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New Orleans. That's where I wanted to go for the next trip. It wasn't drastically far, still within our country and it was a great destination for solo trips. Since that's the section my articles focused on, it would be great. Now, all I had to do was plan and book everything, make an itinerary to follow and then tell Jamieson, the photographer I always work with, to pack up so we could leave as soon as possible.

I turned the computer on and started looking up all the good spots, quickly scribbling them down in the journal simultaneously.

I've worked at Travel Addict Weekly long enough to know how to go about traveling and making all the bookings for myself and whoever the photographer coming with me is. Usually, the photographers can be changed depending on who needs how many but it's been a while since Jamieson started working with me. He joined the company around the same time as, the one and only, Poppy Valentine.

Don't even get me started on her.

I've had five years, give or take, working here and going around the world and as much as I love it- it's all I've ever wanted to do- I still couldn't imagine settling down after I've been to too many cities or worked here for too long.

I don't ever want to stop seeing the world.

I shifted my hand to the mouse and just as I clicked on the link for the next website, someone called my name.

"Josh."

I looked over at the door, spotting Owen. I stared at him, waiting for him to say whatever he came to say.

"Lydia's calling you," he sighed before his shoulders dropped and he turned and left. He looked like a kid who dropped his brand new ice cream.

Why is she calling me? I already had my meeting with her.

I stood up while loosening my tie a bit and walked down to Lydia's office, knocking on the door.

"Come in!" her voice came through.

I pushed the door open, making my way in. My eyes landed on Poppy who sat across from Lydia with her back to me. She had her elbow resting on the armrest while her head rested on her closed fist.

Moving my eyes back to Lydia, I lifted my brows, closing the door behind me. "You called me?"

"Sit," Lydia barked, glaring at Poppy before shifting her attention to me, gesturing to the chair beside Poppy's.

I stole a glance at Poppy as I did so. She had her jaw clenched as she stared ahead blankly, frustration and anger radiating off of her. Her knee was crossed, one leg over the other, and her foot was bouncing up and down in the air, tapping absolutely nothing.

"What is it, Lydia?" I asked.

She chuckled dryly, "Ms. Poppy Valentine here—"

"It wasn't my fault, Lydia," Poppy cut in. "He'd never done that before, I didn't know he would."

"We had this conversation already. This isn't what I called Joshua in for."

Poppy huffed, rolling her eyes. "Sorry. Please, continue."

"Poppy," Lydia warned.

"Look, I don't get it, okay? It's not fair. Not to me, not really to Owen, not even to this guy." Poppy pointed at me, jabbing her thumb in my direction.

I leaned back in the chair, waiting for them to finish whatever argument was going on here.

"You haven't left me with another choice. And he has his own issues. It's not just because of you, all right?" Lydia said, glancing at me. "You both need this."

"I doubt it," Poppy mumbled under her breath.

Lydia's attention came back to me.

"Want to tell me what's going on yet?"

She huffed, "Watch your tone. I let you off sometimes because you've worked here the longest, don't let it get to your head."

I sighed, rolling my eyes subtly. "All right, my bad."

She took a breath and then finally explained. "Owen has been fired," she told me. "On their last trip to Madrid, he broke the employment contract and slept with their tour guide. Poppy here had no idea and let it happen."

"Because I could stop it despite having no idea," Poppy muttered sarcastically.

Lydia ignored her and continued. "Since Owen's been fired, Poppy doesn't have a partner anymore." She stared at me expectantly.

"What does this have to do with me? This is Poppy's mess."

Poppy finally looked at me. "I hate you so much," she said loud and clear.

"Feeling's mutual," I replied, looking at her.

"Poppy doesn't have a partner and neither do you."

I looked away from Poppy. "I've never had a partner. I write solo trip articles, Lydia."

"Solo trips are great and so are your articles, but we need something new. The more readers our magazine gains, the better it is. It's easier now to understand what our readers want. Honeymoon articles, they get the most reads."

"That's Poppy's department," I shrugged.

"It won't be if she doesn't have a partner. She can't write them on her own, her articles have to be written by two people. That segment requires two articles by a boy and a girl. No Owen, no partner, no article..." She looked at Poppy. "No job."

"Are you kidding me?" Poppy asked, scoffing slightly.

"Relax. You still have a shot." Lydia rolled her eyes. "Obviously, office romances are strictly prohibited, so a real couple can't be writing them, all we need is a boy and a girl. Poppy needs a new partner. A honeymoon article should show three things. Activities that men can enjoy, activities that women can enjoy, and activities that they both can enjoy together."

"Can you just tell me what you want from me?" I asked bluntly, picking up the pen on her desk and spinning it over my finger.

"All right. I want you to be Poppy's travel partner from now onwards."

Poppy exhaled beside me while I blinked, putting the pen back down. That's all I could do, really. "What?"

"Her articles performed really well with Owen but he's out of the picture now. Your articles perform outstandingly on their own. You're the best writers we have and nothing could be better than putting you both together. Our readers will get the best of both worlds. You can still experience your solo trips while you're there. Do some things together and others on your own. But those articles? Write them together.

"Joshua, you can still continue your solo segment, if you'd like, and so can you, Poppy. You can write about your experiences yourself. But someone has to go with you. And Joshua, I know you think otherwise, but you can't be alone forever. You can't keep working by yourself. It's starting to impact your readers a bit. People want to see you travel the world with someone."

"I won't do it," I said calmly.

"Josh," Lydia paused, glancing at Poppy. "The readers see it."

"See what?" I huffed.

"The loneliness in your articles."

Is she delusional?

"Are you kidding?" I asked dryly. "I like being on my own, Lydia. I don't want to travel with anyone."

"Josh, if you want this job, you have to fight for it."

"I haven't done anything to lose it, why do I have to fight for it? Because of her screw-up?" I nodded towards Poppy.

"I didn't do anything," she said through gritted teeth.

"That was the problem," Lydia said to her.

Poppy took in a breath. "I'm not God, Lydia. I don't see through people. If I would have known, I would have stopped him, how many times do I have to tell you that?"

"You were the head writer of your team, Poppy. That's your segment and Owen just worked with you. You were meant to be responsible."

"I'm not his babysitter. I can't tell him who to fuck and who not to."

"Poppy," Lydia scolded.

Poppy sunk into her chair, tilting her head back and staring at the ceiling.

"You're pulling me into this mess because of her?" I questioned, trying to stay calm.

Lydia shook her head. "I'm pulling you into this mess because of you. I don't want you working alone anymore. It's not good for you and it doesn't look good either. I'm giving you both until the end of tomorrow. Oh and one more thing. New Orleans?" She raised her brows at me. Then she pointed at Poppy. "That's her destination too."

"I chose it first," I reminded her.

"It's not her fault I called her in last today. If she came in before you and this little issue wouldn't have happened, the city would be hers."

"But—" Poppy tried again.

"Zip it," Lydia snapped, getting angry now. "You both are going downhill. You, thanks to Owen," she said to Poppy. "And you, thanks to yourself," she said to me. "You both need each other right now and the sooner you realize that, the better. If you want to pair another city with New Orleans, I'll let you do that too. I know you both don't exactly... get along. Each of you can pick a city in any country. We'll give you the budget you need. Come to an agreement by tomorrow.

"You have a choice but not really. And you might hate me right now but you'll thank me later. Just remember, the better your articles do, the more your salary is raised. Working together and giving me good results is your best shot. You're both free to go. If you agree by tomorrow, then tell me the cities you choose then. All the best."

Neither one of us moved for a good minute or two. "Lydia—" I said, only to be cut off.

"No excuses. Out. Now."

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