“But…”
“No buts. I don’t have time for excuses. I want results and right now we are not getting them.”
Erik turned and squeezed through the crowd heading for the door.
Zach chuckled to himself and Kelly gave him a slap on the arm. Zach tossed up his hands and mouthed the word, “What?” It didn’t take him long to realize he couldn’t allow Johnson to fire Erik when he wasn’t the one who’d said it. Zach sighed. “Roger, it wasn’t Erik. It was me.”
Erik turned and waited, hoping that Johnson would tear a limb off him. Instead it was quite the opposite. “Larsen! Always the joker. Come on back, Erik,” Johnson said.
All the staff sat with slack jaws expecting Zach to get busted but once again he escaped like Harry Houdini. What the hell? She shook her head and returned to tapping out the minutes. “Listen, people, I know the Internet is working against us but that’s because we don’t have a big enough story for people to sink their teeth into. We need something they can keep returning to, whether it’s in print or on our website. Something that grabs them by the balls and doesn’t let them go. When the average joe sits down to have breakfast they want to be wowed. They want mystery, intrigue, titillation, scandal and something or someone they can get behind. Look at every big story that has blown up across the world. It’s either a tragedy or a success, and often the best is a mixture of both. People are tired of reading sports, hearing about politicians, the state of this country and celebrity trash. We need to give them something bigger, better and more satisfying.” Johnson clasped his hands behind his back and walked over to a large third-story window that looked out over the heart of the downtown. “Look at them out there. Like tiny ants running to and fro, tired of their mundane lives. These people are starving and I intend to feed them,” he bellowed stretching out his arms like Charlton Heston giving his best impression of Moses at the Red Sea.
Kelly glanced around the room. Everyone was hanging on every word that spilled from his lips and expecting him to have the answer, but he didn’t. Johnson spun around and clapped his hands together. “Well. Get to it! You’re not paid to stand around. Find me that story, and maybe I’ll let you keep your job.”
The crowd thinned out as staff hurried to their workstations, some left the office and others got on phones. Kelly remained there finalizing the minutes.
“Armstrong, why the hell are you still here?”
“I… I was taking minutes, sir.”
“Oh.” He nodded. “Right. Well, carry on.”
She raised a finger. “Um, sir, I had this story…”
He turned and disappeared into his office, slamming the door and then bringing his blinds down so he could spend the rest of his day drinking coffee and pretending he was working. She’d been meaning to share an idea for a story but there was never an opportunity. Kelly sighed and looked gloomily at his office. From behind her she heard that weasel’s voice. “Armstrong.” She turned to face him. “You really are a go-getter,” Zach said eyeing her with a smug grin on his face.
“And you’re a shit stirrer,” she said getting up and brushing past him.
Zach hopped off the table and fell in step. “Hey. C’mon now. It was all just a bit of fun.”
“He nearly lost his job, Zach. Isn’t it time you grew up?”
“If I’m not mistaken it was Peter Pan who said to never grow up.”
She rolled her eyes and threaded her way around the office.
“So what story do you have in mind, princess?”
“Would you stop calling me that?”
“Just curious.”
She continued walking.
“So?”
“What? Are you still here?” she asked shooting him a sideways glance.
“Like your favorite dream.”
“I think I just vomited in my mouth,” she said turning away from him and switching her computer on. Zach perched on her desk and draped his arm over her computer monitor like he was some GQ model or Steve Jobs.
He sniffed and glanced around the room like he was God’s gift to women. “You know, Armstrong. I could show you the ropes. I’ve been here a long time and…”
Kelly shook her head. “How do you get away with it?”
The corner of his lip curled. “With what?”
“Doing absolutely nothing and yet everything. I would have thought Johnson would have canned your ass by now.”
Zach glanced at the screen. “Please, he wouldn’t dare do that.”
“Everyone is replaceable, Zach.”
“Not me,” he said leaning forward and giving a nod towards Johnson’s office. “Not unless he wants his relationship with my aunt Lucinda to go sour.”
“Your aunt?”
“Yeah, him and her have been seeing each other for what? Three years now?”
He began picking at his teeth. It was a disgusting sight.
“And that gives you some entitlement to walk around the office acting like a jackass?”
“Whoa, tiger, where did that come from? That’s cold, Armstrong.” He laughed and she turned her head away so he continued. “No, it just gives me some breathing room and besides… Johnson likes me.”
“News flash, Zach. No one likes you. And take that from someone who’s been here only a few months.”
“Ah I don’t know about that. Sure I ruffle a few feathers from time to time but who doesn’t? It’s a cutthroat business, Armstrong. The sooner you learn that the better. That whole cheerleader, go-getter approach only goes so far. You’ve got to be willing to step on a few toes to climb the ladder. People just hate the fact that I’m at the top while they eat the crumbs from my table.”
She blew out her cheeks. “You’re deluded.”
He laughed. She tried to ignore him and busy herself by pulling
