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I clenched my jaw and pinched my brows together.
“I know you think I have it out for her. But I don’t. I just expect the best here and she hasn’t proven herself yet.”
Eric exhaled a heavy sigh and we both stood up and left the office silently.
Truthfully, Olivia had no idea what she was in for. I preferred a world where those who were talented and hardworking got all the good things in life, and all those who rode on other people’s backs got nothing.
The very defining factor of anyone who was successful was how they approached mundane tasks. The world was rigged to function by complicating the most simple things. Humans could accomplish so much more if we managed to remove the fluff and the extras. I never had the power to dictate the way the world worked, but I did have power in my company. I had grown it exponentially over time by focusing on my principles and not wasting time or effort.
“Everyone here knows I value quality and not the shock value. It really shouldn’t need to be said out loud at this point,” I told Janet, one of the senior reporters who was presenting one of her pieces to the newsroom leadership staff. Her story had been flagged for further review. Janet was a veteran on staff, but lately her work had been a little, well, lazy. When she first started, she showed promise and potential. Spunk. Now, she seemed tired, like she didn’t really care about the job as deeply anymore.
She took a deep, slightly shaky breath before she continued.
“Of course, Mr. Oviatt.” Her words were quick and clipped, like she didn’t really want to be in this room either. Her hand reached up and dropped, like she was going to run it through her blonde bob before thinking better of it, realizing she didn’t want to look fidgety. “I have a story where a mayoral candidate had a tax evasion lawsuit in Spain and—”
“This candidate withdrew two days ago. How is he still relevant?” I cut her off, leaving her stunned and silent. Eric, sitting at the chair closest to my right, started to cover his face in second-hand embarrassment. I leaned forward once more, looking Janet directly in her evasive eyes. “Not to mention, OVT Broadcasting Network is a national news outlet. Why would we focus much of our resources on a local election? There are important congressional seats up for grabs and the results of those elections will shape our country for years to come. And you want to spend time on a candidate who’s not even in a race anymore?”
Eric cleared his throat and straightened in his chair, pulling his suit jacket tight.
“Listen, Janet, you’re one of our more experienced reporters. We trust your keen sense and talents to do the job.” I had to admit that Eric was great at showing empathy for the staff. Judging by the loss of defensiveness in Janet’s posture, he was getting through to her in a way my tirade had not been. So frustrating. “You’ve proven yourself many, many times before. But this one…This one just isn’t it. No one cares about it. But now we've wasted time and resources.”
Janet nodded and closed the laptop in front of her.
“I apologize,” she said, addressing the room. “I will find a story that is more relevant to our audience.”
I nodded once, dismissing Janet, and she quickly grabbed her laptop and smoothly strode out of the room.
“Ever since the whole crisis,” I said, addressing the leaders in the room, “and what I mean by that is the crisis involved publishing a news story with fake quotes. Not good. But the crisis highlighted what I have been seeing for a little too long—a lack of attention.” I leaned forward on my elbows, steepling my fingers. Everyone in the room was completely still, rigid. The tension was suffocating as the supposed top people in this newsroom held their breath, waiting to see where I was going with all of this.
“Have we gotten lazy?” The question started bringing people back to life as they shifted in their chairs, looking anxiously at one another. “Or have we just given up entirely?”
I was kind of getting sick of the declining quality of work being produced here. I had become a lot more hands-on since that epic disaster. I had to make sure it wouldn’t happen again, especially right now. Everyone’s eyes and ears were glued to us. We got lucky last time, there didn’t seem to be much long-term damage done to our reputation. But we might not be so lucky if it happened again.
“I get it. It’s hard right now. It’s hard to be honest and tell the truth when our competitors are not doing the same. It’s hard to continue to care when we share stories about the same problems over and over again and there are no results from anyone. It’s hard. But we need to care. We have a voice and we need to use it well.”
No one said anything. Eric was spinning side to side in his chair. Lucy was typing something on her laptop and two other senior editors were just exchanging nervous looks.
I sighed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Olivia walk by the glass wall.
“New girl,” I called out without thinking.
Olivia’s steps faltered and her long copper waves swung as she whipped her head toward me, hazel eyes locking on mine almost in a challenge. Something inside me fizzled a little, my blood turning carbonated.
She tugged her dark green shirt, straightening it as she smoothly opened the door. I couldn’t help but notice how tight her shirt was. It certainly wasn’t inappropriate in the workplace, and it had a mock neck on top, but it highlighted her slight curves and the subtle flare of her hips. I found myself especially interested in the smattering of freckles on her arms. I hoped she didn’t notice when my eyes skimmed down her dark skinny jeans. I mentally shook myself.
What the hell was I doing looking at Olivia like that?
“Yes, Mr. Oviatt?” Her husky voice was confident and filled the room. She had no hint of apprehension in her posture at all, down to the raised eyebrows.
“What have you been working on, Olivia? Maybe you can give us something that isn’t disappointing or a waste of time.”
Her eyes briefly narrowed, and I was positive she wished for the power to shoot flames at me.
“Go ahead, surprise me with some new perspectives, new girl.”
Lucy cleared her throat to start to say something but I quickly shot her down with a look. Everyone’s focus was on Olivia. She shifted her weight from one foot to another before stepping to the empty chair at the head of the table. She put her hand on the back, but made no move to sit.
She looked nervous and it was curious to me—how one moment she could seem ready to slay dragons, but the next she seemed to want to disappear into a hole in the ground. Most people were consistently one way or the other. But not Olivia.
