One Way or Another (6 page)
Read One Way or Another Online
Authors: Rhonda Bowen
Chapter 6
“G
ot a second?”
ot a second?”
Toni watched from the door as Naomi looked up from her computer. She spotted Toni, sighed, then looked back at the screen. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, not pausing for a second as she spoke. “Sorry, kid, I got an appointment in two minutes.”
“I know.” Toni came fully into the office and closed the door behind her. “I'm your appointment.”
Naomi's fingers stopped moving as she glanced at Toni skeptically. Toni watched nervously as her boss swiveled her chair around to check her desk calendar.
“You're interviewing to be the new local arts reviewer?” Naomi asked, cocking her head to the side.
“Well, I might as well be, with all the great stories coming my way.” Toni hoped her sarcasm had hit the intended mark. “And it doesn't help that my boss, who used to be my number-one fan, won't even give me the time of day.”
Naomi sighed and motioned to the chair across from her. “Have a seat.”
Still holding on to her attitude, Toni sank into the seat across from her boss. As she did, she noticed for the first time the age lines etched into Naomi's pale skin, as well as the streaks of silver that seemed to punctuate her auburn hair more than before. It seemed like her boss had aged ten years since the last time she had seen her, which in all honesty was probably over a week ago.
Ever since the fallout with Gordon over Toni's article on the mayor, Naomi had been a lot less visible. She still came in at her ungodly hour of 6:45 a.m. and left at 7:15 p.m. However, unlike before, she was more often in her office than around the office. In fact, other than when Naomi came and went for meetings, Toni barely saw her. Which was why Toni had had to resort to unorthodox methods.
“If you're slick enough to sneak yourself onto my appointment calendar without me knowing, than I guess you deserve the time you stole,” Naomi said with a small smile.
“I'm sorry.” Toni bit her lip. “There didn't seem to be any other way. And I really need to talk to you.”
“Okay.” Naomi put down her pen and leaned back in her chair. “Let me hear it.”
“I'm really mad about being demoted to a regular assignment reporter,” Toni said, her forehead wrinkling in a move of its own. “I love my job, and I am really good at it. You know that. I feel like I'm suffocating here.”
Naomi took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I know.” She sounded as frustrated as Toni felt. “And, Toni, it hurts me more than it hurts you, because I know you are one of my best reporters. But like I told you before, I had no choice. It was either this or a pink slip.”
Toni felt the breath leave her body for a moment. “They were gonna fire me?” she squeaked.
Naomi's lip curled in distaste. “That's what the mayor wanted in exchange for making his absurd baseless lawsuit go away. I had to convince Gordon to keep you on. The only way to do that was to promise to keep you off the front page.”
Toni fiddled with the clasp on her watch. If that was what Gordon really wanted, then this was going to be harder than she thought.
“That might be a problem,” Toni said, measuring each word. “ 'Cause that's exactly what I'm here for.”
Naomi groaned and closed her eyes. “Toni ...”
“Come on, Naomi,” Toni whined, sitting forward. “You know I wouldn't come to you on this unless I knew it was good.”
Toni watched her boss roll her pen between her palms as she sat back. “Okay,” Naomi said, the apprehension still apparent in her voice. “Let me at least hear what you got this time. Although I can't make any promises.”
That was all Toni needed. She spilled out the entire story of Jerome, his case, and Jacob's House to Naomi, who listened carefully but said nothing. When she had explained her angle for the story, Toni pulled out a USB memory drive and handed it to Naomi.
“What's this?” Naomi asked, even as she plugged the stick into her computer.
“It's the first draft for the story. I've been working on it on my laptop and didn't want to save the files on our hard drive here.” She smirked. “You never know who isn't minding their own business, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
They both remembered more than one story they had been working on that had been shut down halfway by Gordon, or had had its sources dry up without explanation. After that Naomi and Toni had practiced keeping the more high profile stories as independent of the office as possible.
