A New Dawn

Joey rushed straight over to greet Kayleigh, and the pair shared an embrace that would have suggested they'd been separated for a lot longer than 48 hours.

"We're actually here, can you believe it?" she beamed as she took in her new surroundings "And I hear you're partnered with Dawn Fraser? How did you pull that off? She's basically my idol!"

"She's super nice too. I'll introduce you later" Joey promised "I need a quick word with you first, though"

"Sure, shoot!"

"The stuff we talked about before, you're going to need to submit all of that under your name"

"Huh? How does that work?" Kayleigh was completely thrown "The whole point is when you write something, people who read it, you know..."

"It's fine, I'll type the articles up and send them to you, you can then just forward them on without reading anything. You'll get the credit, so this is a win for you really"

"I still don't understand why you don't want to publish it yourself though?"

"It's complicated, but I'm not going to have the same free reign to write whatever I want as you will. It doesn't really matter which one of our names is at the bottom of the article though, it's the same deal either way. Plus, I've already spoken to Cole and he will print anything you want, no question"

"Jesus Joey, you've started laying on the bullshit here already?" Kayleigh placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes like a disapproving parent "I thought we agreed you were going to keep that to a minimum here, outside of our articles"

"I am, but our articles aren't going to do much good if they don't get published. I've been impeccably behaved otherwise. I didn't even tell Dawn I was her new boyfriend"

"You fuck with her and you'll have me to answer to!" Kayleigh warned her friend jokingly with a stroke of his arm "And you're right. That lie was for the greater good, we just don't want it being the start of a slippery slope"

"It won't be, I promise"

"Actually, I prepared an article for you last night. I guess I need to email it to you, then you type it all out again, send it back to me and I just forward it on to Cole?"

"Yeah, that's about the size of it. So, what's the article about?"

"The environment. The funny thing is, it's all entirely true, it's just getting people, especially our politicians, to understand what's going to happen if we don't act fast. I guess I've editorialised a little, you know how passionate I get about this stuff"

"I still have painful memories of the day you discovered I didn't recycle my electrical waste"

"Well, you can more than make up for that now. Just think of what we can do here, Joey? I'm not saying we can save the world, but we can help other people realise they have to"

She leaned in and gave Joey a kiss on the cheek, which was a first for her.

"What was that for?" he smiled like a school boy.

"For whatever it was you said to get yourself here. And for bringing me with you"

Dawn was walking back to her car, which was parked a couple of blocks from the office, when she was approached by a strikingly beautiful blonde woman. Charlie had the kind of face people didn't forget, and Dawn had seen her around the office a couple of times lately. Therefore, she returned Charlie's smile politely and stopped to talk.

"Hey, you're a friend of Cole's right?"

"Cole and I have worked together a few times, but I'm actually more of a friend of your new partner"

"Joey Jones, you mean?"

"That's the one! My name's Charlie!"

She extended her hand and the two women shook warmly.

"Joey did actually mention you earlier"

"Oh really? Nothing too bad I hope?"

"Not much beyond you being an old friend from University, and that you were apartment sharing with him"

"Yeah. Okay, a bit of a confession here, since you are an elite journalist and I'm sure you've already guessed. It was me who put Joey's name forward to Cole for a position at the Post. Gotta hook my old buddy up, y'know? But he's really good, I promise"

"There's nothing wrong with helping a friend" Dawn shrugged "Cole wouldn't have given him the job if he wasn't fully convinced he was up to it"

"I also asked Cole to partner Joey with you, so you can blame me for that"

"Me? Why?" Dawn asked with surprise.

"That's an easy one to answer. I want my friend to learn from the best"

"Wow, I'm flattered. I just hope I can live up to the faith you've placed in me"

"I don't doubt that for a second" Charlie assured the journalist, before pulling her phone from her jacket "Actually, while you're here, can I get your professional opinion on something? Joey didn't think there was a story in it, but you may disagree"

"Sure, what is it?"

Charlie clicked on a button and held her mobile close to Dawn's ear so she wouldn't miss a word. Joey's voice could soon be heard quite clearly.

My friend Charlie is an extremely honest person. In fact, you believe everything she says without question.

Dawn paused for a moment and blinked in confusion.

"Oh, uh, okay..."

"Dammit, that wasn't the file I was looking for. I probably wiped it. Jeez, I'm such a klutz sometimes!"

"Oh , I've done the same thing myself before more than once" Dawn consoled her new acquaintance "If you find it, I'd be happy to listen another time"

"Great, well, it's been lovely meeting you, Dawn"

Charlie made to leave, then paused, and turned back theatrically with a slight smirk playing on her lips

"Oh, one more thing, Dawn. Before you go, it's absolutely critical that you give me your number and that, whenever I text or call, you respond immediately. If I tell you to be somewhere, it's vital you go there as soon as you possibly can. I hate to ask, but this is basically the most important thing in the world"

"Yes, of course!" Dawn quickly delved into her purse and grabbed a pen, then a business card which she scribbled something on the back of "My work number and email are on the front, but the number on the back is my private cell phone. You can contact me on that pretty much 24/7"

"That's awesome, Dawn, you're a star!" Charlie winked as she turned to leave again, this time for real "We'll speak soon enough. Until then, take good care of my boy!"