Chapter One
Three years later
“Hey, Dani, Kirsten wants to see you in her office before you leave.”
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Dani looked up from her laptop in a start to meet Nick’s eyes. Her fellow intern stood in the doorway of the Dynasty Magazine office lounge, doing that romance novel-style lean against the frame.
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Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was five minutes past three, meaning she had spent almost an hour and a half perfecting her list of potential pitches instead of proofreading the latest film review. She had promised herself she could take a break only for five minutes, but had obviously failed — not a great look for her last day as a Dynasty intern.
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At least she would be prepared for her first day as an official staff writer, though. Her boss hadn’t officially extended an offer yet to join the team, but the idea of being published somewhere other than her college newspaper made her smile every time the thought crossed her mind. Even though it was her time at that paper that had gotten her foot in the door to begin with, this job would mark her entry into the real world. With a job at Dynasty, she could finally prove that she could make a career out of being a writer. Besides, she’d also be getting paid way more than five dollars per article — not that she was only in it for the money.
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“You finish reading my review yet?” Nick had left his spot in the doorway and was now sitting on the lumpy blue couch next to Dani. He didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was looking at her computer screen with her incomplete edits on full display.
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Dani shut her laptop a little too quickly. “What do you mean, your review?”
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"That's my piece. Kirsten made you write an anonymous sample article for this week’s content, didn’t she? She had me write one, too. I think she sent us each other’s to look over.”
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Dani gulped.
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“You wrote about romantic comedies, right? How they’re starting to be well-written again?” He smirked. “It was entertaining.”
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She didn’t doubt that Nick’s compliment was genuine — he was a film writer, after all, and she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t shy away from telling her if her takes were bad — but something about the whole situation still rubbed her the wrong way. So he’d read her article, big deal. If she was going to write for a national publication, there’d be plenty more people than her annoying coworker coming across her catalog. It wasn’t so much his eyes on her writing that bothered her, but the new knowledge that she’d been reading his writing too — and it was really good. Kirsten had never said anything at the start of the summer about the interns competing for anything, but if they were, Nick had to be near the top. She wasn’t sure how many others had been asked to write this week, if any. Hypothetically, she thought to herself, that should mean she was near the top, too.
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She stood up and started walking across the hall to her boss’s office; Nick followed closely behind. “You know what this meeting is about, don’t you?” he asked. “It’s your intern evaluation.”
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“And?”
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“Well, I already had mine. You’re looking at a new staff writer for the film beat, babe.”
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Dani stopped dead in her tracks. “So you came to find me so you could gloat?”
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Nick pretended to be shocked. “Why would I do that?” He rolled his eyes at his own dramatics and stepped in front of her. “Come on, Dani, I came to give you the heads up. Think about it — if we both had to write content in the last week of our internship, don’t you think that’s a good thing?”
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Nick made a good point. Why would the magazine publish her writing if she wasn’t getting a return offer? Dani knew enough from reading former employee reviews on all the job-hunting sites that that was how things worked around here — if you were asked to write something at the end of the summer, and it was actually going up on the site, you were as good as hired. Technically, she’d been stressing out over whether or not a return offer was truly on the table, but she had always seen Nick as her equal in the office. If she was given the same task as him, and he was now a staff writer, then her own offer couldn’t be far behind.
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“You really think it’s a good thing?” Dani couldn’t help grinning. Getting hired was just step one towards her goal of becoming a features writer. She had always pictured herself writing cover stories about glamorous celebrities, following them around and making their interview answers read like fiction. Profiles were easily her favorite thing to write, and that opportunity didn’t fall into her lap very often. From there, she wanted to try her hand at editing — though those positions were even harder to come by, she knew she had the collaboration and research skills to be successful at it. All of this also meant she could stay in Michigan for a little while longer; she and Haley had been looking for apartments closer to the downtown area, since their lease was ending soon. Everything felt more within reach than ever.
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“Give it a few more years and we’ll both be running the place.”
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Dani resisted the urge to scoff. Nick wasn’t even that bothersome of a person, but he did get on her nerves when he was overly confident. “Nick, you’re blocking my way.”
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He stepped to the side and gestured grandly down the rest of the hallway before turning on his heel. “Good luck. Come find me after,” he called over his shoulder.
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The Dynasty office had a bit of a glow to it as Dani walked the remaining distance. She passed a row of cubicles and wondered which one would be hers. She’d spice it up a bit, maybe find some knick knacks or picture frames she could spread out on the tiny shelves. Maybe she’d buy new notebooks and binders she could keep at work — she could color coordinate those, get a nice theme going across her desk.
