worth it for me. He had nothing to lose, but I had substantially more at risk.
“Did you see the newspaper?” I asked Gauge, watching him from the hallway. He was standing just inside the door to his room. “I did. Simon didn’t hesitate to show me.”
“Me either. I feel like an idiot about it.”
“Why is that, Brynn?”
“It didn’t look good.”
“But it felt good, didn’t it?” Of course it had felt good, and seeing that Gauge didn’t seem to put much into the picture made me feel better. Then he added, “It’s on Gawker, too.”
Now I was anxious again.
“Well, I’ve got to go. I have a Skype with my editor from The Rift in a hour. I’ve got to prepare.”
“Are you going to be watching the show tonight?”
“I am,” I said. “See you then.”
“Later, then,” Gauge said.
I walked away and went into my room, pulling out my tablet and pulling up Gawker. Apparently I was into torturing myself. Just over a month ago I would have looked at those pictures when I was doing my research and laughed at the women who immortalized themselves in revealing pictures like that. Yet there I was. Talk about karma kicking me in the ass. The real kicker was that I wasn’t really feeling as guilty as I thought I should. I’d had a great night.
I went to my email and saw that I had quite a few messages, but two of them were of immediate interest. One was from Jessie and the other was from Trinity. I opened them up and read Trinity’s first.
Wow girlfriend!
That is one hot picture. No need to ask if you’re having fun. I’ve seen the proof. Fill me in on the juice when you have a minute.
~T
Next I read Jessie’s.
Brynn,
I wanted to check in with you and make sure you were good. It’s hard to believe you wouldn’t be from the looks of the Gawker. You were definitely having a good time. Miss ya,
Jessie
I sent them a joint message. A few short sentences took me about ten minutes to write. I kept writing, editing, and revising.
Hey,
I sure know how to make my mark in the world, huh? It goes without saying that it was a great night and I enjoyed myself. Do I really do that tongue thing when I dance? All is good here and I’m definitely good. Hope we can talk soon.
Ciao for now,
Brynn
Chapter Eight:
The Head Extraction
An average quality, slightly-distorted Skype image appeared before me and I saw Laurel Freemont, my editor for The Rift, staring at me. Her black, square reading glasses were on, pulled down on her nose halfway, and accented the bright red lipstick. The girl picked a shade and stuck with it! Her short pixie cut framed her thin face in an ideal way.
“How’s the progress?” Laurel asked. She didn’t waste time or words.
“I have so many things, lots of fresh content. I’m excited.”
“When will I have a bit to look over?”
“I know you’d like to hear it today, but that’s not going to happen. It’s still a bit raw, not ready for an editorial review.”
She leaned forward and stared into the camera of her computer, and then beyond that, to my eyes. “You’re not having troubles, are you?”
“No, no troubles.”
“Good, because you’re good, but there’s a fair amount of pressure for this article. I just want you to realize I know that.”
“You’ll have a draft in two days, end of day my time, for review.” As the words escaped my lips, I wanted to suck them back in. There was nothing more stupid than a journalist giving themselves a deadline. It was almost always less favorable than the one their editor would give them.
“Great, glad you’re good. I’m not really into that ‘rah-rah you can do it’ schtick.”
“And I’m glad for that,” I said.
“So, how are the guys?” Laruen asked.
Whoa! That was a quick topic change. I wasn’t sure if she was asking me because she’d seen the pictures or she was just curious. “They’re good and definitely interesting. Lots of personality amongst those
Rachel Vail
Megan Slayer
Denise Patrick
Rebecca King
T. D. Jakes, Sarah Jakes
Gary Paulsen
Julie Leung
Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant
Amanda Matetsky
Katie Alender