When she opened the door, lo and behold Zach was seated in front of him.
“Oh, Armstrong, just the person. Come on in.”
Zach narrowed his eyes as she closed the door behind her.
“Sir, I was hoping to have a word in private.”
“Regarding the story idea?” he replied.
She glanced at Zach and he shifted in his seat looking uncomfortable. “Yes, Zach here was just telling me about how you offered to write up Zach’s story. I think it’s a fantastic idea.”
“I did? You do?” Kelly asked feeling perplexed.
“Sit. Come on,” he said motioning to the chair beside Zach. She raised an eyebrow and took a seat.
Johnson got all theatrical, rising from his seat and spreading his hands out as if they were quote signs. “I see it now, ‘Identity of San Francisco’s Mystery Man Revealed.’ I like it.”
Kelly turned her head slowly and pursed her lips. Zach picked at his teeth then pulled his gum and snapped it back before blowing a bubble. That conniving little twerp had tried to swipe the story out from underneath her and claim it was his idea. “But—” she began to say.
Zach jabbed out a finger cutting her off. “Fantastic idea, sir. I couldn’t have come up with a better headline myself,” Zach said. Johnson continued to pace while Zach winked at Kelly. Oh no, you didn’t, she thought. He wasn’t getting off that easy.
“I think there’s been a mistake here. That story was my idea.”
“Does it matter, Armstrong?” Johnson asked.
“Yeah, does it matter?” Zach echoed.
“But—” Her mouth went agape.
Johnson came around the table and perched on it in front of them. “Here’s what I want you to do. Work on it together.”
Zach bolted upright in his chair and started coughing. “Excuse me, sir? I don’t think I heard you. Did you say you want me to work with her?”
“With him?” she added.
“That’s right. Is there a problem?”
“Well…” Zach began to say while scratching the back of his head as if he had fleas. “You see, sir, the thing is—”
“Good!” Johnson slapped his hands together. “I want something on my desk by next week.”
Both of them sat there, slack-jawed and staring back at him.
“Well chop-chop. Time is money, folks. Let’s go.”
Kelly was the first out the door, she charged off towards her desk, furious. Zach wasn’t that far behind. “So. Partner.”
She spun around and stabbed a finger into his chest.
“Let’s get something real clear. We are not partners. We are not friends. And I resent the fact that you went behind my back and tried to act as if it was your story.”
He put out a hand and she wanted to slap it away. “Armstrong, calm down. It was my story. Like I told you, I worked the story back when it broke. I didn’t go to see him about that. I had a way better idea but I thought I would do you a favor and toss yours his way and see what he thought. Hell, you should be thanking me.”
“Thanking you?”
He nodded. “Yeah, in fact, how about we get those drinks?”
She gritted her teeth and trudged off towards the washrooms, anywhere she could escape that leech. “I’ll take that as a yes?” she heard him say as she slammed the door.
Chapter 3
Jack managed to catch some shut-eye on the flight home from Los Angeles to Telluride Regional Airport. Five hours passed in the blink of an eye and before he knew it he was collecting baggage and cramming it into the back of a cab. As the driver veered into the tourist-clogged road, Jack clicked open a small velvet box and smiled as gold glinted back. He closed it and glanced out. He’d been eager to return since buying Dana the gift in L.A. Although it wasn’t her birthday for a few days, he planned on giving her the gold chain as an early surprise.
The 10,000-square-foot home located ten minutes north of the airport was nestled into the mountains surrounded by rolling hills and forest trails. Tall aspen trees were like walls on either side of the winding road that led up to his remote property. The familiar sight instantly calmed him. As the driver talked about how lucky he was to have property out there, Jack leaned his head against the pane of glass and closed his eyes on the final stretch, his mind drifting into peace.
It wasn’t long before it all changed.
“Sir, are you sure this is the right address?” the cabdriver asked, causing Jack to open his eyes.
“What?”
He straightened up and peered between the seats. It was then his jaw widened as his mind tried to comprehend his field of vision. It was gone. All of it. The A-shaped structure made from stone and cedar had been reduced to rubble, nothing more than charred stone and black ash. There was no smoke, no flames just the fragments of what remained. His heart began to hammer in his chest. His breathing became labored and fast. The cabbie eased off the gas as they came around the driveway’s center island, gravel crunching beneath the tires. In shock, Jack pushed out before the cab had even fully stopped. He walked up to where the front entrance should have been and surveyed the aftermath.
His heart sank.
The area was cordoned off by yellow police tape tied to trees nearby. He snapped it and walked into the midst of the rubble and charred wood as the taxi driver got out and asked him again if this was his home. Dazed and confused
