“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you were a chocoholic.” Lizbet leaned one shoulder against the wide opening that led from the hallway to the newsroom and crossed her arms across her chest. “Maybe you ought to stop at the store on the way back from dinner and grab a bar. That might perk you up a little for the ten o’clock.”

Ding. Dig number two.

Slinging her purse over her shoulder, Cassie forced a casual pace and a carefree attitude. Better that than swinging her overstuffed hobo bag at the bitch’s head like she wanted to. “Nah. A little Mexican food and time to flesh out my ideas should do it.” She strolled into the hallway, casting a polite wave back at Lizbet. “Have a good night.”

“You, too.”

Just a few more steps and she’d be in the lobby and well out of killing distance.

“Oh, Cassie?”

Fuck.

Cassie paused at the glass door and looked back to Lizbet.

Her nemesis hadn’t budged an inch, but her smile was all smug satisfaction. “Don’t let the bungled names in the last newscast get to you. The higher-ups rarely pay attention to things like that—unless they happen a lot.”

Ding. Dig number three.

Be classy, Cassie. Do not stoop. Do NOT stoop.

“Thanks for that. Always good to get the wisdom of someone who’s been there many times before.” She pushed open the door and took one step across the threshold, silently reveling in the flash of irritation on Lizbet’s face. “Have a good night!”

The door whooshed shut behind her and the iceberg conditions of the reception area rushed in to cool her flushed skin. “Good grief,” she said to the part-time woman manning the front desk. “Now I know why it’s so hot back there. They’ve got all the good air directed up here.”

“You think that now, but you wouldn’t if you were up here for more than an hour,” the woman said. “At this rate, I’m gonna end up with work-related frostbite.”

Cassie giggled and paused at the double doors that led outside. The woman wasn’t the perfectly coifed mannequin and soft-spoken variety they usually hired to man the front desk. Rather, she had ruler straight hair to her shoulders that bordered between dark brunette and deep auburn and wore almost no makeup. Then again, with her pale blue eyes, adorable freckles and pretty features, she really didn’t need it. “You’re new here, right?”

“Yep. Just started last weekend. My temp agency sent me over on a last-minute deal. I guess the person before me got a better offer and quit without notice. Probably found someplace with a better thermostat.”

The sharp bark of laughter the new girl’s comment drew out of Cassie did a lot to erase the lingering grime from her interlude with Lizbet and the bumbles in her newscast. “Well, nice to have you here. I’m Cassie McClintock.”

“Bonnie Drummond. Glad to have a paycheck.”

Yep. She’d definitely called Bonnie right. Spirited, funny and right to the point. “Are you here because you’re looking to work in broadcasting?”