It was early Monday morning and Rory was standing half-dressed in front of their closet contemplating her wardrobe options. She wanted to look professional, but not overly so. She was trying to pick an outfit that said, 'business casual.' This morning at nine marked her first ever department brainstorming session and she'd gotten it into her head that maybe her outfit would influence what her co-workers thought about her. She did realize however, that her co-workers could probably care less how she was dressed; they were determined to punish her for being the first new hire made by Huntzberger Media Group. But she was desperate; she wanted so badly for them to at least accept her, if not like her.
"You better hurry up, Ace," Logan said as he emerged from the bathroom, straightening his tie, "It's going on 7:30 and I know you haven't eaten breakfast yet."
"Crap," Rory said as she peered at the alarm clock across the room to confirm that Logan was telling her the truth.
"Need help?" Logan asked as he stopped behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and dropping a brief kiss on a bare shoulder.
"Business casual," Rory said in way of accepting his offer of help.
Logan slid the hangers around for less than thirty seconds before declaring, "Knee-length khaki skirt, black v-neck sweater, mid-calf height black boots with heels."
"How did you and my Mother get that gift and I didn't?" Rory pouted as she pulled the skirt and sweater from the closet and quickly pulled them on.
"I don't know," Logan said as Rory hurried into the bathroom to finish up her make-up and hair, "I'm going to put two pop-tarts into the toaster for you, then, I'm out the door. Flavor preference?"
"S'mores," Rory called to him, "I have a feeling I'll need the extra sugar this morning."
Rory finished getting ready in under ten minutes and grabbed her pop-tarts on the way out the door. Rory munched her breakfast as she made her way down 42nd street toward the office. She was anxious for the brainstorming session this morning and to get her new story assignments. Overall, besides the whole thing where her co-workers loathed her, Rory was pleased with the way her first week had gone; working at a big New York City newspaper had been everything she'd hoped it would be. She had enjoyed working on her stories. She only hoped that her second week would go just as smoothly, if not even more so.
Rory stopped at the kitchenette on the way to her desk to get coffee and promptly bumped into Kevin. She could tell instantly by the way he was studying her that he'd come to a conclusion and was now looking for clues to confirm his theory. His eyes came to rest on her engagement and wedding bands on her left hand and she could almost see him marking off a check on the mental list in his head.
"So, you know who I am?" Rory asked.
"I think so," Kevin confirmed.
"Is it going to be an problem for you to keep it a secret?" Rory asked.
"I don't think so; but I would like to discuss my findings with you," Kevin said, sounding formal and somewhat distant.
"Lunch?" Rory asked.
"I'll meet you in the lobby at eleven forty-five," Kevin said before he turned and walked away from her.
Rory understood why Kevin was keeping his distance. Had she been in his shoes, having just found out that he'd been having lunch with the boss's wife, she'd be keeping her distance too. She just hoped that after lunch today they could go back to being friends. At her desk Rory booted up her computer, checked her email and printed off the list of notes she'd made for this morning's meeting.
At five minutes to nine Rory headed to the large conference room where her department held their brainstorming sessions. She was the first to arrive; studying the layout of the room she opted for a seat off to the side, not wanting to make herself a target on purpose. As her co-workers entered the room and found seats Rory found that she was still sitting alone. She tried to offer warm smiles to those nearest to her; but she wasn't surprised when they quickly turned away again. When Kevin entered the room and took the seat next to her she knew that their friendship would survive her secret.
"Hey Rory," Kevin said loudly enough for all their co-workers to hear, "How are you?"
"I'm good," Rory replied, "How are you?"
"Good," Kevin said with a smile, "How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?"
"My husband and I are from Hartford. We went home for the weekend and spend time with friends," Rory answered, "What did you do?"
"Not much," Kevin said, "Saw a couple of movies with friends."
When Darin entered the room conversations died down and everyone gave him their full attention. Rory's mind began to whir, wondering if she should speak up and offer her ideas or if that would just gain her more enemies. Kevin answered that question for her when he suddenly whispered, "I know you might be tempted to hold back, but don't. You don't want them to doubt your credibility as an journalist. They might just start to accept you if they realize your worth. Despite all their pettiness about you being the first Huntzberger hire they all love this paper and want the best for it."
