She paused. “I just need to make a phone call.”
“I’ll see you at the table.”
I walked toward the patio, knowing I had broken my number one rule.
6
Sydney
It was manipulative and conniving, but I was out of options. I didn’t expect him to actually fall for it. I pushed down the guilt growing in my stomach. This wasn’t the kind of reporter I wanted to be, but I couldn’t afford to be an out of work journalist either. I was surprised when the tears surfaced. I blamed the heat and the fear of losing my job.
I dialed the after-hours number at the office. Alice was still there. She answered after a few rings.
“Alice Compton speaking.”
“Hey, it’s Sydney.”
“You’re late. Over an hour past deadline. I’m afraid you didn’t take our earlier conversation very seriously.”
“Wait, Alice I have an exclusive.” I smiled at the bartender. He was busy polishing pilsners, but I thought he had an ear extended my direction.
“What kind of exclusive? You already missed the scoop on the land sale. Two other sites beat us to it.”
“Mason Lachlan has agreed to an interview.” I held my breath. This was the only card I had to play to keep my job.
“He’s going to let you interview him?” She laughed. “I don’t know if I can believe that. He never does interviews. Believe me. We’ve tried.”
“It’s true. I’m with him right now and we’re getting ready to start the interview.” She didn’t need the exact timeline. She also didn’t need to know he had invited me for drinks. I had entered a murky gray area where my journalistic ethics were concerned.
“Holy shit. This is big, Sydney. How did you manage that?”
I breathed for the first time realizing she wasn’t going to fire me tonight. “I’ve been working on it all day. That’s why I missed the first deadline.”
“I’m impressed you could gain access to him.”
“Thanks. I’m going to work on the story tonight, and I’ll have it submitted in the morning. First thing. I promise.”
“I expect to see it in my inbox before I have my first cup of coffee,” she warned.
“Not a problem. I won’t sleep tonight until I have the full story.”
“That’s what I need to hear. Good luck.”
I turned my ringer to vibrate and shoved my phone into my bag. I didn’t want any distractions. I couldn’t let anything ruin this chance.
I walked out onto the patio with a smile plastered on my face.
Mason was sitting with Grey, who I had met earlier, and the girl he had mentioned.
“There she is.” He stood. “Sydney Paige, meet Eden and you’ve already introduced yourself to Grey.” I heard his admonishing tone.
The tall blonde stood to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too. Mason said you write for the News & Record?”
“Yes, the online magazine. I started there in May.”
“Cool. I was a business major at Carolina. I try to keep up with business trends when I can. How did you get that beat? Did you double major in business?”
God, that would have at least made some kind of sense. I had nothing under my belt other than a terrible economics class sophomore year.
I sat in between Mason and Eden. “When I graduated I started applying everywhere. The online business journal at the Record was hiring so it just kind of worked out. I drove down a week after graduation with nothing but what could fit in my car.”
She laughed. “I get that. You could say my current job just kind of worked out too.”
She looked at Grey, and I caught the emotional current passing between them. It was tangible. The hues from the sunset caught the corner of her ring and the sparkle landed on the table.
“That’s a beautiful ring,” I admired.
“Thank you. Grey proposed at Christmas.” She held it out so I could examine it more closely. “It was a complete surprise.”
I looked at her fiancé. I could see the family resemblance between him and Mason. They both had broad shoulders, defined jawlines and I wasn’t sure I had ever seen piercing eyes like that before. The Lachlan men were a dangerous combination. I blushed, knowing my mind was traveling to some dirty places.
“When’s the wedding?” I asked.
“October. It’s going to be in North Carolina. That’s where I’m from.”
“Sydney just graduated from Longmire,” Mason added.
Eden looked impressed. “Wow. Virginia. You’re a long from home too. We Southern sisters are going to need to stick together, don’t you think?” She passed a beer to me.