Purchased For Pleasure

However, as she yanked open the door she ran straight into her boss.

‘Whoa. Where’s the fire?’

Henry Kerr, Femme’s Chief Editor, settled her back on her feet. He always managed to catch her at a bad time. In fact, she was convinced he had radar for trouble and it was tuned in to her frequency.

‘Sorry. In a hurry.’

He quirked an eyebrow. ‘So I see. Got a minute?’

She knew by the serious look on his face that it wasn’t a question, it was an order. So much for chasing after Ty.

‘Sure. What’s up?’

He smiled and she knew she was in trouble. Her boss never smiled unless she’d done something wrong. ‘Come into my office and I’ll let you in on a secret.’

She followed him, slouching along in the same way she usually followed the dentist into his rooms, though she hoped her meeting with Henry didn’t involve anything as difficult or painful as pulling teeth. The memory of her first and last tooth removed as a nine-year-old still rankled.

Henry closed the door and gestured towards a chair. ‘Have a seat and we’ll get down to business.’

Here it comes, the injection and the drill.

Henry sat down behind his desk and rested his folded hands on his paunch. ‘Good work last night, Kate. Real good.’

Huh?

She smiled and nodded, not having the faintest idea what he was talking about.

‘Buying that Navy guy was a stroke of genius on your part. Unbelievable. Pure gold.’

Okay, now she knew something was up. Her boss was impressed with the stupidest thing she’d done in a long time?

Thankfully, she didn’t have to reply as Henry continued, ‘The publicity in the papers today is worth a mint on its own, but have you seen the pictures we’ve got? Amazing. Just what the magazine needs. A real-life story about one of its own. Good one, Kate.’

She didn’t like the sound of this. Clasping her hands in her lap, she counted to ten, slowly. ‘I’m an editor, not a news story.’

He chuckled, a deep belly laugh that caused his three chins to wobble in succession. ‘That’s where you’re wrong. Our phones haven’t stopped ringing all morning. All the reporters want to talk to our newest star and I’ve told them to back off. They can read all about it in the upcoming issue of Femme. Like I said, pure gold.’