instead,” she said, and considered her words carefully as the secretary stared her down. “I mean, I don’t want to bother Fred if he’s really busy.”
“It’s fine. I’ll send him an e-mail reminder, and I’m sure he’ll join you shortly. Thank you.”
That marked the end of their conversation. It always did. Their secretary was a woman of few words. Yvette had to admit, though, that the secretary always did her job diligently. She turned and left the girl behind to head into the relative quiet of the inner offices. She made her way through the office area, which had everyone segregated into white cubicles. There were huge floor to ceiling windows towards the front of the office, which filled the space with natural light.
She knew exactly which room to go into. Every meeting she’d had here was in the second conference room, which was the smallest of three, each of which were in different areas of the office. She could only assume that it was reserved for the more intimate meeting with their freelance writers. She saw the usual suspects always waiting for her at the table with their laptops in front of them.
Yvette let out a sigh of relief as she brought her hand to the glass door and opened it, only to see Susan and Farida turn around in their chairs. They smiled at her as she entered, which was far more welcoming than having to deal with Fred on his own. Thankfully, he’d be a little more professional with them in the room with her.
Yvette rounded the table and took a seat across from them both.“Hey, ladies. You weren’t waiting long, right?”
“Not at all,” Susan said and pulled a pen out of her curly, wild hair. “Fred should be here any minute.”
Of course he would be.
“So, are you excited?” Farida asked, her brown eyes gleaming. “It was down to the wire. We had the choice of you or two other writers.”
“But there were two others before me?”
Farida opened up her laptop and lowered her eyes. There was a tenseness to the room that made Yvette reconsider taking the job. “Yeah. They weren’t able to track him down at all and they basically gave up.”
Yvette let out a chuckle but reeled it in quickly when she saw Susan’s unimpressed expression. “Do we have any leads?”
Susan shook her head and began to write into a black notepad in front of her. She was always tousled, and her clothes were always wrinkled. It amazed Yvette that someone like her would be in an upper management position for a magazine that dealt with celebutantes. She’d expected someone a little more put together when she was first interviewed.
Yvette heard Fred’s voice before he reached the door. She saw his thin hand reaching for the handle and began to feel a film of sweat covering her entire body. She hated that he always caused her to have such a negative physical reaction to his presence.
Fred made a point to open the door slowly. She cringed as he rounded the long table and grazed his fingers against her black sweater, causing her to shift uncomfortably in her chair.
“So good to see you, Yvette. Thanks for coming here on such short notice.”
He always talked as though he was purring. It was as though he practiced his words in the mirror, going for maximum creepy effect. All things considered, Fred was a stylish and handsome older man. He always wore name brand suits that were perfectly tailored for his long, thin body. He often wore skinny ties to make his chest appear more broad, and his grey hair was always immaculately styled back with oil.
Still, he had a presence that made Yvette sick to her stomach. If the pay hadn’t been as good as it was per article, she wouldn’t have taken the job simply based on his inappropriate forwardness.
“So, what can you tell me about Jace Johnson? I’ll need some kind of information before getting into this.” Yvette skipped the social pleasantries with Fred and dived right in, hoping to end the meeting as quickly as possible.
Fred took a seat and placed his head against his hand. “Getting into what, exactly, Yvette? After all, this isn’t a private investigation into a cheating spouse here. We’re just looking to get an interview with Jace Johnson. I feel like we’re not asking for the world here.”
“I understand, but I’ve heard he’s very elusive,” she said, disliking the tone in Fred’s oily-purry voice. “I’m just wondering why I have to tail him, and why it's imperative that I do the interview outside of our offices.”
“Have you done any research, Yvette?”
“Of course. I’ve made sure to-”
“Then you’d know that he doesn’t do interviews,” Fred said, as he chuckled to himself. “Jace Johnson hasn’t done an interview in over ten years. Beyond that, he doesn’t stay in one place for too long. He’s in the country now, so we need to build a rapport. Meet him on his own terms.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Susan?”
Susan flipped through her notebook, which was never too far from her. “We’re recommending that you build a kind of friendship with him. We’ve curated a list of a number of places he’s been seen since he’s been in the city. We’d like you to visit these places, find him, and get to know him before conducting the interview.”
Yvette wanted to laugh. It sounded ridiculous. That wasn’t journalism - it was lying. How could they possibly think it would work? The guy didn’t sound like an idiot. “Where are the places?”
Farida bit her lips as the room fell silent. That was definitely not a good sign.
“Local bars, mostly,” Fred said, as he brought his gaze to her chest. “Though there’s been a few seedy ones involved, as to be expected from someone like him.”
“What do you mean, exactly, by seedy?”
Fred gestured to the room as though there was nothing wrong. “Strip clubs, hole in the wall bars, you know the type. He’s a man of a certain taste, you could say. Probably all those years spent as a Marine.”
Great. So she had to befriend another creep. She had enough to deal with just having one as a boss.
“Not just those, though. He’s also been seen at the gun range, and we have sensitive information about him renting a house in the countryside. He’s yet to go there,” Farida said, and began typing on her laptop. “But we do think he’ll be heading there within the week. I’m sending you the location now, and we’re setting up accommodations for you to stay in the area.”
“This feels a little like stalking,” Yvette whispered, a little too loudly and gave everyone a false smile. “I mean, it just seems like a lot of work for an interview.”
“There’s never enough information for our readers. They are our number one concern,” Fred said flatly, rubbing his bottom lip as he lowered his eyes to her hips. “This has been the most requested story. Since news went out that this guy is back state-side, we’ve had constant questions on all of our social media platforms. If we can nail this interview, it’ll be one of the biggest stories of the year.”