Read Online Pitching for Her Love by Tori Blake - Free Book Online

become little more than a dull white noise in the back of my auditory conscious.  Megan might have been saying something, but I couldn’t hear her.  All I could hear was “Curvy” and “Voluptuous,” as if those were the only words that could define me in the context of my potential relationship.
    “Grace?” Megan repeated, and I shook myself out of my daze.
    “Yeah?  Hey, I’m sorry.  Just in a bit of a weird place right now,” I said and managed half a grin, which she returned with a weak smile.  She handed me a large coffee that I could smell was pumpkin spice flavored, my favorite, and put a small hand on my shoulder.  Even in her heels she still stood about an inch shorter than me, but her touch was comforting nonetheless.
    “Has it been awful this morning?” she asked.  “Did anyone say anything to you?”
    I shook my head. “No, not at all.  The barista downstairs gave me a weird look, but I didn’t think anything of it,” I said.
    “Are these all reporters calling?” she asked as she motioned to the Post-it notes on my desk.
    “I guess so.  The call service had to send people here last night I guess to handle all the volume.  Apparently Bernie started getting calls at home too,” I said, not having realized that I had even retained this information.
    “I can’t believe it,” Megan said.  “I mean, I knew it was a big deal to be going out with Grayson Hunter, but I had no idea that the media would swoop in so quickly.”
    Then her face changed to one of horror and realization.
    “Do you think anyone from Top Press is going to try and interview you?  Or make you into a story?” she asked.
    At this, I laughed.  “Megan, unless it’s you, I doubt it.  We’re basically the only entertainment people here,” I said.
    “That’s true,” she said, and she seemed satisfied.  “So what are you going to do?  Return these calls?”
    “Do you think I should?” I asked, becoming more and more aware of the phones ringing in the background.
    “No, not at all,” Megan said firmly.  “They should have some professional courtesy.  We’ll talk to Bernie when she’s in and see what she thinks.”
    With that, Megan walked to her desk, unplugged her phone, and then did the same to mine.  There were a few other desks in our area whose phones were ringing, so she did those as well, until the only phone we could hear was the one coming from Bernie’s office, which we didn’t dare touch.
    “That’s better,” Megan said and sat down in her chair.  I followed suit, but not before sweeping the newspapers off my desk and into the trash.  I did the same with the Post-it notes and felt a small wave of relief at the sight of my clean desk.
    “Do you think Bernie is upset?” I asked, taking a sip of the delicious spicy coffee.
    “Not at you,” Megan said through a mouth of scone.  “It’s not your fault these vultures have no professionalism.”
    “Yeah, but I did go out with the subject of one of my pieces.  I’m not sure if there is a rule against that, but I can’t imagine she’ll be thrilled,” I said.
    Megan’s mouth twisted to the side in thought, and I turned back to my computer when I thought she wasn’t going to answer.
    “She’ll be annoyed, but it shouldn’t be at you,” Megan said with an air of finality.
    I was able to sit at my desk and work in relative silence for the next few hours.  The remainder of the staff came in and paused when they noticed their phones disconnected, but after answering their first calls, they returned them to that state.  I was alarmed that I hadn’t seen Bernie yet, or received an email, but it was entirely possible she had decided to let the whole thing blow over from home.
    Amanda called my cell phone around mid-morning, expressing sympathy but also commenting that I had looked gorgeous and had nothing to be sorry for.  Megan had just asked if I wanted to go out for lunch when my phone rang again, and I answered it