“What did you do all weekend?” he asks.
“Freaked out about today.”
He laughs. “Don’t worry. We’ve all been there.”
I look around at the two other empty chairs. “Who else do we work with?”
“Molly.” He points to the chair behind me. “She doesn’t start until nine thirty. She’s a single mom and has to get her kids off to school first.”
I smile; I like that.
“And Ava—she’s just late because she probably went out last night partying.”
I smile.
He rolls his eyes. “She’s a deplorable party girl, and she’s never at her desk—always finds somewhere she has to be.”
“Hello,” a girl says as she runs up the aisle and sits down in her chair. She’s panting and holds out her hand. “I’m Ava.”
I shake her hand and smile. “I’m Emily.”
Ava is younger than me and very attractive, with a honey-colored bob and dramatic makeup. She’s trendy and very New York.
“Open up your computer, Emily, and I’ll show you through our programs,” Aaron says.
“Okay,” I reply as I concentrate on my task.
“Oh my God, Aaron,” Ava says. “I met the hottest fucking guy last night.”
“Here we go.” Aaron sighs. “You meet the hottest fucking guy every night.”
I find myself smiling as I listen to them.
“No, seriously, this time I mean it.”
I glance over at Aaron, and he smirks at me and rolls his eyes as if he’s heard it all before.
She gets to work, and Aaron goes through and explains the programs as I take notes. “At ten o’clock the stories will start coming in.”
I listen intently.
“We, as reporters, go through them and all say yay or nay as to whether it’s got legs and if we go and report on it.”
I frown. “But how will I know that?”
“We just vote yes for stuff that interests us, I suppose,” Ava says. “Obviously, news stories that are breaking are crucial, but it’s the other content that they pay us for.”
She reads an email. “For example, three coffee shops have closed down in one week within two blocks from each other.” She rolls her eyes. “Honestly, who gives a fuck? This isn’t news.”
I giggle.
“Here’s one.” Aaron reads out, “A driver has been clocked traveling at one hundred fifty-five miles per hour, and he ran a police stop sign. He was involved in a hot pursuit and ended up crashing into parked cars in Brooklyn.”
Ava nods. “Yeah, that’s good.”
“We’ll go with that.” He types something and puts the file into a saved folder.
“So how does this work?” I ask.
“We collect stories, and then we discuss collectively what each of us has done and put together a list of stories. You research your stories and have them in by four each day for the next day’s news. Then we send them on to Hayden, and he sends them to editing. Obviously, if a good story comes in, it will take priority over everything else, and it will go to live news immediately.”
I frown as I listen. “So we each get our own stories and leads sent to us?”
“Yes, by email. By others on this level.”
I glance around at all the workers surrounding us.
“We keep our finger on the pulse of what sells and what news really is,” Ava replies. “It’s the coolest job ever.”
I smile. Maybe I really can do this.
“Open your emails.” Aaron reaches over and opens something for me on my computer, and then I watch as it keeps pinging.
“Those are all possible stories?” I frown.
“Yes.” He throws me a playful wink. “Get reading, baby. They come in thick and fast.”
I smile as excitement runs through me.
“Just make sure you get story details right. Nothing pisses management off more than incorrect names. You will get into huge trouble.”
“Got it.”
I’ve just gotten back from lunch when my phone rings. “Hi, Emily, this is Lindsey from human resources. I’ll be up in about five minutes to get you,” the kind voice says on the phone.
I wince. Oh, that’s right—I have that damn building tour. “Okay, thank you.” I hang up. “Oh no, I have to go on the office tour,” I whisper to my colleagues.
“That’s okay,” Aaron replies as he continues reading his emails.
“I’ve got so many leads,” I stammer. “I can’t keep up.”