Storytime: Loving Lana, Chapter 20

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Loving Lana, Chapter 20

After Susan left, Brad sat back in his chair, staring at the damning article on his desk. He'd noticed the by-line before, but it hadn't really sunk in until that very moment - Lana had published the article under her own name. Frowning, he flipped through the pages, checking every story. All three of them had identified themselves, it seemed, effectively removing any trace of protective anonymity. On the back page near the bottom, one line of text explained the sudden shift, and lifted Brad's somber mood in ten simple words.

"The Weekly Report is brought to you by Hansen Media."

Grinning, Brad got up and put his coat on, tucking the report into his pocket. He stopped briefly at Susan's desk on his way out of the office. She had just put down the phone.

"I'll be out for the rest of the day," he said, amused at the confusion on her face. "If Eric calls, tell him I'm on the way over."

"I just transferred him to your office. Hang on a second." She picked up the phone, punching a button. "Mr. Hansen? Sorry about that. He's right here - he said to tell you he's on his way over. Did you want to speak with him now?" She paused, then shook her head. "I'll do that - have a good day." She put the receiver down. "He said he'll just talk to you when you get there. What's going on?"

Brad just smiled. "I'll fill you in later," he said. Susan frowned at him as he turned to go.

"Don't do anything you'll regret later," she warned as he walked away. He waved a hand dismissively over his shoulder. He might regret it later, but today he was going to marry Lana, and get her away from that paper for good.

***

"How could you do this?" Lana slapped a copy of The Weekly Report down on Sara's desk, stabbing her index finger at the front page headline. "I told you I couldn't write this - why did you put my name on it?"

Sara sat back in her chair, motioning for Lana to take a seat. "I did it for you," Sara said, removing her reading glasses, and laying them on the desk. She held up a hand, stopping Lana from interrupting. "You and Brad...you two are the most stubborn people on the planet. I know I screwed up the wedding, and I'm sorry. I got too caught up in making money, getting the story, and I can't tell you how much I regret that." She looked down at her desk. "And I might have been jealous too," she said softly. "But I want you to be happy, Lana, and the only time I've ever seen you truely happy is with Brad. I thought maybe if he kept calling, you'd eventually work things out, but you're not answering, and he's not stepping up his efforts."

"And you thought maligning both his business and our personal life in print would help?" Lana shook her head, holding back tears. "Sara, I don't see how--"

"He loves you, Lana." Sara swiped at a stray tear of her own. "Hopefully this will make him see that, and do what's right for both of you."

"But what is that?" Lana sniffed, looking out the window. "I don't know if anything is right for us anymore."

"Marry me."

Both women jumped at the deep, masculine voice coming from the office doorway. Lana turned, her heart beating fast as her eyes locked with Brad's. Her mouth dropped open, and she found herself speechless, watching as he walked to stand in front of her.

Sara stood and walked towards the door.

"Stay please," Brad said, motioning for someone outside the door to come in. Sandra came in, followed by the same judge who had been ready to marry them at the cabin. Brad knelt down in front of Lana, taking her hand in his.

"Lana Anderson, I made the biggest mistake of my life when I refused to marry you. Forgive me. Marry me, right here, right now. I love you."

This is the first draft of a novel I'm working on. Comments always welcome. Thanks for reading!