Naomi's expression was pensive as she read through the piece Toni had spent hours putting together from Jerome's interviews and information from the case she had been able to find in public records downtown. Toni was always nervous when she had to watch her boss read her workâeven when she knew it was good. This time was no different.
When Naomi leaned back and nodded, Toni knew she was done. But she had gone back to the pen-rolling routine without saying a word.
“Well?” Toni probed when she couldn't wait a moment longer. “What do youâ”
Naomi's hand in the air made Toni stop short. Naomi swiveled her chair around to the window, her back toward Toni. Toni tried not to fidget as she watched Naomi go through what she knew was her mental routine for evaluating a story. Usually Toni never had to sit there as she did it. But the silence forced Toni to evaluate the situation herself. What if Naomi wouldn't use the story on the front page? What if it got cut down to a three-paragrapher below the fold on the second page of the courts section? What would she tell Jerome? Adam? They already didn't think much of her. This definitely would not help.
It was just a story. They were just players. And when it was all over, everybody would walk away and go back to their life. So why then did the thought of disappointing Jerome twist her stomach into knots?
“Okay,” Naomi said, swinging around. “This is good.”
“Good?” Toni perked up. “How good?”
“You already know how good. Front page good.”
“Yes!” Toni squealed, bouncing in her chair. “I'm back!”
“No you're not.” Naomi's voice had too much caution for Toni's liking.
Toni deflated instantly. “What do you mean?”
“I can't publish this in your name, Toni,” Naomi said matter-of-factly. “It would be the absolute last straw. Gordon would have us both out on our behinds before the ink could dry on the first copies.”
Toni fell back in the chair and covered her face. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could deal with. “I can't do this, Naomi.” Toni shook her head and stood. “I can't live like this. If I can't write stories that I care about here, then I might as well quit, and find something else to do.”
Naomi rolled her eyes. “Sit down, Miss Drama Queen. I said we can't publish this under your name. I never said we can't publish it.”
Toni blinked and sat down, not quite sure where her boss was going with this, but willing to hear her out. “What are you thinking?”
Naomi leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Would you consider publishing this under a different name?”
“As in giving it to another reporter?” Toni almost choked on the words.
“No!” Naomi's face contorted in horror. “You know I don't believe in that mess. I mean publishing under a moniker.” Naomi sat back. “I was thinking about something like Ann Armour.”
Toni cocked her head to the side. She hadn't thought of that. “Who would know?”
“That's the thing,” Naomi said. “You couldn't tell anyone. You would have to work on this as a freelance writer, do it on your own time, still keep up your other reporting from your beat and get paid for it separately. You and I would be the only persons who would know.”
Toni chewed on her lower lip. She wasn't sure about this.
Naomi sighed. “Look, Toni, I know this will be different. You won't get the glory and won't be able to talk to many people about it. But this is the only way this story gets played out here. So think about it. What matters to you most, telling this kid's story, or keeping your name on the front page?”
Jerome's face flashed through her mind. It was a no-brainer. “The story is what's most important.” Toni folded her arms in her lap. “I'll do it.”
The first smile for the day broke onto Naomi's face and for a moment she looked like the editor that Toni knew. Toni grinned along with her.
“You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that.” Naomi sat forward, looking energized. “Now we can really flesh this out.”
The smile slid from Toni's face. “Flesh it out?”
“Of course,” Naomi said brightly. “Now that you are a contracted freelance author, Miss Armour, we have to decide how far we're going to take this story. I won't publish it unless we have two follow-up pieces. For one, we really need to get into crime as an election issue, and talk about all the manipulation happening at city hall around it. If you can get some insider scoop and drop some names, we could have a bombshell on our hands.”
Toni nodded, starting to understand how Naomi was thinking. It looked like she might get to cover the elections after all. She couldn't help but grin.
“Plus we need a human interest feature piece on this home.”
Toni's face fell. “The home?”
“Yeah, this place where the kid is serving his time,” Naomi continued, skimming her computer screen again. “What's it called?”
