"I thought our story was epic, you know? You and me. Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed, epic."

--Logan Echolls

Chapter 1

Claire Meade stood at the head of the long table of the conference room on the thirty-fourth floor of Meade Publications. "Hot Flash is finally going strong, people. We need to prove to our competition and to our readers that we can stay fresh."

The Creative Director, a tall, handsome man in a perfectly tailored blue suit named Brant Malone, tapped his pen against the edge of the table softly. "Claire is right. We need to find every new thing. We need to talk to anyone we think might be a good story."

Claire chimed in, saying, "Exactly. We need to know what our women want and we need to tell them what they need."

Brant stood up. "This month's cover is 'Life after Divorce.' It's the year 2013. The divorce rate is one in every two couples," he said. Clapping his hands, he continued, "C'mon! I'm sure we can find new approaches to this topic."

Claire said, "Our next meeting is tomorrow. Get into your departments and come up with as many ideas as possible for in the morning."

Everyone in the room stood and they began chattering in clusters as they left the room. Brant smiled widely, his white teeth nearly shining. His hand slid down the lapel of his suit and his eyes locked in on the woman waiting in the corner of the room. "Shouldn't you be busy telling people what to do instead of waiting for me?"

She looked up at him with bright eyes. "I always wait for you after meetings." Putting her hand on his arm, she said, "Besides, I'm the head of the Food & Dining section. I think my staff will wait for me."

The tall man bent down and pecked her quickly on the lips. "I, for one, am always willing to wait on the likes of you."

She squeezed his hand. "Good, because I'm going to be late for our lunch date."

Frowning thoughtfully, he asked, "Did you have to reschedule a meeting?"

She rolled her eyes slightly. "One of my writers is having an issue with her new review. She wants to talk to me about it."

He smiled again, his dark complexion making his smile that much more appealing. "If anyone can fix her problem, it's you, Betty Suarez."

Betty let go of his hand and readjusted the notepad and pens in her hand. "We'll see, but you're a good boss for saying so."

Brant raised his eyebrows. "I was being a sweet boyfriend."

She grinned, her teeth perfectly straight and white. "Well, you're that, too." She kissed him on the cheek, saying, "See you at lunch." She left the conference room and headed for her office for her department meeting.

TBC