He’d pitched the undercover exposé to his producers at Channel 7 a week later. They’d jumped at the chance. Platinum Estates had a reputation for being untouchable, tied to half the city’s wealthy developers and politicians. A story proving they were breaking fair housing laws would be the biggest primetime special the station had aired in a decade.
The newsroom was buzzing when Marcus walked in, the entire production team crowded around his desk waiting for him. His lead producer, Lila, a sharp-tongued redhead who’d been his partner for three years, held up a coffee cup for him, her face lit up with excitement.
“Tell me you got the goods,” she said, handing him the coffee. It was black, no sugar, exactly how he liked it.
Marcus pulled the pen out of his pocket, tossing it to her. “I got more than the goods. I got the regional director trying to bribe me on camera. I got half the agents admitting they discriminate against Black and Latino clients. I got Julian the golden boy realtor calling a potential client trash to his face.”
Lila whooped, plugging the pen into her laptop to pull up the footage. The entire team crowded around the screen, gasping and cheering as they watched Julian’s meltdown. By the end of the 15-minute clip, the entire newsroom was applauding.
