Andrew smiled at my comment and leaned back in his chair. “Quite,” he replied, threading his fingers together. “I’ve been thinking, Tyler. I know you’ve been wanting an actual column of your own for a while. I know you started this with the intent of getting people to reach out to one another, but what if this is something you could do full-time?”
I straightened my posture. “You mean my own permanent column?”
Andrew leaned forward, his hands still clasped together. “Yes. If it’s successful, why not? Let’s give it a month and if you’re still pulling in the messages and gaining the interest, we’ll make it a permanent feature in the newspaper. What do you think? It would mean you working twice as hard, but I’m sure with your dedication and tenacity you’ll be able to pull it off.”
I smiled so brightly that he couldn’t help one of his own. “That sounds perfect. I will endeavour to do my utmost to make this successful, Mr. Walker. I promise you that.”
Unclasping his hands, he placed them on the arms of his chair and pulled himself up a little. I knew this was him telling me the conversation was over. “I’m sure you will, Tyler. Just let me know if you have any problems.”
Getting up, I nodded my head. “Sure, sure. Of course.”
I was at the door and about to turn the handle when I heard his voice. “Tyler?”
I turned around. “Yes?”
He cleared his throat. “I’m intrigued by this Jeremy boy. He’s a young lad and people always love to hear stories about young love. Is there any chance we could do a feature on him? Maybe set up an interview? Try and get in touch with this Julie girl perhaps?”
I immediately felt myself tense. I knew Jeremy wanted to remain anonymous, and I wasn’t going to break my promise, no matter what it did to my career.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Walker. He wants to remain anonymous. He gave very little away in his email. The only hint was that his name was Jeremy, he’s fifteen, and he has a crush on a girl named Julie. I must admit, I did try emailing him back for more information, but he must have set up the email address purely to get the message out about how he felt. Unfortunately, mine bounced back as failed.”
I gripped the door handle as tightly as possible so that I had a grip on something. I didn’t want him to think I was lying. I was and I hated it. It was necessary in order to protect Jeremy, though. I certainly wasn’t going to betray his trust in me—at any cost.
Andrew sighed a little and sank back into his chair. “Very well. Hopefully, another story like that will come along and the boy, or girl, is a bit more forthcoming.”
I inwardly sighed in relief and smiled. “Let’s hope so. Thank you, Mr. Walker.”
He waved his hand. “Don’t mention it.”
With a turn of the handle, I was out the door in a flash and rushing back to my desk. I flopped down and buried my head in my hands to conceal my deep breath. I really didn’t like lying to my boss, but I had no other choice.
“Are you okay, Tyler?”
Looking up, I saw Louisa’s concerned face as she stared down at me. “I’m fine. I’ve just come out of Mr. Walker’s office.”
Louisa sat down at the edge of my desk and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, mate. Was it really bad?”
I chuckled a little and shook my head. “No. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. He’s so impressed with the From Afar column, he’s letting me run it on a permanent basis. That’s assuming it does well, of course. He’s giving me a month to see how people react to it.”
Louisa took her hand away with a gasp. “Tyler, that’s fantastic! It’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
Louisa frowned a little. “Then why did you look so stressed out when I saw you just now?”
I sighed, trying to think of an excuse. It looked as though my lying wasn’t over just yet. “I’m just worried about it failing, that’s all. It’s my first real column and, I must admit, it’s kind of freaking me out a little. What if I fail?”
Louisa looked down at me with her judgmental eyes. “Tyler, you worry too much. If you’re going to have this notion in your head that you’re going to fail, you probably will. Remember what I’ve always said?”
I nodded with a smile as we both said, “Positive mental attitude.” We giggled and I took her hand. “You’re right, of course. I’m just being silly. It will work because I’m going to make damn sure it does.”
Louisa gripped my hand tightly for a second before letting go. “Of course you will.” She looked towards her desk for a moment, then got up. “I better get back to work. I have an article about Judge Lyons to write and I know my chief wants it pronto.”