she confirmed, taking the coffee her mom offered her. She took a sip. It was a bit bitter but she could hardly expect her mom to make a perfect cup at this time of the morning! “You won’t bombard him with questions when he wakes up will you?”
Mallory make a tsk noise. “Darling, we need to know who he is. You can’t just declare your love for a new man every month and expect us not to be a little bit suspicious.”
Keira sighed, a little exasperated. “Okay, mom. I get it. I’m acting all crazy lately. Just don’t scare him away.” She downed her coffee then kissed her mom on the cheek again. “I love you. Thanks for dinner.”
Then she hurried off to get the subway to work.
An hour on the subway was never the best way to start the day. When Keira finally disembarked, she felt grubby, as greasy as if she had not even showered that morning. And her clothes were creased. It wasn’t the sort of impression she wanted to give off on her first day back at the office.
But when she walked in through the large glass doors of Viatorum she needn’t have worried about her appearance at all. Her colleagues leapt up from their seats at the sight of her and hurried over.
“Keira!” Denise cried, hugging her tightly. “You did it.”
“Did what?” Keira asked.
“Saved all of our jobs!” Denise replied. “Now we’re turning a good profit, Lance doesn’t think we need to change anything. No advice columns or recipe pages.” She grimaced.
“Well that’s great,” Keira replied, smiling, not really certain her one article could be held entirely accountable for that.
“When do we get to meet him, then?” Denise asked sounding eager and excited.
“Him?” Keira asked.
“Cristiano!” Denise cried.
Keira noticed the way she swooned as she said it.
“Well, I wasn’t planning on bringing him to the office,” she quipped, a little bemused.
Denise frowned. “But you have to. You can’t make us fall in love with the guy and then not let us meet him! I mean, from your description he sounds gorgeous. Is he gorgeous?”
“Well, yes, but…” Keira began.
“Then you have to let us meet him!” Denise continued. “Please, Keira!”
Keira frowned. Cristiano wasn’t just some prop for her article. He was her real life lover. She felt like Denise had blurred fact and fiction. Had Keira accidentally turned Cristiano into some kind of romance protagonist?
Just then, she noticed Nina at her desk, tapping away at her keyboard, and waved. Nina finished what she was doing and came over. They embraced.
“Nice work of the article, Keira,” Nina said. “Again.”
Keira blushed. “Thanks.”
“It’s nice to have you back.”
“It’s nice to be back,” Keira grinned. “It’s been so long I even enjoyed doing my laundry.”
She went to head towards her office but Nina took hold of her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
“Not so fast,” she said. “Elliot wants to see you.”
“Oh?” Keira asked, glancing towards the open door to his office. She couldn’t help but feel anxious. Even though she and Elliot were on good speaking terms, he was still an imposing figure, thanks in no small part to his huge six foot something frame. “Now?”
“Yup, now,” Nina said, smiling.
There was something in her eye, a secret she was keeping from Keira. It only increased Keira’s feelings of trepidation.
Taking a breath, she changed course and headed for Elliot’s office.
When she entered through the door, he looked up. To Keira’s surprise, he stood and opened his arms to hug her. Keira awkwardly moved into his embrace, feeling like a kid hugging a distant uncle. Friendliness didn’t suit him.
“My hero returns,” Elliot said, taking his seat again. “I’m sure you’ve heard the news?”
“What news exactly?” Keira asked.
“About the subscription increase.”
“No…” Keira admitted.
Elliot continued. “They’re soaring. Lance is thrilled. He said as long as we can keep this up he’ll have no need to intervene in the magazine’s direction at all. Everything can stay exactly as it is. As long as you keep doing what you’re doing.”
Keira wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret that. “In what way?”
“The love articles,” Elliot said. “The Romance Guru.”
Keira felt a sudden heaviness in her chest. Hadn’t Elliot actually read her last article? She was in love now. Genuine love with a real human man who wanted to be with her. Not like Shane who had other priorities. This time, Cristiano had traveled across the world for her, leaving his home, his family, his work and his country behind. There was no more Romance Guru, not if it required her falling in love again!
“I’m sorry,” Keira began, “Are you saying that you want me to write another Romance Guru article?”
“Of course,” Elliot replied, looking confused. “It’s all anyone wants. Our readers. They love it. Can’t get enough. Insatiable. And we need to keep up the momentum. So we’ll have to send you away again immediately.”
Keira’s heaviness turned to panic. “No,” she gasped. “You can’t. I’ve only been back two nights!”
How long would it take for Bryn to get her claws into Cristiano? For Maxine to start sniffing around? For her mom to terrify him into leaving? She couldn’t up and go again!
Elliot looked confused. “Keira, everything’s planned,” he said flatly. “Heather has got the flights booked already. Paris, Keira. PARIS. This is the best assignment yet and we’re handing it to you on a plate. The rest of the staff out there would kill for this.”
“I’m sorry…” Keira stammered. “But I can’t. I truly love Cristiano. This isn’t a game for me. I don’t want to leave him. And I don’t want to go somewhere else and try to find love.” She took a deep breath. “If that’s what you need me to do, I’d rather quit.”
Elliot was shaking his head, his eyes averted. To Keira’s surprise, his shoulders began to shake. Was he crying? She knew how close things had come at the magazine to imploding, and she knew how much Elliot had given up for Viatorum, how much it meant to him. But this was her life as well. Surely someone else could take up the Romance Guru mantel? They could even pretend to be her for all she cared! What would it matter to the readers after all?
But then she realized his shaking shoulders were not tears, but laughter. She frowned, annoyed, unable to understand what could be so amusing to him.
“Keira,” Elliot finally said.