"Good morning everyone," Darin said jovially, "I hope everyone had wonderful weekends. Now, let's get down to business." Darin moved in front of a large wipe board that occupied most of the wall at the head of the room; catching Rory's eye he motioned for her to join him up there. As she rose from her seat she caught the smirk on Kevin's face.
"As all of you know," Darin began, as Rory joined him in front of the group, "I have a long tradition of recruiting the newest member of our team to write on the board for us during these sessions. Let's give Kevin a round of applause, thanking him for providing this service for the last fourteen months."
Rory moved toward the board and picked up several of the different colored markers she noticed along the ledge. Instinctively Rory chose a color and from the memorized list in her head she wrote each of the categories that her department covered along the top of the board, underlining each.
Darin watched her with interest, surprised at her proactive approach. Deciding to get things moving he read the first category she'd listed on the far left side of the board. "Who has ideas for 'Your Money?'"
Paige, a women in her late twenties raised her hand then offered, "We could consider doing a recap of the 529 college savings plan now that college classes have back underway for a month or so now."
Mike didn't even raise his hand, but instead just interjected, "We could do a study of prices on common household items at different big name stores to see which is the best bargain."
A few others offered ideas as well which Rory quickly jotted down to keep up with the steady flow of topics. When the flow stopped Darin said, "Looks like that's it, let's move onto…"
Rory interrupted him saying, "I have a couple ideas that weren't mentioned."
Darin looked surprised. Rory wasn't sure if he was surprised that she'd been so bold as to interrupt him, or if he was surprised that she was going to offer ideas at her first ever brainstorming session. "Sure Rory, go ahead," he said.
Somewhat shyly, now that she had the room's attention Rory offered, "We could do something about home loans, equity account and refinancing."
"It's been done," someone in the back said rather unkindly.
"Well, I'm new, I didn't know," Rory said, "I know that our angle is 'Your Money,' but we could do something about small privately held businesses and their money."
"Rory, can you explain that a little further?" Darin asked.
"Sure," Rory said, "My Mom co-owns an Inn in Stars Hollow, Connecticut with her best friend. The money to start this business came out of their pockets. While they keep their personal and business finances separate the money they make or lose at the Inn still reflects on their personal worth. We could research some tips or tax breaks for the small business owners out there."
"Intriguing," Darin said, "I like it. Any more ideas Gilmore?"
"Not for this section," Rory replied.
The same thing happened with each of the following areas that their department covered. When the ideas from the staff died down Rory offered a few of her own, some were rejected because they'd recently been done; but for nearly all of the areas Rory offered an idea that Darin seemed especially impressed with. When all the areas had been adequately covered Darin announced that he'd be handing out story assignments by one this afternoon and dismissed the staff. Rory took a seat in the front row and began copying the list they'd generated onto her legal pad, assuming that Darin would need a hardcopy of the list.
"Gilmore, what are you doing?" Darin asked.
"Making you a hard copy of the list," she explained.
"My assistant Melanie, who you have not met yet, as she was out on vacation last week, will be in shortly to do that," Darin said.
"Oh," Rory said as she quit writing, "Why doesn't…"
"Why doesn't Melanie take on the duty of writing down the ideas during these sessions?" Darin asked, anticipating her question. When Rory nodded he continued, "I feel it is good for our new hires to be put in this position. You may not believe it but some of them have the tendency to fade into the background and not offer a lot in the beginning. If they are out in front of everyone they feel the pressure to contribute. I don't think we're going to have that problem with you though are we?"
"I tend to be fairly driven when it comes to my work," Rory said.
"I've noticed," Darin replied, "In the week that you've been here you have already demonstrated to me your talent for this kind of work and if I'm not mistaken, you will go far in this business."
Rory blushed a little and said, "Thank you for saying so, it is nice to hear."