“Jacob's House.” Toni's lips felt heavy as she supplied the name. Doubt began to spring up like weeds inside her.
“Can't we just run this piece and see how it goes?” she suggested with a fraction of her earlier enthusiasm.
Naomi laughed. “Toni, honey, I didn't get to where I am without some well-honed intuition. That intuition is telling me that we had better have two more stories waiting in the wings to follow this one. If we pull this off, we could become a number-one choice for coverage of the elections. Do you know how many issues we will sell? Do you know what that will mean for getting interviews with both parties during the entire process?
“This is a good story, Toni, but it can be better.”
Naomi swivelled back to her computer and began typing again. “Let me look over this once more. In the meantime, get me a piece on that home. Find out about the other boys there. It's been around for what, twenty-five years? There must be a few big names that've been through it. Find out who they are.”
Toni pulled herself out of the chair and headed for the door. Wasn't this what she had expected anyway? So why was she surprised that this was happening? And why did the thought of going back to Adam for more information make her stomach turn?
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Toni paused to look back at Naomi, her hand on the doorknob.
“Interview that guy, what's his name?” Naomi's eyes scanned the computer screen. “Adam Bayne.”
Chapter 7
“B
ayne, I don'tthink this is working.”
ayne, I don'tthink this is working.”
“Yeah, man. It's supposed to look like the rest. That don't look like the rest.”
Adam sighed and sat back on his heels, looking at the roof shingles in front of him. Tarik and Sheldon were right. Something was wrong. He just didn't know what. They had been trying for the past hour to fix the leak in the roof over Tarik's bedroom that they had delayed addressing all spring. June and the end of the school year had finally rolled around so they could get to it. But with three of them on the roof, and three others on the ground, they still hadn't been able to figure it out.
“Yo, Bayne, I'm not trying to say you can't do this,” Tarik began easily. “I seen you fix the plumbing in the bathrooms, and even Ray-Ray's bed after he popped it down with his heavy self. But ain't none of that ever taken two hours, and we been on this roof for two hours. You get what I'm tryin' to say?”
Adam got exactly what he was trying to say. He rubbed his hand over his face. What he wouldn't give to have a roofer appear right now.
“Hey! What's going on up there?”
The three of them looked over the edge of the Jacob's House roof to where the voice was coming from. Adam grimaced. This woman had a knack for showing up at the worst possible times.
“Hey, it's the honey who was here for Jerome the other day. What up, shorty!” Sheldon called down from the roof.
Tarik socked him in the arm, and they both looked over at Adam, who was glaring.
“I know you can do better than that,” Adam admonished. Sheldon scowled. “Sorry.” He leaned back over the edge of the roof. “How are you today, Miss Toni?” he asked, enunciating each word for Adam's benefit.
Adam could hear Toni's laughter below. “I'm good. Tell your boss to come down so I can talk to him.”
“I'm kinda busy,” Adam called out as he turned away to focus his attention back on the roof in front of him. He couldn't waste any more time. There were still three other parts of the roof waiting for similar attention.
“Busy doing what?”
“Tryin' to fix this roof,” Tarik answered dryly. “Too bad he don't know nothin' 'bout what he doin'.”
“Maybe if you quit runnin' your mouth and got your behind over here you could help me figure this out,” Adam threw back.
“Let me take a look,” Toni called out. All three heads on the roof and those on the ground shifted to look at Toni.
For the first time that day, Adam grinned. “You want to take a look at the roof,” Adam said, the amusement in his voice poorly disguised. “For what?”
“Maybe I can help,” Toni called back, cocking her head to the side as she stared up at him from under huge sunglasses.
“I don't think so,” Adam said. But before the words were properly out of his mouth, Toni dropped her bag on the grass below and took off her tiny belt. Adam watched in horror as she kicked off her shoes and slipped the oversized dress shirt she was wearing over her head. She tossed it on the ground in the pile with the rest of her stuff, all to the background sound of the boys' whistles and catcalls. He thought about reprimanding them, reminding them of the importance of respecting women. But what should he expect? They were street kids, and an attractive woman had practically stripped down to her basics right in front of them.
