The lunch, the brewery tour … the casual night that had followed, with them sharing a pitcher of beer and playing pool.
Nobody knew about it.
It was theirs alone, and even though 2.0 was pissed about it, Grace tucked it away in a little part of her labeled Happy Memories.
Not that the shenanigans on the website had ceased. There were more followers than ever, their reader base ever more vocal. In an effort to appease their “fans,” Grace and Jake did lunch together more regularly, often followed by lingering coffee breaks in the afternoon.
More often than not, they had an audience of some kind.
More often than not, Grace forgot about the audience.
And she suspected he did too.
Which was not to say they were shirking their duties. They took plenty of good-natured swipes at each other on the website. He’d sent her a picture of him in his briefs, knowing full well she’d put it on the website.
She had.
And when she’d “accidentally” flashed her thigh when getting up from a booth at a local restaurant, she’d known he’d rant on the blog about how it was the oldest trick in the female playbook.
Neither of them had spoken about his threat/promise about them sleeping together. But it was there, between them. Looming closer.
And despite the fact that she still adamantly waved her six-month sabbatical in Julie and Riley’s faces whenever they tentatively suggested she try going on a real date, she was no longer sure that Jake was wrong.
It was time to have a little talk with 2.0 about the rules.
Maybe sex with Jake would be a step forward in her recovery, but 2.0 was having none of it.
And since the war between Grace 1.0 and 2.0 took up most of her mental energy, she never saw the email from Camille coming.
Grace—
Spoke with Cassidy. Given the success of the HeSaidSheSaid website, we’ve decided to eschew the origin
al plan of a traditional series in the print magazine and continue fostering the unexpected digital growth. The website feels like a better venue for this type of back-and-forth story anyway. Will wrap up your and Jake’s “story” at the end of the month and feature a new couple with new chemistry.
Great work on this—we can get you back on your regular story rotation immediately. Was thinking your next piece could be on the resurgence of online dating. Haven’t done that angle in a while, and readers will relate to a newly single gal entering a new approach. Good?
Camille
Grace numbly reread the email. Knew what it meant.
At the end of the month, there’d be no more Jake. She could refocus on Grace 2.0 without the distraction of a certain sexy journalist.
She could simultaneously secure her reputation as an expert on men while going back to dodging them completely in her personal life.
It was the perfect ending to her perfect plan.
And it sounded awful.
Chapter Seventeen
“What do you mean, I’m off the story?”
“You’re not off the story. We’ve just switched the objective a bit.”
“You said I’d write five articles. I’ve only written two.”
Alex Cassidy slowly tapped a pen on his desk as he studied Jake. “Two print articles, but the online component has monopolized all of your time for over two months. You’ve put in more than enough legwork, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.”