Zac Brown is a shoo-in for a promotion at The Weekly Chronicle … until he isn’t. Until Luca Lowe, the cocky yet introverted new chief editor, takes away the job of his dreams. As tensions mount, Zac and Luca frequently clash at the office, both struggling to contain their temper. When a case of mistaken identity occurs and Luca emails Zac by mistake, they engage in a more personal conversation.
A night out on the town leads to them spending the night together. Zac has never felt closer to another man since his divorce. He takes a chance and begins to date his boss. But will a workplace romance stand the test of time?
The next week passed by in a blur. Zac had been too busy to think about his new boss. Almost. He sighed, clicking his fingers. They ached. He’d spent the past five hours basically re-writing a story by one of the freelancers. Zac had to fix not only typographical errors, but cold hard facts. It was a simple piece; it’s not like they were covering a murder investigation. It was supposed to be fun and informative, all about the opening of a new library. But Fran, the author, had fucked up the names of the owners, their story, and the god-damn address of the place. Zac had looked up the one she had used … it took you to a Chinese take-out place.
Boy, he had not had enough coffee for this. This would be the type of thing he’d take to Paul, but he wasn’t going to do that with his new boss. Absolutely not. He’d have to handle this himself.
He stood, grabbing his sleek black notebook and pen, and headed for the meeting room. He smiled at everyone, pulling up a chair next to Pauline who gave him a wink. These weekly meetings used to be fun, but this one was quiet, as they all waited for their new king to join them. Zac cast his gaze around the meeting room while he waited. It was a small space, with a modern glass table, surrounded by chairs, with a bowl of fruit in the middle. Plastic, of course.
“Good afternoon.” Luca walked in and took the seat at the head of the table, clad in a black suit, with his hair slicked back, he looked more like a model than a chief editor of a newspaper.
Zac noted how he didn’t apologize for his lateness. Five minutes by his watch.
“I’m going to need some updates from all of you, on how your week has been, and where we are at with our current issue.” Luca looked around at them all expectantly.
Pauline cleared her throat. “I can start. I’m following up on a story concerning pension fraud. I’m looking to get an interview or comment from the company and the boss. But I’ve been doing a deep dive into him, Ross Ham, from Asset Wizards, and he seems to have all kinds of shady business practices, so I think the story could go way deeper than what I initially thought.”
Luca nodded. “Good.”
The next person spoke, and then the next. Luca never said more than a few words in response to their updates.
Heather, head of the art department, spread out a few photographs for his approval.
Then it was Zac’s turn. His gaze locked and held with Luca’s. Damn it. Why was his heart speeding up?
Zac cleared his throat and began updating Luca and the rest of the team on what he’d been doing. “And finally, I’ve been editing and writing the library piece.”
Luca’s eyes flashed. “I thought that’s why we hired the new team of freelancers?”
Oh shit. So, Luca had been paying attention … Zac hadn’t meant to bring that up.
“Yes, well, there were a few things that needed sorting out, but some of the freelancers are still finding their feet.”
Luca frowned. “It was Fran on that piece, right?”
“Right,” said Zac. He cleared his throat. “I’ll handle the freelancers.” He paused, considering. “It’s my job.”
Luca’s jaw twitched. “And it’s my job to oversee the paper. If someone isn’t pulling their weight, then they have to go.”
Zac’s blood heated. “That may be so, but we all have our specific roles at the company. And as I’ve said, it’s my job to manage them.”
Luca cocked a brow, sending stabs of anger through Zac. The cocky bastard. “Yes, but clearly you haven’t been doing a very good job of it.”
Hundreds of words bubbled up in Zac’s throat. He wanted to throw them like knives, like weapons, and use them to shield himself, to protect his reputation. How dare he? Zac opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Pauline’s hand clamped around his arm. Zac and Luca had been getting closer to each other, leaning forward as they argued like children in front of the entire team. Wonderful.
