Olivia
I never liked being The new girl.
I didn't like it in high school, not in college, and definitely not at work. When you were the new girl, there were a lot of eyes on you. Whispers floated around you. Rumors started. It was just a whole thing, really.
But sometimes, you have to be the new girl. I was just going to have to suck it up. Like today.
I felt a little crumpled after my conversation, if you could call it that, with Ben Oviatt. A deep sigh escaped my lips as his harsh words about my lack of participation swirled around in my head. I tried to empty my body of all of its oxygen. I needed a full replacement. That little experience wasn't easy, and I needed a reset to move forward.
Barely a moment later, Lucy was standing in front of me. She looked like the most cool and collected woman. I bet she didn't try to hide in corners of busy rooms. And you know what? Neither did I, anymore. There was definitely no hiding now. Every other pair of eyeballs in the room was staring at me. Some eyes looked kind and sympathetic. Some looked at me like I was just as useless as Ben said.
"Hey there, Olivia. I was expecting you today, but I'm so sorry about your, uh, welcoming party." Lucy swept her arm across the newsroom, which was still reeling from the presence of Ben Oviatt. I saw people starting to visibly ease and catch their breath as the numbers that were still splashed across the monitors started to improve. It wasn't easy to maintain a news source's reputation, but Ben Oviatt truly handled the situation.
"What a shitty first day. I wish we could have welcomed you under better circumstances," Lucy added, expressing a sheepish look as she signaled me to follow her around the newsroom. Keeping up with her was a challenge. She was tall, her legs were long and her strides chewed up the ground. Lucy also seemed effortlessly chic in that cool girl newsroom way. Her black skinny jeans were the perfect amount of faded. I noticed the green flats she wore were surprisingly expensive for a news reporter. Her green and white striped short sleeve sweater was the perfect balance between casual and professional and perfectly highlighted her long dark brown hair and olive skin. As she confidently strode around the newsroom, I realized that I pretty much wanted to be Lucy. She was clearly respected, both by her peers and Ben.
She stopped abruptly and turned toward me. Oh shit, she had said something to me, didn't she? Right, she was saying that today was terrible.
I shook my head, and she turned to start walking again.
"No, I get it. I'm sure there are more tough days than easy ones here. I expect it." I didn't want to be a burden to anyone. There were still plenty of stressed-out expressions on people's faces.
The newsroom floor was huge. Way bigger than where I worked last. Beyond the main area, where Ben Oviatt had saved the day, there were editing rooms, production areas, and multiple studio sets. There were some offices that were mostly separated by glass walls. Probably an ode to transparency, or something like that. Ben Oviatt didn't seem like a person who did anything without a solid reason. He was poetic, to say the least.
"That's the thing, though, about today, Olivia. Wecouldhave had a normal day if we all got to fact check that story." After she showed me the dressing room, she walked us to a room that was a little tamer than the last one. It had spaced-out desks with low partitions.
"And here's your station," she said, extending her hand. I was a little shocked. The area was actually spacious, clean, and decently lit, with a bank of windows on one side. "I sit over there." Lucy pointed to a desk on the other side of the room and perched on my desk.
"I've never really had my own space like this before at work. I've always been crammed in some dusty corner," I confessed, sinking into the really nice office chair and spinning to look at the even nicer twin monitors on the desk. I had been totally thrown off my game after the whole Ben Oviatt situation earlier, but I was brought back to reality. I remembered that this gig was something I had wanted for a long time.
Lucy just smiled and nodded at me. "Well, here at Oviatt Broadcasting Network, we value every employee. I should know, I've been here more than ten years. I started as an intern in college and never looked back." She straightened out the small plant that decorated my desk. Did she leave that there? I almost choked up at the unexpected kindness. "And, yes, some days here are tough. But just know that we are all valued team members and we all have a lot of skills to bring to the table. You included Olivia." Her brown eyes were so sincere and I cleared my throat to get rid of the emotion that was clogging there.
My fingers ran over the light wood, my heart beating at the thought of finally working for OVT and being worried I'd lose it all before I even got started. "He was partly right. I was a little shell-shocked at the commotion and I didn't ask what I could do to help." I looked squarely in Lucy's eyes and she didn't even hesitate before shaking her head and chuckling.
"Oh, don't worry too much about Ben Oviatt," she said, waving her hand. There was something in the way she didn't actually address my concern. Something flashed behind her eyes. "It wasn't your fault, but I guess it wasn't a great first impression," she finally admitted. I crumpled back in my chair.
"I know," I groaned, my head falling back as I stared at the ceiling in frustration.