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Despite all the daydreaming, a tiny voice in the back of her mind asked if this was all too good to be true. It made her uneasy to think about; as much as she wanted to ignore it, she couldn’t quite dismiss the idea.
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Stepping inside Kirsten’s office, she felt a little claustrophobic. It wasn’t only because of the anxiety that was slowly creeping in — but because Kirsten had to keep track of a surprising amount of papers for an editor at a magazine that had recently shifted to publishing content fully online. Huge stacks of paper lined the walls and sat in piles on her desk, making the already tiny space even smaller. One stack was larger than all the rest and sat squarely in the middle of her desk, acting as a makeshift platform for her laptop. Dani couldn’t help thinking that a three-hole punch and a few sturdy binders would make a world of difference, but given that her boss had never so much as dropped a call, her disorganization must not have been all that harmful to the Dynasty Magazine… well, dynasty.
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“Hey, Dani! Take a seat,” Kirsten said warmly. The padded leather chair she gestured to was, thankfully, paper-free. Dani sat down and took a deep breath to try to calm her pounding heartbeat.
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“Alright!” Kirsten said, reaching for her laptop on its paper perch. “Well, since the summer’s coming to a close, I wanted to thank you for all your help these last few months.”
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Dani grinned. “Oh gosh, no, thank you! It’s been a real dream to work here.”
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It was true. From the minute she was old enough to read past issues that her older sister Stella had left lying around the house, Dynasty had been at the top of her list of dream places to work. It was part of what led her to apply to write for the paper at the University of Michigan; she had to get journalism experience somehow. The countless hours she had spent stalking the magazine’s seven social media accounts — one for each of the different beats — probably added to her enthusiasm for the role, as well as agonizing over her resumé to the point where Haley had to put a moratorium on the words “portfolio” and “unique perspective.”
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“Glad to hear it.” Kirsten returned her smile. “So, typically, since this is the last day of your internship, we like to sit down with you and check in, talk to you about your experience with the company.”
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Dani nodded eagerly. She had expected something like this to happen, so much so that she already had answers prepared for the evaluation. If Kirsten were to ask her what she had gained as an editorial intern, she’d respond with a greater appreciation for time management, stronger collaboration skills, and a bigger network. If she were asked whether she’d change anything about the experience, her answer would be no — she’d do it all again if she could.
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“I just saw Nick before I came in,” she said. “He’s really excited to be staying on in the fall.” As soon as she’d dropped the hint, she knew it was too obvious. Kirsten seemed… awkward all of a sudden. Her focus had turned back to her computer, but it looked as though she was waving her cursor around on the screen so she didn’t have to look Dani in the eye. Something was very wrong.
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Then she inhaled sharply. “Look, Dani, I am really grateful for all the work you’ve done here. You have really gone above and beyond, and your writing is strong.”
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Dani smiled again, trying not to let the panic show on her face.
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“But I want to be upfront with you,” Kirsten said. “Unfortunately, there’s only room in the budget to hire one intern as a full-time staff writer.”
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Dani felt her stomach drop. So that must have been why Nick was in such a good mood. He got the job over her, and he not only knew it when he came to find her, but got her hopes up to inevitably have them crushed.
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Kirsten was still speaking, but she sounded far away. “I know that probably isn’t what you want to hear, but we would like to offer you a freelance position instead. You’ll still have a byline for us, and you’ve got contacts now with the different editors so you can reach out to any of them when you have a piece in mind to pitch.”
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Freelancing. After everything she’d done that summer, going “above and beyond,” how was she being rewarded? By getting cast out, thrown all the way down to the bottom of the totem pole. At least it was something, but not enough responsibility. Not enough for her to make a living, either.
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Dani caught an apology from Kirsten and what sounded like, “please don’t take this personally,” but she couldn’t help herself. She felt like she was on autopilot as she stood up, thanked Kirsten again, and left the room.
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Only once she stepped out into the bright parking lot did the tears well up in her eyes. “Don’t cry, don’t cry,” she whispered to herself, but it wasn’t working.
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She heard the metal door open behind her, and without turning around she knew it was Nick. “I really don’t want to hear it right now.” Her voice was shaky, and she hated it because she knew he’d be able to tell.
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Instead of responding with something snarky, Nick stood there next to her. “I didn’t know, I swear,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t have rubbed it in your face like that if I knew what was coming.”
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She really wanted to believe him — to tell him that, to his face. But if she turned around, if she saw his green eyes filled with pity instead of his usual swagger, she knew she’d lose it. Without acknowledging his apology, she walked over to her car and left the lot for the last time.