Journalists

Chapter 2

Tony is shown in the picture above.

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Half an hour later, Nola was walking out of the room with Tony Hayden, shaking his hand and telling him she hoped to hear from him soon. She felt as if the interview had gone very well.

As Tony opened his mouth to respond, his gaze was diverted from Nola to something behind her. Naturally, she looked over her shoulder as well and scoffed quietly when she saw Colin flirting with the receptionist.

"Typical," she mutters to herself and turns back to Tony.

"Oh, you're still here, Colin? That's good, I suppose. I've made up my mind on who should get the job," Tony grins at Colin.

"Already?" Nola asks with wide eyes, her jaw dropping slightly in shock. She didn't have a good feeling about a decision made so quickly.

"Perfect," Colin grins back at Tony, speaking over Nola.

Tony heads back inside his office and Colin brushes past her, just like he had an hour earlier into her cab. Nola sighs and steps back inside, sitting in the chair beside Colin's.

Tony, who was standing behind his desk and looking at both of them, nodded as if having a silent conversation with himself. "Yes, I believe I've made the right choice," he says, causing Nola to tense up so much that Colin glanced over at her.

"As the only two candidates who have made it to the interviews of this job application process, I've decided to give you both the job," Tony says and picks up his coffee mug from his desk, ignoring the look of surprise on both Nola's and Colin's faces.

"Are you serious? I think you should just pick one of us, Tony," Colin immediately argues while Nola sits silently, just glad to have the job in the first place.

"No, Colin. You don't understand. You're both getting the job for now. You'll have a few months to work together and write articles on the same topics. You'll gather information and research together so I can compare your pieces equally. Once I feel like there is someone who is clearly more deserving of this journalist position, then I will let go of one of you. Do you two understand?" Tony makes eye contact with both of them before taking a sip of his coffee.

"But Tony-" Nola attempts to argue this time, but Tony cuts her off by setting his mug down and crosses his arms before giving Nola a pointed glare. "That is Mr. Hayden to you, Nola. And if you have a problem with the way I'm handling things here, then you can find your way out of this office and the job can be given to Colin."

Nola immediately closed her mouth and looked down, shaking her head a little to let Tony know that she didn't want to leave or give the job to Colin.

"Good. I'll see you both here tomorrow morning at 9 A.M., and not a moment late. You'll get your first assignment then. No complaints," Tony says sternly to both of them.

They both nod silently and then get up to leave when Tony makes a waving notion with his hand to dismiss them.

Nola heads immediately to the elevator, too distracted by her new dilemma to notice Colin stopping by the receptionist to get her phone number.

Nola leaned back against the elevator wall as the doors shut slowly but quickly stood up straight when Colin shoved his hand between the closing doors and forced them to open again so he could step in.

He put his hands in his pockets as the doors shut and didn't say a word for two floors. "Small world, huh?" He looks over at her.

"Too small," Nola sighs in response, deciding that a little bit of conversation couldn't hurt, especially since she'd be around Colin a lot for the next few months.

"I can tell you don't like me very much, but I don't want you to worry about that. You won't be dealing with me for too long," Colin says as the elevator reached the ground floor. They both headed for the exit and he pushed past her again so he could leave the elevator first.

Ignoring his action, she looks at him in surprise as they walk out of the building together. "Why is that?" She asks before raising her hand and calling for a taxi.

"Because I'm going to get to keep this job and have you fired by the end of this month," Colin smirks at her as a cab pulls up in front of her and Nola starts walking toward it.

Once again, Colin brushes past her, shoving something into her hand before getting into the cab. He gives her a wink before shutting the door and leaving in her cab again.

Nola looks at the taxi that had already disappeared into traffic, her facial expression showing very clearly that she was pissed off. She glances down at the paper in her hand and sees his resumé.

"Bastard," she mutters angrily.

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