"Have you looked at the paper today?" Darin asked.
"No, I hadn't had time yet," Rory admitted.
"Well, let me congratulate you on being one of few in our department's history to ever have two by-line's in one issue," Darin said.
"Really?" Rory asked excitedly.
"Truly," Darin said, "Your flu short story and organic foods story were both published in today's paper."
"Wow!" was all Rory could muster.
"Your story assignments for this week are going to be much more significant pieces than what you were assigned last week, are you ready for the challenge?" Darin asked.
"Bring it on," Rory said confidently.
"Will do," Darin replied sounding somewhat proud of his newest staff reporter.
Back at her desk Rory flipped quickly to her department's section of today's paper and sure enough; there were two by-lines that read, "By Rory Gilmore." She appeared to be the only person who hadn't already noticed, she had voicemails from her mother, Paris and both her grandparents congratulating her on her first two by-lines. In her purse her sidekick buzzed. Already knowing who would be texting her she pulled it out and read, "You always have to raise the bar, don't you? It wasn't enough to just have your first by-line, you had to get two. Seriously though Ace, congratulations! I am so proud of you! I wish I could come congratulate you in person."
Grinning Rory texted back, "Don't you approve all the copy for the papers? Didn't you already know? How could you not tell me?"
A minute later Logan replied saying, "I did already know but wanted it to be a surprise until you saw it in person."
Rory texted him back again saying, "Darin wrecked that, he congratulated me on it before I got to see it. I can't believe you didn't tell me."
Logan texted back one last time with, "Darin may need to fear for his job…just kidding."
Rory met Kevin in the lobby as planned at quarter to twelve. Silently they walked until they agreed upon a small deli three blocks from the office. After ordering their sandwiches at the counter they found a table near the back.
"So, you think you've got it all figured out," Rory prompted Kevin.
"If you're Lorelai Leigh Gilmore the third, who is married to our mutual boss, Logan Huntzberger," Kevin said.
"Yep," Rory confirmed, "Sounds like you've got it all figured out."
"Wow, now I get why you were so worried about it getting out," Kevin said, "If you think our co-workers are hard on you now, just wait until they get wind of this."
"You aren't going to tell them are you? Rory asked sounding panicked.
"No, but like you said last week, it will eventually come out," Kevin said, "It's bound to. Can I ask you a question?" When Rory nodded gravely he continued, "Why would you even accept a job at a Huntzberger company, especially the one where your own husband works?"
"Well, my plan was to accept a job anywhere but at a Huntzberger company. Unfortunately my husband and father-in-law had other plans for me," Rory explained, "My father-in-law graciously arranged an interview for me at New York Daily News, which at the time I had no idea was the newest acquisition of the Huntzberger Media Group. He'd been toying with the idea of moving Logan to one of his New York papers and said he just wanted to help me get a job in the city too. Little did I know that the interview was with Mitchum himself and Logan. They set me up and wouldn't take no for an answer."
"Sounds a little controlling," Kevin said.
"I could see why you might think that," Rory said, "But it really isn't like that. Think about it this way; if you owned a major media conglomerate and you had a daughter-in-law who majored in journalism at Yale, would you let her go to work for the competition?"
"No, I guess I wouldn't," Kevin said sounding surprised at his own answer, "Which brings us to my next question. Considering how much your and your husband must be worth why even bother working? Aren't you supposed to stay at home and be a society wife?"
"My mother-in-law and Grandmother would love for me to stay home and be a society wife; I plan to disappoint them forever in that regard," Rory said with a mischievous smile, "I love to write. I have known since I was a little girl that one day I would be a journalist. Just because I fell in love with someone from society didn't mean I was going to change my life plan."
"Your marriage wasn't arranged then?" Kevin asked, "I know a lot of society marriages are arranged. They are made to look genuine, but a lot of them aren't."
Rory had a hard time holding back her laughter and said, "I'll tell you just how far from arranged our marriage was. When Logan and I got engaged his parents actually disowned him and out of fear that they'd find some way to keep us apart we eloped in Austria."
