Page 91 of Villainous Mind

Rhys had taken a seat in one of the reception chairs. I went over to him. “Watch that one,” I said, pointing to Janet. “She’ll eat you alive.”

He gave me a kiss, and I headed down the hallway to Vella’s office, knocking on the door.

“Come in,” a voice said from the other side.

I walked in, and a beautiful woman in her early forties stood up. “You must be Ms. Bardot.”

“It’s Navy,” I said, shaking her hand.

“Navy. I’m Vella. Have a seat.”

I sat down and took a deep breath.

“I read the article you wrote on the missing girls in Wales,” she said. “Let me start by saying how glad I am you’re all right. What a horrible experience it must have been.”

“I’m fine, and yes, it was horrible.”

“It will be on the front page of the Times tomorrow morning.”

Front page.

“I wanted you to know before it went out and to give you time to prepare.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ll be up for the Bevins Prize if not The Press Award. I haven’t read a story that well-constructed in a long time. You write with heart, Navy, and it’s something that is missing nowadays.”

I was speechless.

“Be prepared to be inundated with job offers.”

“I would like to stay here,” I said.

“Well, you’ll always have a job here. Not to mention a big promotion. I’m not sure what Granger had you doing, but he was wasting your talent.”

“Thank you, Vella,” I said. “I do have one problem. I’m supposed to leave for Scotland tonight. My um boyfriend, um, partner, I’m not sure what he is, planned a holiday. He thought I needed time to recover from everything that’s happened.”

She smiled. “It’s actually a wise idea to get away for a bit while things die down. If I need anything, we can do it through email.”

She stood up. “Good job, Navy.”

“Thank you.”

I walked back out to the reception area.

I did it.

I was a legitimate journalist and might even receive a highly sought-after award.

“How did it go?” Rhys asked.

I smiled. “I think it went really well.”

“Good. We should celebrate.”

We got back in the elevator, but instead of pressing the button to go down, Rhys hit the one to the fourteenth floor.

“Where are we going?” I asked as we got out.