“If people know we are—” she paused. “Whatever we are. If they knew, then it would look bad for my journalistic integrity.”
“And your integrity is important to you?”
“Of course.” Her lips pinched together.
“Even if I could give you a story that would impress your boss, you wouldn’t take it because of your ethics?” I pitched the question to her.
Her eyes darted to me. “Why? Do you know something?”
I laughed. “See? Curious aren’t you?”
“Of course I’m curious. Doesn’t mean I was going to use the information.” She took a sip of wine. “But what is it?”
“I just wondered what you would say.”
She exhaled loudly. “I’m going to have to talk to Alice tomorrow about this.”
“Why?”
“You proved the point I was trying to make. I can’t separate us from work. I can’t cover stories about the resort, or about you. It’s not right.”
“Wait a minute. Didn’t you tell me she was willing to move you up if you could give her more exclusives?”
“Yes, but I’ll have to do it another way.”
The sky was getting darker. The pink hues had turned amber. I could feel the weekend sinking behind the clouds with the sun. I hadn’t felt the Sunday blues since I was in high school.
I turned so my feet were on the deck. “Tell me what you’re going to say to her.”
“I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“You are being way too calm about this. If you’re going to have a meeting with your boss, you need a plan. You need to be able to go in there and negotiate with her.”
“Negotiate? I have nothing to offer. I have to tell her our personal relationship compromises my ability to report unbiased information. There’s nothing else I can say.”
I took the wine glass from her hand and placed it next to her. “This is serious. You have to have a strategy.”
“All right.” Her painted toes landed on the floor facing mine. “What do you advise?”
“You can’t ever go into a meeting without something to offer, but most importantly you need to know what you want to get out of it. Stand firm. Stay strong.”
“I want to keep my job.”
I shook my head. “Think bigger than that. You’re taking information to her. You’re giving her something. What can you get?”
Her face twisted in a frown. “I don’t have any information. What are you talking about?”
I had debated how to let this play out, but this would be win-win for both of us.
“I have a story for the News & Record. That’s going to be the card you play.”
“You do? What is it?” She was on the edge of the seat. I could see the fire in her eyes.
“We’ll get to that.”
“Mason, if you have a story for me, I need it.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t separate me from work. This story is very specific to one of my latest acquisitions.”
The darker it got, the more I realized the weekend was almost over. Tomorrow was already a beast of a day. I would be on conference calls from seven until seven.
“You didn’t mention you had acquired anything new.” Her eyes narrowed. “What is it?”
“I buy and sell every day. You know that. But you could tell your editor you have a scoop on a South Padre land deal that has a direct impact on the resort. Trade her the story for a chance to focus on the features you really want to write.”
“A trade? But you aren’t going to tell me what it is?”
My hand squeezed her knee. “Remember the mother and daughter from the Cove?”
“Shawna and Lindy? Of course.” She lowered her eyes. “They remind me of—”
“Your sister. I know. I thought the same thing when I met her.”
“You met Shawna? When?”
“I didn’t have much choice after that article you wrote. You basically crucified me in that story.”
“They are going to be homeless, Mason. It wasn’t as if I could put a happy spin on it.”
I took a second to pour another glass of wine for myself. Sydney was still working on hers. The bottle was almost empty.
“No. You’re right. There’s no way to make people losing their homes a happy ending, but I have good news.”
She stared at me, the expectation circling her eyes. “What is it?”
“I am the proud owner of a new campground on the sound side of the island. Shawna and Lindy will be moving in two weeks.” I grinned.
“Are you serious?”
I nodded. The wine was dry and crisp. “It was a good business move. I can relocate ten residents. The mother doesn’t get kicked out on the street. I built in a cushion for the demolition budget, so I’ll use that to make the abandoned lot livable. In a few years when all of this blows over I’ll sell it.”