Chapter 114 : I Have to Work With My Ex for a Year

Chapter 114: Chapter 114 : I Have to Work With My Ex for a Year

The Monday morning newsroom was loud and chaotic.

Audrey sat at her desk, staring blindly at her bright computer screen. She typed a single sentence. She stared at it for three seconds. Then, she aggressively hit the backspace key until the screen was completely blank again.

She had been doing this for twenty minutes. The weekend alumni event was officially over, but her mind was still completely trapped in a quiet, crowded hallway where a pair of strong hands had caught her waist.

"You are going to break your keyboard," a voice said.

Audrey jumped slightly. She looked up.

Ben stood next to her desk, holding two cups of cheap breakroom coffee. He placed one carefully next to her mouse.

"Did you forget how to type over the weekend?" Ben asked lightly.

Audrey grabbed the warm paper cup and took a quick sip. "I am just tired. The coffee here tastes like actual dirt today."

"It always tastes like dirt," Ben corrected her. He leaned against the edge of her desk. He looked at her closely. He could easily see the dark circles under her eyes and the heavy distraction on her face. But he did not push her to explain. He just offered a small, knowing smile.

"If you do not finish that draft by noon, the Chief is going to throw us both out the window," Ben joked gently.

Audrey finally smiled. It was small, but it was real. "I will finish it, Ben. I promise."

"Good," Ben nodded, tapping her desk twice before walking away. "Get to work, Ellis."

An hour later, the phone on Audrey’s desk rang loudly.

She picked it up. It was the Editor in Chief’s secretary, telling her to come to the main office immediately.

Audrey grabbed her notebook and walked across the busy bullpen. She knocked twice on the heavy glass door and stepped inside.

The Chief was sitting behind his massive wooden desk. He looked incredibly serious. He picked up a thick, heavy black folder and slid it straight across the polished wood.

The folder stopped right in front of Audrey.

"Calloway Football Group," the Chief announced loudly.

Audrey instantly went completely rigid. Her fingers froze inches away from the folder. Her heart gave a sudden, painful thump against her ribs.

"Take a seat," the Chief instructed.

Audrey slowly sat down in the leather chair. She forced herself to breathe normally.

"They are launching a massive, multi million dollar international youth football initiative," the Chief explained, tapping his pen against his desk. "It is a joint partnership with three major global charities and several top tier academies."

Audrey nodded slowly. She kept her hands folded tightly in her lap. "That is a great story, Chief."

"It is not just a story," the Chief corrected sharply. "It is a year long investigative feature. We are going to cover it from the ground up. The finances, the player recruitment, the facility building. We need someone embedded with their corporate team."

The Chief leaned forward. He looked directly into her eyes.

"I want you leading the entire project, Audrey."

For the very first time in her entire professional career, Audrey completely panicked.

She did not smile. She did not thank him for the massive opportunity. She just stared at him in absolute terror.

"Chief," Audrey started, her voice completely tight. "I do not think I am the right person for this."

The Chief frowned in total confusion. "Excuse me?"

Audrey quickly scrambled for an excuse. She desperately needed to get out of this.

"It is a massive corporate project," Audrey argued quickly. "Ben is much better at long form business structures. Or Sarah! Sarah is hungry for a breakout piece. She would be absolutely perfect for covering the charity angle."

The Chief shook his head immediately. He looked entirely annoyed.

"Absolutely not," the Chief firmly refused. "Sarah does not have the experience, and Ben does not know the sport like you do. No one in this building knows football like you, Audrey."

"But I have my weekly columns," Audrey tried again.

"I will assign them to someone else," the Chief countered instantly.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at her with complete, absolute finality.

"Your exclusive interview broke every single digital traffic record we have," the Chief stated. "You handled him perfectly. No one in the press has Calloway’s trust like you do right now. The assignment is yours. That is final."

Audrey closed her mouth. She had absolutely no argument left. She was completely trapped.

Across the city, the top floor of the Calloway Football Group building was completely silent.

