Chapter 3 – Cracks in the Ice

(Hannah’s POV)

The rest of my first day passed in a blur of coffee-fueled determination and me biting my tongue every time Nathaniel Rhodes walked by.

By the time my shift was over, I had rewritten four press releases, proofread a minor article, and resisted the urge to throw my stapler at Nathaniel’s perfectly unbothered face.

I was exhausted. Exhausted, that's an understatement. It was my first day and I already felt this way.

But I refused to let him get to me.

I packed up my things, shoving my papers into my bag with maybe a little more force than necessary. As I did, I caught sight of Nathaniel in his office, still standing by the window, the glow of the city skyline casting long shadows across his face.

He looked... different.

Not cold. Not intimidating.

Just... tired.

I blinked, Nope. Not falling for it.

Nathaniel Rhodes was an emotionless, ego-driven robot, and I wasn’t about to start looking for depth where there was none.

I turned away, slinging my bag over my shoulder, when his voice stopped me.

“Uhm Hazel.”

I looked around for who the unlucky Hazel must be. Who knows if he'll be softer after a long day of work?

"You, the intern".

I froze mid-step.

Did he just—?. I was the only intern left, he just missed the others. They left only a few minutes before I could.

Slowly, I turned back to face him. He was still looking out the window, his hands tucked into his pockets.

Oh, what know I groaned, in my head of course

“I need you here early tomorrow,” he said, finally looking at me. “There’s a press conference, and I want you covering it.”

Wait. What?

I blinked, scrambling to process what he just said. “You— you want me to cover a press conference?”

Nathaniel frowned slightly, as if my reaction confused him. “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

This didn’t make sense.

One second he was treating me like an annoying extra in his perfect little newsroom, and now he was giving me an actual assignment?

“Why me?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

He exhaled like I was exhausting him. “Because the others have their own assignments, and I need someone who won’t waste time asking pointless questions.”

Wow. So much for a compliment.

I folded my arms. “And what exactly am I covering?”

“An arson case,” he said, handing me a thin file. “A nightclub downtown went up in flames last night. The police are holding a press briefing at eight a.m.”

I took the file, flipping through the details.

An arson case.

I frowned. “I thought we usually covered business and politics?”

“We do,” Nathaniel said, “but who said we can't cover an arson case, this case has some big names involved, and there are rumors about a cover-up. We need to dig deeper.”

I looked up at him, his expression unreadable as always.

For a moment, I almost forgot to be annoyed at him.

Because this was huge.

I was one day into this internship, and I was already being trusted with something more than rewriting press releases.

“Got it,” I said, nodding firmly.

Nathaniel gave a single nod in return, then turned away, already dismissing me from his mind.

Typical.

But as I walked toward the exit, clutching the file to my chest, I couldn’t help but feel something unexpected.

Excitement.

Yes, this was it. My chance to prove myself.

And if Nathaniel Rhodes thought he could intimidate me, he was dead ass wrong.