Come Undone Read Free Page B

“As an associate
editor, Lisa is technically next in line. You believe you’re ready, though?”
    “Yes,”
I confirmed.
    “Let’s
try this then. We’ll start with one of our most popular features: Chicago’s Most Eligible Bachelors and
Bachelorettes . It’s got potential to be our top-selling issue of the year. Let’s
try to entice advertisers with our best selection of people yet. Move into
Diane’s office for now and work with Lisa on the feature, along with whatever
other assignments Diane had coming up. I’ll decide who I’d like to promote
after the issue hits.”
    I
nodded and stood up to shake his hand. “I’m in. Thanks for the opportunity.” He
sent me on my way with the news that Diane was already cleared out and he
requested that I send Lisa in to see him. She gave me a knowing, slightly
triumphant smile as she glided past me to his office.
    After
moving what few items I had from my cubicle to Diane’s office, I excitedly
picked up planning where she’d left off. In my enthusiasm, I decided to enlist
the help of an intern.
    “Looks
like we’ll be working together on Most
Eligible ,” I said, poking my head into Lisa’s office on my way to the
interns’ station. She only grunted in response, never taking her eyes off her
computer screen. Lisa was nothing if not passive aggressive, which would be
fine if her bitterness didn’t surface in other ways. “So I’ll come by this
afternoon and we can get started. I can catch you up on where Diane left off.”
    She
blinked up at me for a quick second. “Great Liv! I’m crazy this afternoon, but
I’m sure I can squeeze you in.”
    I
gave her a tight smile, but she was already ignoring me again. Moments later I
was staring at the back of a short blonde bob that ended in soft pink ends. “Hi.”
    A
young girl, who I guessed to be just out of college, turned suddenly. “Hi, uh,
Mrs. Germaine.”
    “Are
you Serena?”
    “Yes.
Oh, is it Ms. Germaine or Mrs. Germaine? Jenny wasn’t sure.” She glanced at my
ring. “Or something else.”
    “Whatever
you like. Call me Liv if you want. I wanted to talk to you about the article
you e-mailed last night. You sent it awfully late.”
    “I
know, I’m sorry,” she said, her light eyes widening. “I was feeling so, like,
inspired, and I didn’t want to stop so I was up all night working on it. Next
time I can wait to send it ‘til the morning.”
    “No,
don’t worry about that. I’m up late,” I said, waving my hand. “I’m just glad
you got it in early. Makes everyone’s job easier.”
    “Oh!”
she said, covering her mouth with her fingertips. “I thought I was in trouble.”
    “Nope.
Anyway, I liked the article, but there are some things I want fixed. I’ll e-mail
my notes. In the meantime, Lisa and I will be taking over the annual Most Eligible issue. I’d like it to be
the best selection of bachelors and bachelorettes that we can possibly find.
Can you start narrowing?”
    “Sounds
good,” Serena said as she made notes on a yellow pad. “How do I know what to
look for? Like, looks-wise or . . . like . . . occupations?”
    I
gave her a tense smile, wondering if I’d given instructions to the right
person, and made a mental note to follow-up later. “Grab issues from the last
few years to get an idea of what we’re looking for. I know they’ve weeded out
people already but this year I want the absolute best options out there. No
friends-of-friends or relatives. Set up interviews with the top picks so Lisa
and I can decide from there.”
    “K,”
she said. Even though it was just a letter, her voice wavered and her eyebrows
met in the middle.
    “I
was an intern once too.” I gave her my best attempt at a reassuring face.
“You’ll figure it out.”
    ~
    “Hello,
dear,” Mack said with a doting smile as I entered the restaurant that evening.
I loved how his smiles deepened the wrinkles by his eyes because they were
always genuine.
    “Mack,”
I said, giving him a kiss on