She smiled. Worth nodded as if to say, well played.
A collective sigh of relief passed through the room as Jessica continued. "We're a team, and I'm sure you will welcome Mr. Vincent and his mother as our new editor and publisher with the same warmth you've shown me. Thanks everyone, and, um, back to you, Mr. Vincent."
This time, the applause was genuine. No one had rocked any boats or stirred any hornet's nests. In this business, they were painfully aware that it could happen at any time, but for the moment, everyone was on solid ground.
Worth held out his hand for the mic and Jessica made a little gag out of it, as if she were hesitant to give it up. When she handed it over, she quickly merged with the other employees, losing herself in the crowd, giving her cheeks time to resume their normal level of heat. She took a deep breath and blew it out as she returned to where she'd been standing.
"You did fine," Donna whispered from behind her, putting her arm around Jessica's waist. Jessica laid her head on Donna's shoulder and squeezed herself closer.
"Thank you all," Worth said. "My mother is out of the country at the moment, but you'll meet her soon. This is not her first experience with the news business—my father was a newspaper man, and she is thrilled at the opportunity to build on his dreams, even so long after he passed away. It is not," he continued with a smile, "my first experience, either. But as Ms. Daniels reminded us, this is a team effort. In the next few days and weeks, I'd like to meet with each of you over lunch, getting to know you better, and you getting to know me."
A brassy blonde from classifieds was near enough for Jessica to hear her tell anyone who was listening that she would love to get to know that man in the biblical sense, "Know what I mean?" Jessica's cheeks burned again at the woman's bawdy chuckle.
"So, everyone back to work now! Thank you for adjusting your schedule where necessary, but now, let's put a magazine out." Worth was wrapping things up. "Oh, and Ms. Daniels?" His eyes met hers. "Please come to my office when you can make your way."
Great. Jessica's plan to get her thoughts together and begin planning her first all-important column flew out the window. Maybe he wants to apologize for kissing me again, like that was the most despicable experience of his life. Between Worth's apologies and Eric's bombshell, Jessica was not feeling her most attractive.
One by one and in groups of twos and threes, the staff dispersed quietly, basking in the afterglow of reassurance. No one would be cleaning out desk drawers today. In this business, that meant a successful meeting.
Worth was already sitting behind Maureen's desk—his desk now, of course—by the time Jessica made it through the group, grateful for more than a few well wishes to counter the brief snippets of snarkiness she'd overheard earlier. She tapped on the doorframe quietly. "You wanted to see me?" She was still unsure of the dynamics. "Sir?"
Worth was not smiling. "Close the door, please, Ms. Daniels, and have a seat."
She did so, and while he seemed to be studying some important document on his desk, she looked around. He wasn't finished making the room his own, but he had begun. She glanced at the various photos and letters featured on the wall until she came to one in particular. She couldn't help herself—she burst out laughing. In one of the frames, where she expected to find a diploma from a prestigious journalism school were the words "Document Frame" in big letters, adorned with fancy curlicues.
Worth looked up from the paper he held with appreciation. "Well done! Not everyone notices—or if they do, they don't show it."
"That's very clever, sir." She looked around. "Where is your actual diploma?"
He seemed amused. "I don't have one. I lack two classes to graduate—journalism, ironically enough, and a foreign language. I got hired by a newspaper during my senior year, took to the business and never finished." He noticed her blush. "I believe we have that in common, isn't that correct?"
"Y-yes, sir," she stammered. "I also did not graduate. I did put the college on my resume, but perhaps you saw that I left the year off?" People were often fired for less than that; the position had clearly indicated that having a college degree was a prerequisite.
"Yet here you are. Maureen hired you, as I would have," he said and then seemed annoyed as he rubbed his eyes. "May we dispense with the 'sir' bullshit once and for all, Jessica?"
"Yes, s—yes. Yes, we can. May. Yes, we may," she said.
Worth's eyes narrowed a little, but they were not angry. "Good. And kudos for that little stunt in the meeting—if I had been planning to let anyone go, you've foiled me, at least for now." He switched gears, enjoying the fact that she was squirming a little in her chair. "I wanted to see if you've come up with an idea for your inaugural column. You've got a few weeks to deadline, so no pressure. I just wondered." He sighed. "Mostly I wanted to talk to you again privately."
Oh, God, another apology. To head it off, she sat up straight. "I'd like to do some research into the arson story—not a news item, per se, but apparently there's some history in the area. I plan to talk to some long-time residents, dig into a possible connection, that kind of thing. More human interest, less facts and figures." Worth nodded with a sudden, surprising grimace that made her heart sink. When he said nothing, she blurted, "I have a personal connection to the topic. My father was a firefighter. He died on the job a year ago. Anyway, that's what I was thinking."
Worth's frown deepened. "I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is
