The Journalist

Chapter One

"So?"

"So what?"

"So how did your date go last night with Richard?" I looked at my assistant Elsie and rolled my eyes. She flicked her reddish-brown hair over her shoulder in annoyance. I ran my own fingers through my hair, messing up the strands.

"Come on Emma! You've dated just about every guy in New York City, why can't you at least like one of them?"  I closed my eyes briefly remembering the catastrophe known as my date last night.

"It's fine. He chewed with his mouth open anyway." I said quickly.

"Emma Knightly!"  My boss barked from her doorway.

"Yes ma'am?" I asked, standing and walking to the door to poke my head out from my office.

"My office now." I hurried into her office, grateful to get away from Elsie before she could ask more questions.

"I still want details!" she yelled after me. Not on your life, I thought to myself as I closed the door to my boss's office.

You don't get to be the youngest intern of the world's leading fashion and gossip magazine by being kind. You don't get to be senior editor by being gentle. You don't get to be the head and sole owner of that said magazine if you aren't blunt. I looked at my boss, Ms. Richmond and wondered when I stopped thinking that I could ever be like her. Maybe it was when I was an intern and had the unfortunate task of bringing her coffee every morning. She never said thank you and if it was too cold she told me I would be lucky if Mc Donald's hired me. But I stayed and now I was one of her favorite journalists, well at least I think I was. She sometimes went a week without yelling at me.

"I have a job for you." No hello, she was very direct. She looked out her window her fingers clutching the drapes. Her rings shone in the late afternoon light. She paused for dramatic affect and I took out my notepad and pen.

"You know that band One Direction right?" I didn't but I nodded all the same. "One of the last remaining single members just recently announced his engagement. They are coming here tomorrow so we can negotiate a deal to have the exclusives to the wedding."

She turned around. I stared at her face, trying to determine how old she was. 45, I decided today. No one knew how old she was, her face was ageless and her blonde hair never had even a single gray strand. She wore her usual white power suit, 7 rings between both hands, and simple diamond earrings. As far as anyone knew she never wore makeup and never smiled.

"I want you to cover the wedding." She said her final reveal. She leaned forward and her spotless desk and looked at me. "Will you take the job?" I knew it wasn't really a question.

"Yes. Of course."

"Good. I want you at the meeting tomorrow." She stood up and walked back over to the window, my cue to leave. I stood up and silently made my way to the door.

"Oh and Miss Knightly?" Uh, oh I thought, she must want something.

"Yes?"

"Just to be clear you will be getting coffees tomorrow while I discuss the arrangements." I swallowed my outrage, I had rightfully earned my spot and yet she still treated me like an intern. But it was either swallow my pride or leave.

"Yes ma'am."  She gave me a toothless smile and then turned back to the window.

I left the room silently and made my way back to my office. I stared at the mound of papers of half written articles covering my desk and floor. Sure I can take on another assignment, no I'm not doing anything else right now, of course I'm caught up and could even take on another assignment I thought to myself as I sat down and looked at the piles. I knew I needed to finish my work now or my new assignment would be given to someone else. This was going to be a long night.

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I took a deep breath and started running. It was too late for a run but I needed to decompress after finishing three months of work that I was behind on. I ran fast, trying to outrun my worries and the memory of last night.

It had started innocently enough; Elsie's boyfriend's friend had met me at a restaurant for dinner. I thought things were going well when he started making rude comments about the couple sitting near us. Then he spilled his drink on me and tried to wipe it off my dress himself. Needless to say his hands quickly went elsewhere and I stood up and left without saying goodbye.

I shook my head as I ran, that was in the past time to focus on the present which included my new assignment. I waited for a light to change and then made my way across a crosswalk. I was almost to the other side when my shoe became caught. I looked down in confusion. I didn't know how but my shoelace managed to get caught in a manhole cover. I tugged but it wouldn't come free. I bent down trying to get it free, oblivious to the traffic moving around me.

"Come on, come on!" I muttered, pulling harder. 

I heard a horn honking  and I looked up to see a car coming right at me. I froze in panic and someone came out of nowhere and pushed me out of the way. My head slammed against the pavement but I was too preoccupied to notice it.

"My shoe!" I gasped, slightly disgusted that these were the first words out of my mouth. 

Although I had paid a lot of money for my hot pink Nikes. The stranger who had pushed me out of the way looked at me with amusement the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly. In the fading light I could see that he had curly hair that looked slightly out of control and green colored eyes.

"Your shoe's right here, not to worry." He said in a deep British accent grabbing my sneaker and showing it to me. "Are you all right? Nothing broken I hope."

"I'm fine. I just... can you get off me I can't breathe." I said. He got off me and slowly helped me stand up. He was tall, I had to looked up to talk to him. That small action caused my head to spin and the world started getting darker.

"Easy there." He said as I fell into his arms.

"My shoe." I murmured.

"Ah yes, your shoe's right here." He said picking me up. The world went black as I felt his chest move as though laughing.

"All this and all you care about is a bloody shoe." He said quietly.