Survival of the Fiercest Read Free

your success.”
    “That sounds very fair, Mr. Khan,” Lou says, his fake smile making him look like a clown.
    Suddenly I’m curious what Lou’s stake is in this deal. I turn to Khan. “What type of gossip are we talking about here?”
    “Highflash.com just revealed that Jay Norfolk was caught propositioning a male masseuse.”
    I can’t believe what I’m hearing. He means malicious gossip, rumors that can wreck people’s lives.
    “Are you talking about the Emmy-winning actor who has a wife and three kids?” My eyes narrow when Khan nods. “Are the rumors true?” I snap.
    “Who knows?” Khan shrugs. “Does it matter? The site received eight million hits in three hours .”
    Damn, that’s a lot. I’m about to protest again when Lou jumps in. “There is no harm in trying. Is there, Lex?”
    “No,” I say into my coffee, wanting Lou dead.
    “Mr. Khan has a great idea. There is a new club opening tonight downtown. Viper’s PR has confirmed that a lot of celebrities will be making appearances.”
    “Specifically, Jared Waters,” Khan cuts in. “Running back for the 49ers. His best friend owns the club. It seems he may be cheating on his wife with a porn star.”
    “What porn star?”
    “Josie Pink. They’ve been seen together around town.”
    “No way. She’s with the rapper Big Skinny. She was in his last video.” I know this because when Pete isn’t working or drinking, he is watching videos on rachethiphop.com.
    Khan smiles, showing bleached teeth. “It sounds like there is a story here.”
    This is a story? I clamp down on the need to roll my eyes.
    Lou leans in. “We think you should go to the club tonight.”
    The “ we think ” sets me on fire, as if I wasn’t already stewing because this idea was clearly discussed without me. I turn to Khan. “Do you mind if I speak with Lou privately for a moment?”
    “Not at all,” Khan says.
    With a plastic smile, I stand and gesture for Lou to follow me outside the fishbowl. Now in the hallway, we move farther away from the glass. When I stop and turn, Lou is right behind me, using his kerchief to dab sweat from his brow.
    “What is this…this ambush?” I hiss.
    “This is a potential buyer, which you are lucky to have. The only other offer we have had so far was for Mommytalk.”
    “Fierce is not a gossip site, Lou.”
    His gray eyes turn steely. “Well, if it doesn’t want to end up like TechHeadz, maybe it should be. We are bankrupt, Lex, and everything must go in six weeks. That’s when we have to shut down the servers. Anything that is not bought by that time goes dark.”
    My breath catches. Having no server is the true death for websites.
    “You can do this, Lex. You are a trained journalist. That idiot at TechHeadz just sat around and played with a light saber. I have faith you can make this work.”
    I slide my gaze to his. “What’s in it for you?”
    Lou’s shoulders go back in defense. “My job is to facilitate the buys and get as much money for our sites as we can to pay off some of our debt, which is extensive.” He didn’t answer my question, but I have a feeling a board seat or maybe a percentage of the deals is in the works for him.
    My staff, my amazing staff, pushes into my thoughts. I have a duty to them to keep us going. Fuck! “Okay, let’s go back in.” I nod.
    “What are you going to say?” Lou shouts. He is on my heels, almost bumping into me as I stop in the glass doorway of the fishbowl.
    “All right, Mr. Khan. You have a deal. We’ll reconvene in a week.”

Chapter Three
    After the meeting, I am on my laptop finishing up an article for Fierce in my suite at the W Hotel. No way was I going to stay at Curve in those depressing cubicles, especially since Lou was still there. Asshole.
    Stepping to the window, I twist my curly hair into a ponytail and look out over the sunny afternoon of San Francisco. Deep breath, slow release. I’m hyperaware that in a few weeks, I could lose everything I have ever