Soft.

f i v e

9:48 a.m.
Friday

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THE AROMA OF Naomi's sweetened coffee wafted heavily throughout her spacious office. Her eyes trained on the words before her on the screen of her MacBook. She was currently editing a story that one of her interns had submitted, and Naomi wasn't impressed. It wasn't because Janice was a poor writer. She was an impeccable writer and that was the issue. Naomi expected more, and wasn't going to accept anything less.

   Naomi printed the pages out, and stood to go retrieve the documents from the printer. She then headed out the office to go find Janice. Janice was chatting with one of the Associate editors in one of the conference rooms. Naomi barged in, and threw the documents onto the table, gaining the attention from both of the female employees.

"Courtney, give us a minute." Naomi said while folding her arms across her chest. Courtney excused herself from the room, and Naomi waited until the door was closed until she started speaking. "What the hell is this, Janice?" She pointed down at the scattered papers of Janice's article.

   Janice looked hesitant to speak. She was a shy and quiet girl. It was cute, but Naomi was frustrated by it. She needed to be more open and have an authoritative voice, both vocally and in her writing. "I did what you asked." She finally answered.

"This isn't you. You changed your voice and that's how you're going to lose your audience." Naomi raised her voice just slightly. "What's the topic?"

    "War on Kids in the Middle East." Janice mumbled.

"Kids!" Naomi repeated. "I need emotion Janice. You're trying to connect with mothers, fathers, guardians, anybody who's dealing with kids. You want these privileged assholes to stop living in their bubble for once and think about what kids across the world are going through. They aren't allowed to be kids. These kids can't run around in their front yards and play tag. No, they're being bombed by their own government for political gain and control. Don't be hesitant like you are now. Let the pen go as you think. I want realness. You sound like a robot." She picked up one of the pages of the articles before throwing it back down. "I expect more."

    Janice nodded her head, picking up the papers and hurrying out of the room. Naomi let out a deep breath before following behind her. "Janice." She called out causing the college grad to turn around. "I don't mean to be mean. I'm only hard on you because I believe you. I know you can deliver."

A smile creeped onto Janice's lips. "Thanks Naomi."

   "Good. Now go throw that in the garbage and give me a damn article to publish." Naomi turned on her heels, leaving Janice to do what she was told. Janice admired Naomi in more ways than anyone could have imagined. Naomi was her idol. When she applied for the intern position, she didn't think she would get it. Nothing stood out about her. She wasn't a loner, but she definitely wasn't a socialite.

She had a few friends in her corner. However, she was quiet and didn't stand up for herself most times. Naomi wanted to crack her shell and believed by being hard on her would do so. Someone had to push her outside of her comfort zone.

       Naomi's heels sounded against the marble floors as she headed back to her office to grab her cup of coffee. Picking up the mug, she placed the brim up to her mouth and took a few sips. Walking around her desk, she went to sit back in her chair and picked up her phone.