She seemed oblivious, however, and Adam almost forgot the purpose of the whole show until she slipped on some work boots and climbed the ladder to the roof, clad only in the boots, black leggings, a tank top, and her sunglasses. He knew instinctively that the image of her slim, curvy body would leave a scar on his brain. At least nothing was see-through.
“Jerome, come hold this ladder so I don't break my neck,” she called out, even though she was already halfway up.
“For what?” Jerome argued, eyes narrowed. “Ain't nobody send you up there.”
Toni paused on the ladder and turned to look at Jerome. Adam couldn't see her face, but whatever was there did something, for Jerome slunk his reluctant form over to the ladder to steady the base.
“You can't be up here,” Adam said testily, when she finally made it past the three stories to the roof. “If you fall off or get injured, you're not covered under our insurance.”
“Please.” Toni smirked as Tarik and Sheldon helped her onto the roof. “You're more likely to fall off than I am. Okay, let's see this leak.”
Toni crawled over to a section of the roof that met a higher attic wall. The shingles had already been pulled away from where Adam had attempted to start some work. Adam gritted his teeth as he watched her. Was she serious? Did she think she could just go wherever and do whatever she wanted? What was with this crazy chick?
“Toni, this isn't a joke,” he began.
“No, but this flashing is.” She pulled at the metal piece that sat at the corner between the roof and the wall. “Nothing's wrong with it, really. It's just not installed properly. Come, let me show you.” She motioned for them to come over.
Sheldon and Tarik got there before Adam. He wasn't sure if it was their enthusiasm to learn, or to get a closer look at Toni.
“Look, Adam,” Toni said, beckoning him closer. “The flashing is supposed to overlap and fit under the shingles. But here it's just sitting on top. We just need to pull it off and reinstall it properly.”
“Toni ...”
She turned to look at him. Then she took off her sunglasses and he realized she was serious. “I know what I'm talking about. Just trust me,” she urged.
She turned back to the problem in front of them. “Now, we can get this fixed in no time, we just need some tin snips, a hand brake, a hammer, a couple nails, and some rubber sealant. Oh, and I'm gonna need some gloves.”
“I got you,” Tarik said, disappearing down the ladder to collect the supplies she requested.
Adam gave her his own gloves and watched, amazed, as she pulled off the shingles from the section of the roof near the attic wall and removed the metal flashing that was in place. She was about to replace it when she peered closer and frowned.
“What?” he asked with apprehension. He was almost afraid to know. He had been in this house long enough to expect that when you pulled away the source of one problem, you often found several others hiding underneath.
“Uh, well, the felt under these shingles is damaged,” she said. Glancing over her shoulder, he saw that the fabriclike material that was supposed to act as a layer of protection was torn in several areas.
“Guess we need to replace that too.” Adam sighed. So much for thinking this was going to be a quick and easy repair. “Sheldon, you're gonna need to help Tarik bring the roofing felt up from the ground.”
“Don't worry.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “It won't take as long as you're thinking. And on the bright side, I think this part is the worst of it. Your other leaks are probably just missing shingles and damaged felt.”
To Adam's surprise, she was right. But then, why wouldn't she be? She clearly knew more about roofing than he did.
In twenty minutes they had fixed the leak near the attic wall. After that, she showed the three of them how to fix the other leaks and then left them to it while she checked the flashing near other sections of the roof. In an hour and a half they were descending the ladder to the ground.
“Yo, Miss T, you the man,” Sheldon said, giving her dap.
Toni laughed. “I do what I can.”
Adam watched as she sat down on the grass and stretched her long, slim legs. He still couldn't believe she had crawled up onto the top of the house and fixed the roof like it was no big deal. All the women he knew, and a lot of men also, were too afraid of heights to clean their roof gutters. But not this one. She was something else.
“Do I even want to know why you know how to fix roofs?” Adam asked, sitting down beside her on the grass. The boys had long abandoned them for the kitchen.