"They actually disowned him?" Kevin asked, "Did they expect that he'd dump you?"
"They hoped, but for one brief shining moment Logan could see the life he wanted for himself," Rory said, "He wasn't about to give that up. He joked that if he knew that getting engaged to a girl his parents disapproved of he would have gotten engaged to someone inappropriate a long time earlier."
"Logan doesn't want to be in the newspaper business?" Kevin asked.
"Logan loves journalism as much as I do and his father does. What I meant was that he could suddenly see a future where he called the shots in his own life. Being the heir to a media conglomerate like Huntzberger Media doesn't really allow for a terribly carefree life; Logan has been being groomed to one day join and eventually take over the business since he was very young," Rory explained.
"And people think the rich have easy lives," Kevin joked.
"I know," Rory said back, "What the hell are they thinking."
"Does it bother your husband that we spend time together?" Kevin asked suddenly.
"Concerned for your future with the company?" Rory asked.
"Somewhat," Kevin said sheepishly.
"He knows about you and really I think he's just glad that I found a friend," Rory said conveniently leaving out Logan's jealous episode, "Besides I wouldn't let him fire my one friend."
"Whew," Kevin said with a grin.
"You aren't going to tell anyone are you?" Rory pleaded with him.
"No, it will come out in time, but it won't be because of me," Kevin reassured her.
"I appreciate that," Rory said gratefully.
"Well, I wouldn't want to lose my one friend either," Kevin said kindly.
When they returned to the office, story assignments had been distributed. On her chair Rory found two assignments sheets. She wasn't terribly surprised to find that one of her stories was the story she'd suggested about small businesses and their money matters. The other was an in-depth look at health spending accounts versus a more standard health insurance plan. Rory was pleased to have been assigned stories that she felt would make more of impact on people than her previous assignments. The rest of the day flew by for Rory who had immediately immersed herself in research for her new articles. She'd been vaguely aware of Kevin dropping by her cube on his way out the door to say good-bye at five o'clock. She'd promised herself then hat she'd only spend a few more minutes working before she headed home. When she finally saved her files and shut down her computer the clock read quarter to seven. Hardly believing that could be accurate Rory quickly gathered her things and noted the empty office. She seemed to be the only one still on her floor.
Carefully keeping an eye out for anyone, Rory walked up the stairs to the sixth floor. Not seeing anyone on that floor either Rory started down a hallway where she imagined Logan's office might be. When she found it she stood quietly in the doorway for a moment and watched her husband hunched over his work.
"Ace, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked when he finally noticed her presence.
"I shouldn't be here at all but the place seems to be deserted so I thought it couldn't hurt to come discuss our dinner plans in person," Rory said as she nervously glanced around the empty hallway behind her.
"I'm done for the day, we could head out together; unless you're worried about being seen with me," Logan said.
"Maybe Frank could pick us up in the underground garage?" Rory suggested.
"And take us somewhere to have a celebratory dinner for my double by-line girl," Logan finished.
"Give me a few minute head start," Rory said after Logan had contacted Frank.
Rory made her way down to the garage and climbed into the familiar Town Car. Rory's eyes darted around the garage, looking for anyone who could blow their cover. Seeing no one she let out a sigh of relief when Logan climbed into the car beside her and directed Frank to one of their favorite New York restaurants.
What Rory didn't think to look for was someone not in plain sight, but inside one of the parked cars in the garage. Someone sitting in one of these cars did notice the newest reporter in their department get into a car, followed closely by the new Editor and Chief. This person did not deduce the real truth, but assumed that the rumor about the Gilmore girl being a Huntzberger spy must really be true. This person was going to send the walls crashing down around them.
Author's Note: Good news, I've invested in a NEW computer and DSL. So, suddenly most of my writing will be done at home rather than at work. Which means I should be able to get back to my regular schedule of posting at least once a week. I hope to also start making the chapter's longer again. I pretty much know how the next chapter is going to play out… but if you have suggestions for me still feel free to offer. Please review--I love to hear how I'm doing. Thanks!