Mason sat at the head of the massive glass boardroom table. He was surrounded by his top executives and legal advisors. They were reviewing the final budget for the youth initiative.

His young assistant walked quietly into the room. He walked directly up to Mason and leaned down.

"Sir," the assistant whispered politely. "The sports daily just confirmed their press team for the initiative. Miss Ellis has been assigned as the lead journalist for the entire project."

The assistant spoke quietly, but the room was so silent that several executives heard the name.

A heavy, nervous tension immediately filled the room. The executives all exchanged worried looks. They completely expected their ruthless CEO to object. He hated the press. He absolutely hated journalists invading his private corporate spaces.

"Mr. Calloway," the senior communications director spoke up cautiously. "If they are sending a sports reporter for a financial initiative, it might cause friction. Should we call their editor and request a different journalist?"

Mason did not even look up from the printed documents in front of him.

He held a silver pen in his right hand, slowly signing the bottom of a budget approval form. His face was a completely blank, icy mask.

"Give her whatever access she needs," Mason ordered flatly.

The board members looked at each other in absolute surprise.

"Are you certain, sir?" the director asked nervously. "She will be attending our closed meetings for the next one year."

Mason finally stopped writing. He set his pen down on the glass table.

He slowly looked up. His dark, intense eyes locked onto the communications director.

"No," Mason said. His voice was entirely calm, completely controlled, and held absolutely no emotion. "Miss Ellis is more than qualified for the position. The subject is closed."

He looked back down at his papers. The executives quickly nodded and went back to their files. Nobody dared to question him again.

The city was completely dark when Audrey finally walked into her apartment.

She dropped her heavy work bag near the door and kicked off her shoes. The apartment felt too quiet.

A few minutes later, the front door unlocked. Alexander walked in, bringing a blast of cold air and the rich, delicious smell of Chinese takeout.

"I bought noodles," Alexander announced cheerfully, holding up the white plastic bags. "And dumplings. I bought entirely too many dumplings."

Audrey managed a weak smile. "You are a lifesaver. I am starving."

They moved into the kitchen and started unpacking the small white boxes onto the marble island. Alexander handed her a pair of wooden chopsticks.

"How was work?" Alexander asked, scooping noodles onto a plate. "Did you finish the draft?"

Audrey looked down at her empty plate. She took a slow, deep breath.

"The Chief called me into his office today," Audrey said quietly. "He gave me a new assignment. I am the lead journalist on a new international youth initiative."

Alexander immediately stopped scooping noodles. A massive, proud smile broke across his handsome face.

"Audrey, that is huge!" Alexander cheered happily. "A lead investigative feature? That is front page material for a year!"

He expected her to smile back. He expected her to celebrate with him.

But Audrey did not smile. She just looked down at her hands. She looked completely pale, entirely exhausted, and incredibly worried.

Alexander’s smile slowly faded. He set the takeout box down. He walked around the kitchen island and stood next to her. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"What is wrong?" Alexander asked gently. "Do you not want the assignment?"

Audrey opened her mouth, but the words completely died in her throat. She looked up at his warm, caring eyes, and she felt a terrible, crushing weight in her chest. She could not answer him.

It was incredibly late that night.

Alexander was already asleep in the bedroom. The apartment was completely silent.

Audrey sat alone at the kitchen counter. The only light came from the small lamp above her head.

The heavy black folder from the Chief sat directly in front of her.

She slowly reached out and opened the cover.

She stared at the very first page of the project schedule. It was a printed list of the key corporate executives she would be working closely with over the next year.

Her eyes scanned past the directors and the financial advisors. They landed entirely on the very top line.

Executive Lead: Mason Calloway

Audrey stared at his printed name. She felt a cold shiver run straight down her spine.

She would have to see him. She would have to talk to him. She would have to sit in his quiet, spacious office and pretend they were just two professionals doing a job.

His hand around her waist flashed through her mind.

Audrey gently closed the black folder.

She rested her forehead against the cool, smooth leather cover. The quiet hum of the city traffic echoed outside her dark window.

"This is going to be a long year," Audrey whispered softly into the empty room.