Toni leaned back on her elbows and grinned. “I used to date a guy who did roofing part time. When he found out heights didn't bother me, he would let me hang out with him on the roof while he did jobs.”
Adam raised an eyebrow. “Aren't there rules against that sort of thing?”
“Of course.” Toni wiggled her eyebrows. “That's what made it so much fun.”
Adam turned to squint at her. “So you just break the law for kicks?”
Toni shook her head. “Not for kicks. Sometimes a little bending of the rules is necessary.”
“Is that what you were doing that night when you ended up in jail?”
Toni turned to look at him. “Yes. And I have no apologies. It was for a worthy cause, and I would do it again if I had to.”
Adam smirked. “And you wonder why I didn't want you around Jerome.”
“Oh, come on, Adam.” She sat forward, folding her legs Indian style. “Even you must admit that there are occasions where breaking the rules is justified.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I'm drawing a blank.”
“Okay, what about Rosa Parks?” Toni challenged. “Wasn't she breaking the law when she refused to give up her seat for white passengers, even though the laws of segregation said that blacks were supposed to? And Irene Morgan did the same thing before her.”
“Okay, hold up, Miss Civil Rights,” Adam said, stopping her. “Those people broke the law for good reason, to stand up for their civil rights and freedoms where they were being denied. The only freedom you were standing up for that night at the station was your own.”
“First of all, I was standing up for the rights of the Atlanta people,” Toni said, holding up one finger. “They have a right to know what their politicians are up to and sometimes we have to go to extreme measures to bring them that truth.”
Adam opened his mouth to protest.
“Second of all.” She held up another finger, cutting him off before he could get a word out. “That was very judgmental of you, Mr. Bayne. You just assumed I was trifling without any facts to back up your argument.”
She squinted at him. “Aren't you a Christian? Aren't you supposed to be accepting and loving and all that? I'm not feeling the love, Mr. Bayne.”
Adam shook his head and smirked. “Very smooth,” he said. “I almost bought it. You can get down off your soapbox now.”
Toni winked at him and grinned before reaching for her shirt. “Hey, I'm just trying to keep it real.”
He watched thankfully as she slipped her shirt back over her head, covering up the snug- fitting tank top and leggings.
“Speaking of keeping it real,” Adam began, “what's this spontaneous visit about? I doubt you felt divinely compelled to come down here and repair our roof.”
Toni paused for only a moment. But it was long enough for Adam to get suspicious. His brow furrowed as he waited for her response.
“I actually need a favor.”
“Why doesn't this surprise me?”
“Hey,” Toni protested, slapping his arm lightly with the back of her hand. “I just fixed your roof up there. Can you cut me some slack for a minute?”
Adam folded his arms. “Okay, you're right. I should at least hear what you want before I say no.”
Toni opened her mouth to protest, but then closed it and sighed. “I need more for the story.”
Adam chuckled and stood. He grabbed the tool bag and scraps of roofing items that the boys had left behind. “No way.” He headed for the inside.
“Come on,” Toni complained, grabbing her things and following him. “You haven't even heard what I want yet.”
“Don't need to.”
He reached for the door but she beat him to it, slipping easily into the small space between him and the door. She was so close he could feel the heat radiating off her skin. There was that vanilla again. He stepped back to clear his head.
“I just fixed your roof.” With her hands on her hips and her body pressed against the door, she effectively blocked his way inside. “Do you know how much a professional would have charged to do that? Plus I got my lawyer friend to not just look over your case like he initially agreed to, but to take it on full time. Do you know how much money his time is worth? Do you know how I had to twist his arm to get him to do it?”
He saw a vein near her temple stand up. “But I did that all for you. For free, I might add, out of the goodness of my heart... .”
Adam coughed. “Goodness? Heart? You know what those things are?”
“I gave up my time to help you,” Toni continued, ignoring his jab. “The least you can do is hear me out.” Her eyes burned into his, daring him to say no.
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