“One of the photographers for the newspaper was Louis; he started his internship not long after I arrived. He’s a shy person and preferred to be behind a camera instead of in front of one.

“With him assigned to another journalist; we only saw each other on occasional lunch breaks. After Miss Billings became the new CEO, there were more frequent encounters with each other. Because we worked in the same office area for final projects. Our friendship blossomed from our broken dreams of journalism and photography. The fears and discontent for the state of our job since Mackenzie took charge. We began to fall in love with each other and became the only bright sides to the dreary existence of our careers. I’m sorry that we formed a secret alliance to keep down competitors for the coveted journalist position abroad. However, we never betrayed each other as we made a good team. Louis always told me, ‘We’re kindred spirits, you and I. Birds of a feather flock together.’

“One day, Louis and I had coffee together at a small L.A. café when he said he planned to leave the newspaper for good and bring it down. He had taken secret photographs and videos of Miss Billings’s files and in illegal acts of bribery, threats, fake news, etc. Louis was determined to bring down Mackenzie Billings and though apprehensive, I agreed with his choice.

“Two days after Louis’ confession, Miss Billings called me into her office to interview an eccentric old lady in Glendale. She’d been notorious for her obsession with flamingos; dozens of plastic ones littered her front lawn. There were hundreds of portraits and paintings inside her house, painted a bright neon pink to match the bird’s feathers. Several reports had come in that she was an animal hoarder. Real flamingo feathers appeared on her porch, and squawking were sometimes heard.

“To my shock, Miss Billings offered me the chance to become a full-time abroad journalist. However, it was on the condition that I could dig up dirt, true or false, on the older woman and her son, Louis. She had found out about Louis and I’s rendezvous earlier that week and offered me a request. Create a scandalous story or tarnish my reputation as a journalist. With my decision, I did both.