Keira pushed open the door to Viatorum magazine and strolled across the tiled floors. The whiteness and glass seemed so clinical to her now, almost blinding in their brightness. The open-plan office seemed like an enormous waste of space.
All the staff looked up as she entered. There were some new faces amongst them, and some people who'd been there before who were now missing. Lisa was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Duncan. So Joshua had still been hiring and firing while on bed rest, it seemed.
Wobbling in her now out-of-practice stilettos, Keira strode right up to Nina's desk.
"You're back," Nina said, leaping up and hugging her friend. She looked over Keira's shoulder. "FYI, Joshua is coming in today for the first time since he broke his leg. Specifically to read your piece. And shout, probably. I think he's been feeling quite emasculated since being in the hospital and there are some new junior writers he needs to intimidate."
"I'd expect no less from him," Keira quipped. "Now, about the article…"
Nina narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you haven't finished it."
"Oh, I've finished," Keira said. "But I don't want you to publish it."
Nina exhaled, sounding frustrated. "Why not?"
"Because it sucks," Keira said boldly. "The whole thing. The brief. The assignment. I don't want my name on a trash piece like that."
Nina rubbed her face, exasperated. "And what am I supposed to do?"
Keira grinned. "I've written a new one."
She handed Nina the printed document. She'd spent the entire flight from Shannon to New York writing it, finding it far easier to write than anything she ever had before. She watched on expectantly as Nina skimmed it.
"This reads like a love letter," she said finally, looking up at Keira with a frown.
"Because it is," Keira said. "What do you think?"
"Joshua won't like it," Nina said simply.
"I know," Keira said. "I don't care about him. Do you?"
Nina didn't seem convinced. "I mean it would be better once it's been through a round of editing…" she said.
Keira laughed. "Of course, that goes without saying," she joked.
"But there isn't time because your deadline is today," Nina said, sounding more stern, letting the light-hearted jokes fall by the wayside. "And now you're telling me I have nothing to publish."
"Oh, but we do," Keira said. "We're publishing it anyway. I have a plan. But I'll need your help."
Nina folded her arms. "I don't like the sound of this."
"It's simple," Keira said, feeling mischievous. "You just accidentally upload the wrong draft; i.e., this one instead of the one Josh is about to read. You up for it?"
Nina said nothing for a while. Then a wicked smile spread across her lips.
"Okay. I'm in."
Just then the doors opened and in hobbled Joshua on crutches. The sense of tension increased in the office. Clearly he hadn't told any of the staff he'd be in today.
Joshua had gone to the effort of styling his quiff and had even put on a suit jacket-a lurid mustard yellow color-even though he was wearing loose-fitting jogging shorts on his bottom half. The cast around his leg went all the way up to his thigh. Keira noticed that no one had signed it, a thought that filled her with pity instead of glee.
"Keira. Nina. My office. Now."
Joshua used his crutches to hop into his office. Keira flashed Nina a confident smile and they walked across the open-plan office, all eyes on them, and followed him inside.
The second they were inside, Joshua launched right into his attack.
"I have to say, Keira, I've been appalled by your conduct during this assignment. I was counting on you to relieve my stress during my sick leave period but really all you've done is compound it. Elliot's been on my case from dawn until dusk because of you. I wish he'd never handed the piece to you. I'd have written a better article from my sickbed."
Keira listened, not rising to his insults. It amazed her how little Joshua's opinion mattered to her anymore. Her experiences in Ireland had changed her.
"And Nina's had to fit herself to your schedule as well," he continued. "It's not like you're the only writer she edits for. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for her to juggle all her commitments? I thought you two were supposed to be friends." Then with a sarcastic sneer he added, "Nice way to treat your friends."
Keira stood there taking it, letting the words bounce right off her.
"Well?" Joshua demanded. "What have you got to say for yourself?"
She handed him her article, the old one compiled of her snarky reviews. "Here's the final draft."
Joshua's frown deepened. He'd clearly wanted her to start groveling. Keira wondered if he'd even expected her to hand him a finished product at all. It seemed to have taken him off guard.
"Right," he said. He sat down heavily in one of the seats and began to read. As he did, he made occasional grunts that Keira took to be approving. Once he was done, he looked up. "It's fine. It will do. Nina, over to you now."
Then he stood.
If Keira had still cared about his opinion, this response would have devastated her. She was a junior writer after all, and this was her first big assignment. Putting all the other stuff aside-the slowness, the reluctance, the avoiding emails, which she could accept weren't good ways to behave-Joshua should still give her feedback on her actual writing. But clearly he didn't care about building her confidence or offering advice for her so she could develop her skills and improve. All he wanted to do was tear people down and reduce the competition. It was all so clear to her now. Even if she'd behaved like the Golden Girl she was supposed to, churning out scathing reviews, staying up every night to meet her impossible deadlines, he'd still have found a way to crush her spirit.
Nina took the document from Joshua.
"Thanks. Want me to run the final draft through Elliot?"
Joshua shook his head. "No, he won't be interested. He's moved on to other things now, other assignments. I'm sure he's quite forgotten about this one by now."
Keira rolled her eyes as Joshua shuffled out of the room. She caught Nina's eye and grinned.
The two went back to Nina's desk. Keira sat beside her and watched as she uploaded the new piece, the love letter to Ireland, onto the most recent issue's proforma.
Keira watched her move things around, setting the article out across a four-page spread. It looked beautiful with the addition of the photographs Keira had wanted to be included. She'd never seen her own writing appear like that. It looked real, professional. She felt a surge of pride.
"When does this go to print?" Keira asked.
Nina swiveled in her chair to face her. "Overnight," she said. "The e-zine goes live at midnight."
Keira smiled, excited for the fallout that would ensue tomorrow morning once Joshua realized just what she'd done.