Lucy sighed. "Worrying about it won't do you any good. You just have to kick ass, like I know you will, and you'll be back on Ben's good side. No worries." She said it like it was the easiest thing in the world.
"And exactly how hard is it to get on Ben's good side? Knowing about my wonderful first impression?" I asked cautiously, not really sure if I wanted to know the answer.
Lucy hesitated and looked down at her shoe, swinging her foot back and forth. That wasn't a great sign.
"Well… you're on his list now, there's no doubt about that. He's going to be paying attention," Lucy started, still avoiding eye contact. She let out a small sigh. "I won't lie. It's going to be hard work to win him over. But, he knows your name and that can't be said for absolutely everyone in this company. You know how they say, any attention is good attention. Or, something like that." Lucy wrinkled her nose up, realizing it didn't really come out right.
I felt the world shatter around me. Here I was, in my dream job… and I might have screwed it up on the first day.
I sat there for a moment, staring at the blank monitors in front of me. Then, I shook my head and forced all of the negative thoughts out. I stood up, surprising Lucy.
"No. I can't afford to think like that." I walked to the window and then placed back, trying to regain my composure. "I just, I just have to kick ass, like you said. That's all. I just have to prove to Ben Oviatt that I do deserve to be here. Because I know I'm an excellent reporter."
Lucy jumped off the desk and gave me a high five.
"I like your spirit, Olivia. I think you're ready for your first assignment tomorrow."
I knew I had to nail the assignment. Scratch that, I knew Iwouldnail the assignment.
Then I would show Ben Oviatt exactly what Olivia Taylor was made of and he would have no choice but to be impressed.
The most eventful time for anyone in the news industry was election season. Countless candidates held all kinds of events to get in front of the public. Not to mention all of the juicy conflicts and scandals that erupted as candidates faced each other. There were many sleepless nights and extra hours as each reporter tried to be the first one to find out that a candidate's secret sex tape from the early 2000s was leaked or another candidate's possible tax fraud was exposed.
We also had to scour the internet, monitoring online chatter to find out what people thought about the candidates.
Election season was indeed the season of shocking news stories. I had always imagined what it was like to be on the news side of the action. Ever since I was offered the job at OVT, I couldn't stop thinking about election season. I knew it was going to be a challenge, starting in the middle of it and all, but I wasn't one to back down from a challenge.
I would have to hold onto that conviction to prepare for day two.
As I looked in the mirror, I tried to push away thoughts and fears of being on Ben's bad side. What was done was done, and I lived to fight another day to prove myself to my boss. And to everyone else.
"You're going to kill it, Olivia," I told myself in the mirror, looking directly at my own hazel eyes. I did a scan of my outfit: A cream sheath dress that I knew looked great on camera and I had a navy blue blazer to throw on. I skipped the heels today in favor of a pair of nude flats. Shaking out my long, copper curls, I realized I forgot earrings. I chose a pair of simple fake diamond studs, hoping someday I'd be able to afford the real things. My makeup was polished and a touch up kit was in my bag. I was ready to take on the day.
As I hopped off the bus and walked the few blocks to the OVT building, I was my own best hype woman in my head. I was going to be amazing today. I was resolute, and nothing could have stood in my way. I was going to get the juiciest news story. Even if it killed me.
When I walked in and threw my stuff on my desk, Lucy approached with a sheepish smile. This wasn't a great start.
"Morning, Olivia!" I didn't know her well yet, but I could recognize fake brightness and enthusiasm in someone's voice from a mile away. "I have your first assignment. I'll email you the details, but I thought we could chat about it first." She handed me the laptop she was carrying. I sensed that something was wrong.
"Um," I started, but forced myself to stop speaking. I could ask her what was wrong, or I could read the damn file myself. "You have got to be kidding me," I sighed when I read the overview.
"It's gonna be great," she tried to convince me as she took the laptop back. "I've emailed everything to you, and the crew is getting ready. You can read everything on the way over."
I trudged toward the back door that led to the parking garage where the vans were parked. I found the crew and scanned the information again, hoping I was wrong about the fluff piece. Maybe there was a different way I could spin this story?
Too soon, I found myself in the middle of an empty gastropub, reporting on its grand opening. The lights that shined from the camera were painful and I could feel the heat on my cheeks. The cameraman, Mark, grimaced at me. I caught a glimpse of myself in one of the monitors and understood why. I was also grimacing. Great. I smoothed out my face and forced a smile.
"Get it together, Olivia," I said under my breath.
As I forcibly relaxed my body, Mark smiled and started to count me down.