Off the Record by Camryn Garrett (read more books TXT) 📕

I finally glance over at Penny, she’s crying silently. It makes me feel like shit—even shittier than I felt to begin with. My phone is still on the floor, but I don’t bend to pick it up. Kim and Tom share a long glance. I sit down next to Penny but don’t touch her. She doesn’t acknowledge me.

“I promise, he just seems intimidating right now because he’s used to getting his way,” Kim says. “He’s acting like that because he’s scared. That means we’re on the right path.”

I want to believe her. I want to call Savannah and ask her about the agreement she signed. But I feel like all the energy has been sucked out of me.

“Now that we know what we’re up against, we need Tallulah on the record. The more interviews we have, the stronger we’ll be,” Kim says, jotting on a notepad. “And we need a copy of that agreement.”

The only reason why Tallulah would speak to me was because she was off the record—that means nothing from her interview can be used for publication. I bite my lip to keep it from wobbling. How will I get her to change her mind?

I glance at Penny. She doesn’t even move to wipe her tears. She just holds her arms around her center like she’s going to fall apart. Kim walks to the desk, grabs a box of tissues, and hands it to Penny. After a second or two, Penny takes one.

“Let’s get you something to drink,” Kim says. “Yeah?”

Penny nods, rising to her feet. She and Kim walk out the door. That leaves me and Tom.

“Well, then,” he says. “Let’s get back to work.”

I push my tears down into my chest and pick up my phone.

@JosieTheJournalist: remember when i said men are horrible? yeah, i stand by that

“No. I told you before and I’m telling you again now: everything I said is off the record.”

I resist the urge to cry into the phone. I seriously think I might. We’ve been in this office all afternoon and well into the night, and I already missed my flight home. I had to meet the actual Roy Lennox. Penny looks like she’s going to fall apart at any moment. I feel that way, too, but I’m holding it in.

“I totally understand that,” I say, tapping my fingers against the table. “But the story is moving forward really fast, and we’re trying to make sure that everything can be corroborated—”

“Not my story,” Tallulah says. “I already told you that. If you print anything I said, I’ll sue the hell out of every single one of you.”

I take a deep, trembling breath. “Please,” I say. “We really need this.”

“I already told you,” she says. “I can’t.”

And then she hangs up. Actually hangs up. I hold the phone against my ear for a moment longer, maybe out of exhaustion. My eyes are burning and my throat throbs in the way it does right before I’m about to start bawling.

“We’re screwed,” Penny says next to me. “Completely screwed.”

Honestly? I think she’s right.

I groan as I fall out of the cab, yanking my bag strap over my shoulder, Penny following behind me. Alice is waiting for us in the hotel lobby with our suitcases. She looks between Penny and me with serious eyes.

“How’d it go?”

My lower lip starts to tremble. Penny’s eyes begin to flood. With a swift nod, Alice grabs our hands, leading us to the hotel restaurant. I’m halfway through my coffee when she finally starts to speak.

“So Monique said it’s okay if we stay with her for a little bit,” Alice says. “Mom and Dad are probably going to kick our asses, but I told them this was extremely important. Maybe they’ll have mercy when we get back home and not kill us.”

The hotel restaurant is pretty much empty except for us and a few businessmen at the bar. I expected Penny to still be weepy and sad, but she just looks sort of blank.

“Yeah,” I say, rubbing a hand over my face. “We have to figure out tickets back.”

I don’t want to think about my parents. It was such a big deal for them to let us come on this trip. Missing our flight back home definitely wasn’t part of the agreement.

“I can probably do that,” Alice says. “Do you know when the story will be published?”

Penny and I share a glance. Before we left the Times office, Kim told us she’d contact us about story details, like when it will be published. But we don’t really know.

“No,” Penny says, staring down at the table. “But it doesn’t matter, since we’re doomed, anyway.”

This whole time, Penny has been the one leading the show. She’s the one who asked me to help her. She’s the one who came up with this idea. If she doesn’t believe in the story anymore, I don’t know who I can expect to have faith in this entire thing.

“You two need to eat,” Alice says instead, pushing at the plate in the center of the table. It’s full of nachos, which I normally love, but I can’t bring myself to touch them. A glance at Penny tells me she’s feeling the same.

I scan my brain for something, anything positive to say. My phone ringing interrupts me. Every time it rings, my entire body tenses, like it’s Lennox and he’s tracked me down to tear apart everything in my life that isn’t already broken. It’s not Lennox or his lawyer or even Kim, though. It’s Savannah. I pull the phone up to my ear.

“Hey, Savannah,” I say, making eye contact with Alice. “What’s up?”

Alice’s face scrunches up. I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean, but I brace myself for the worst. Penny picks at one of the nachos.

“I’m not sure who else to call.”

Savannah sounds out of breath, like she’s just come back from a jog. I grip the edge of the table.

“God,” I