“Yeah, boss?”
“I need your edited article in my email and on my desk in twenty minutes.” She doesn’t look up at me. Instead, she continues to move her fingers on her iPad.
Hitting a couple of keys on my keyboard, I send her the article and hit print before she can take her next step.
“I just sent it to your email, and once it’s done printing, it’ll be on your desk.”
Her hand halts, and she looks down at me, raising a perfectly waxed brow. “And you ran it by Oliver?” she asks, making sure that our copy editor gave it a run-through. She may be the editor in chief, but she has others helping her.
“Yes. I sent it to him yesterday, added the last couple ofthings he told me last night, and did a final check just now,” I say quickly.
A small, almost unnoticeable smile slips from her lips, but I catch it. “Good.”
She walks away and calls on someone else. I slump in my chair and smile to myself. That’s the first time she’s looked impressed with me, and it gives me a tiny bit of hope that I’ll finally get a feature article.
Hopping off my desk and running to the printer, my beige boot heels clank on the wooden floor. I decided to wear a comfortable outfit today, but ever since joining the paper, I’ve started dressing up a little more. It makes me feel professional and more confident about myself and my writing. It’s also too damn hot today to wear anything other than light blue jeans and my sleeveless white button-up shirt. It’s risky to wear anything white, considering I drink two matcha lattes a day, but it was worth it for the way it breathes.
I drop the article off at Amelia’s desk and start heading back to mine. Waving my hand against my face as if it will help with this September heat, I stop and wrap the hair tie on my wrist around my hair to put it in a high ponytail. Then I almost get knocked over by my editor, who runs past me.
“Oliver!” she yells, and he comes rushing over, looking terrified. Based on Amelia’s contorted face right now, I don’t blame him. “Where the fuck is Samantha?”
Taking a couple of steps toward the water cooler, I serve myself a cup and watch the show.
“He looks like he’s about to shit his pants,” a guy says from my side. I swivel my head in his direction and see that it’s our photo editor, Ben. He’s a pretty nice guy, and we’ve had casual conversations here and there, but I haven’t been able to get to know many people yet.
I nod. “Oh, yeah. Do you know where Samantha is?” She’s usually always on time. She’s one of Amelia’s go-to reporters and gets many of the hit pieces.
“Nope.” Ben slides a hand through his red hair. “But I can’t wait to find out.”
Oliver’s light brown skin turns green. “She called in sick. I thought I told you earlier.”
“Oh, fuck,” Ben whispers.
Amelia slams her iPad onto her desk and rubs a hand over her face. “You’re completely right, Oliver. I apologize.”
He exhales a relieved breath, and I do the same.
“Did you find someone to cover the interview she has scheduled for this evening?”
Oliver takes a step back.
I hiss through my teeth. “Oof. Rookie move.”
“Mhm,” Ben agrees.
“I’ll get someone right now,” he tells my editor, and Amelia explodes for the first time since I’ve been here.
“You haven’t found anyone else?” She waves a hand around, and I’m surprised at how empty the place has gotten in the past thirty minutes. “Look around! Everyone except our editors and photographers have gone home. This man has never agreed to an interview before and made it very clear that this was the only day and time he could do. He is one of the most important people on campus at the moment, and all of my interviewers are gone,” she seethes as the room goes quiet. But my ears perk up at everything I just overheard.
Oliver hurriedly pulls out his phone. “I’ll call someone right now.”
“There is only one other person I trust to write this article, and she lives forty minutes away?—”
“I’ll do it,” I interrupt.
Everyone’s heads turn toward me, and although I’m usually perky and confident, I feel like caving in on myself.
Amelia looks me over, and asks, “Have you ever interviewed someone for a paper before?”
