Natalie felt a pit open in her stomach, remembering the conversation she’d had with the associate producer. She’d been right. Of course it was Secret Service. And now Bibb was feeding Ryan the story! No, this isn’t Bibb’s fault. You could have pursued your instinct but you didn’t. This is on you, she scolded herself.

The Chief looked concerned. “How good is your source, my boy?”

“Solid. White House,” Hal said firmly, looking from the Chief to Ryan, then smiling smugly at Bibb.

Wait. Hal did this?

“And,” Ryan continued excitedly, “I was just invited to play hoops with the White House communications director this week,” Ryan said, winking at the boss. “He used to work for my dad’s last chief of staff. It’s a good connect.”

“This is fantastic, wonderful,” the Chief said, sitting forward. “Ryan, I want you outside that embassy. And keep working those relationships. Bibb, let’s keep Ryan there live till that kid leaves the embassy.”

“Awesome!” Ryan said.

Andrea let out a long sigh. Matt was shaking his head. Natalie felt like she might asphyxiate on frustration. The Chief seemed to be enjoying the tension in the room. Natalie imagined him envisioning Last Reporter Standing: Editorial Meeting as a new, behind-the-scenes show about the newsroom.

“And now, how about Natalie?” Bibb purred. There was a cat-who-has-just-committed-canary-genocide look on her face that confirmed what Natalie had suspected: Bibb had a plan, and Natalie knew it did not involve her own success.

The Chief looked delighted by what he was about to say. “I’d like Natalie on the First Lady’s migraine.”

“Sorry?” She was certain she’d heard that wrong.

The Chief was serious. “I’d like you to dig into the migraine angle. How long has the First Lady had these headaches? Are they real? If so, do they stop her from performing other wifely duties?”

Natalie tensed, hoping that didn’t mean what she thought it meant. She realized she must have been visibly gritting her teeth because Matt gave her big eyes that either said Don’t Fuck This Up or I Need to Pee Real Bad.

“I recognize that headaches are a serious issue and impact many people,” Natalie said, doing all she could to keep from screaming. “But I’m wondering if maybe the medical unit might be better suited to tackle that angle? I bet one of our doctors would have great insight. And I could do something a little more squarely focused on White House policy. Like—”

“Excuse me,” Matt piped up. “Matt Walsh, hi. I’ll be producing Headache At 1600. America’s Royal Pain. Chief, I want to let you know both of us are excited about this assignment and can’t wait to get started.”

Producing me? Natalie heard the words but couldn’t process them.