Breaking News [ ON HIATUS/HAWKS ]

003. workplace woes.

➥ DEATH BY PEN.

"My new assignment is— what?" Hiyoko took off her glasses, holding them loosely in her slender fingers. She leaned forward, her teeth grit.

"We are asking you to write the 'female hero of the week' column," her boss said, shrugging. He looked at the stack of papers below him. "While you have your television show and your opinion editorial, we need you to pull a little bit extra weight. News is booming."

"Can't you give me anything else?" She said, her foot bobbing slowly up and down over her crossed knee. "How about sports? Or politics? Something I'm actually good at."

"You are excellent with heroes, you know everything about them."

"Not the good things that hero worshippers crave," Hiyoko bit the side of her glasses. She gave a flirtatious smile, standing up and leaning forward on his desk. "Please, I'll make it worth your while."

Her boss looked up from his papers, his ears turning a slight pink. She pushed her chest forward, and then slid to sit on the edge of his desk. She watched him squirm a little bit.

"Fine. It's not every day you say please," he looked away from her, but she knew he was thinking about her. "Go wild with politics."

She slid off of the desk, bending over rather dramatically to grab her bag. Then, she exited the office, lingering at the door for a second. "Thanks, I knew I could count on you. You always make me so happy."

The further she walked away from the room, she felt her expression falter. Weak old, single men wanted one thing and only one thing. A young woman to give them attention. She straightened out her skirt.

She moved toward her desk, Toshito worming his way over with that same mug he carried everyday. "You get your new assignment? Rumor has it he was going to give you the female hero article or street fashion reports."

"I'm writing for politics," she felt the corner of her mouth quirk upwards. "I wanted it, so he gave it to me. Isn't it easy, Toshito?"

She whirled around in her chair, crossing her legs again and biting the edge of her nail. Toshito had a growing look of disgust on his face.

"That's not— not fair, I don't have that kind of power," he said, moving his arms rather aggressively. The shine of his glasses glinting against the ceiling light. He slammed his mug down. "You're just another bitch that'll be out of here the moment you gain a wrinkle. You're worth nothing, wrapped up in dirty money."

There was a silence. No one had seen such an angry outburst from him before. Some of the interns were standing with their mouths open at the end of the hallway, unsure of what to do.

"That's right," she said, standing again. She was taller than him in her extremely high heels. Hiyoko leaned in close, talking softer so it didn't interrupt the rest of the office. They were already staring, though.

"And you never will have that kind of power. If you insult me and my methods again," she looked him up and down. "I will end your fucking career."

Her long red nails pushed on his chest gently and she walked away. Whispers erupted around the office as tensions quickly fell. Everyone knew that they were rivals. Toshito was a long time JNNC employee and Hiyoko was a worthy opponent.