Disenchanted

You remember me. It’s Misty.”

Carl looked puzzled.

“We met three years ago at the Waldorf. We spent the day trying to find out J.A. Beadley’s real identity. Any luck since then?”

“No.”

“Well, you weren’t all that into it, if I remember correctly, you were quite disenchanted with being a reporter. Has that changed?”

“No, but it pays the bills.”

“What you need is a scoop, an exclusive, but today is about J.A. unveiling the new book. It’s rumored to be quite the tell all. What a career booster it would be to meet J.A. and find out about the person behind the pen name. Wow! What could be better than that?”

Carl shifted in his chair, “How wonderful.”

“Oh, the shows about to start. Got to go.”

Misty disappeared into the crowd. Carl slowly got up from his chair and waited with everyone one else. He kept glancing at his watch, anxious for this to be over. The host spoke briefly, then drew back the curtain.

Carl couldn’t believe his eyes and grabbed a book reading the title “The Disenchanted Reporter, He’s Really A Spy”. How did J.A. know he had been a spy, then it hit him, Misty was J.A.
He threw down forty dollars, and ran upstairs to his hotel room. Quickly turning the pages searching for clues on how to find Misty or J.A. or whatever her name is. He cringed every time he found intimate details about undercover ops he had been on. Then there was a playful knock at the door.

Carl opened the door and said, those were my secrets. They weren’t yours to reveal.

Misty said, “you shouldn’t have sent my dad to prison. He was innocent! Now everyone will know what you’ve done. No more secrets. No more hiding.”