After All Read Online Free

table in
the conference room. Every day at ten in the morning, it was
Nathan's job to decide who followed up on what story. A task that
some days won him friends, other days earned him scorn. But he was
good at his job. His decisions almost always proved to be on
target, even if the admission was made grudgingly. And he had the
right temperament. It was seldom he cared what the reporters
thought of his decisions.
    “ Didn't you talk to some
angry housing project residents last year, Michelle?”Gracie spoke
around the donut in her mouth.
    “ No, they lived in houses
with subsidized rent. It's this program where landlords get a
portion of the rent paid by the government and the renter pays
whatever they can afford based on income,” Michelle said.”But
they're administered by the Housing Authority.”
    “ The Section Eight Housing
Program.”Wayne, the reporter who mostly went after white collar
crime reports, spoke up.
    “ Right. Anyway, they were
complaining that the landlords weren't following the rules for
repairing the houses or keeping them up. After a couple of
interviews minor repairs were made, but nothing really changed. The
staff at the Housing Authority clammed up.”Michelle got up to
refill her coffee mug.
    “ Have you still got contacts
there?”Nathan rubbed his chin.
    “ Yeah, a couple of the women
have left. But I think at least one guy is still there. What was
his name?”Michelle tapped a polished nail against the ceramic
mug.”I'd have to look at my notes from back then.”
    “ Nathan, I interviewed the
Mayor's Human Services
    Department Director only a few months
ago. We even met with Charlotte Kinchen, the Executive Director of
the Housing Authority,” Jennifer said.
    “ For a story on the Arts and
Humanities Council's Annual Gala,” Gracie snorted.”Not exactly the
same thing.”
    “ The point is I have access
to the powers that be. If this thing is big, then you need someone
who can talk to them.”Jennifer stared at her coldly.
    “ Gracie's right, Jennifer.
This story starts with the people who have to live in these low
rent houses and apartments. And the staff who deal with them every
day. Those are the important contacts right now.”Earl, a short wiry
Black man, tilted his chair back on two legs.
    “ Sure, you build it from who
gets hurt the most.” Rexanne Chauvin peered at them over her large
round eyeglasses. She was older than most, in her early forties,
and a respected investigative reporter.
    “ Michelle, get to work on
it. Now, the chlorine leak at Shaw Chemical--”In his customary
style, Nathan listened then made his ruling quickly before moving
on.
    “ Nice going, Chelle. You
scored on poor old Jennifer again.”Gracie wore a malicious grin.
They sat at their desk again after the meeting.
    “ Cut that out. If Nathan
hadn't thought it made sense for me to do the story, I wouldn't
have been assigned. It's not about scoring on other people as you
put it. It's about informing the public and doing the best job we
can.”Michelle pulled out an old wire-bound notebook.
    “ Uh-huh. Go on,” Gracie
urged.
    “ Okay, beating out Jennifer
is the icing on the cake.”Michelle giggled.
    “ And how sweet it is,”
Gracie agreed. She pointed to a folder.”What's that?”
    “ My trusty notes from last
year. Ah, here it is, the maintenance supervisor was the guy I
talked to. I always had the feeling he wanted to say more than he
did.”Michelle began dialing the phone.”Yes, may I speak to Greg
Matthews. Really? Do you know where he works now? Thank
you.”
    “ Gone, huh?”Gracie began
stuffing items in her bag in preparation for going out on her
assignment.
    “ Yeah, but I've got his home
number somewhere.”
    Michelle spoke to his elderly aunt who
proudly told her that Greg was working at a local real estate
management company and would be home after five in the evening.
Since she had plenty of other tasks, Michelle put a note on her
phone to remind herself to call Matthews