An Accidental Lie

The bar Dawn took Joey to was perfectly pleasant, if nothing special, but he got the impression the main draw for her was that it was quiet enough to concentrate when she was writing and have a conversation without yelling when she wasn't. Still visibly buzzing from the unexpected but resounding success of their interview, she tapped out the resulting article with surprising speed before passing it to Joey for his opinion. It read flawlessly. With that then safely dispatched to Cole electronically, they were able to talk without any further distractions.

It turned out Dawn's background wasn't all that different to Joey's, apart from the fact she was way more talented than he was and had arrived at the Post on merit rather than via a bullshitting superpower she had accidentally acquired. They both came from relatively humble backgrounds though, and grew up in small towns which had left them feeling confined and yearning for a move to a big city. Naturally, Dawn had made it there way before Joey did, having been headhunted by the Post when she was just 23 . She was now approaching a decade at the esteemed publication.

Despite her success, Dawn was extremely down to Earth and easy to talk to, and Joey felt privileged to be able to spend so much time with one of the top talents in his profession. Dawn was so good at what she did that Joey felt sure he couldn't help but become a better journalist almost by osmosis alone. There was one slightly odd thing that had happened during their working day that he wanted to check in with her over, though.

"So is everything okay with you, Dawn? That phone call you took during the interview sounded pretty important"

"Oh, that? Sorry, it was a little unprofessional of me, but nothing to worry about. I have a new agent, as of today, and she needs me to get back to her quickly whenever she calls. It's all been a bit of a whirlwind honestly, since I only really met her yesterday, but she is the absolute best in the business and working with her is a great opportunity for me. Sorry for ditching you like that, though you certainly made the most of my absence"

"It's fine. I'm just glad there was no emergency" Joey shrugged "I didn't realise journalists had agents, though. I guess that just shows how good you are"

"It's not really that. She has other projects in mind for me, TV work and stuff. It isn't really anything I've thought about before, since I've always wanted my work to be about the story and not about me, but she's extremely convincing. Anyway, I'll know more when I meet with her properly tomorrow"

"That all sounds very exciting" Joey admitted "Can I get you another drink?"

"Sure, I kind of feel like making an evening of it, after such a successful first day together"

With the new colleagues clearly enjoying each other's company, and the drinks continuing to flow, talk soon turned from their work and backgrounds and onto more personal matters.

"So is there a Mr Fraser?" Joey asked nosily, before realising he was making assumptions "Or a Mrs Fraser, for that matter?

Dawn shook her head in response, as she still had a mouth full of wine.

"I know it's a huge cliche, but I'm basically married to my job" she told Joey when she was able to talk again "I've never been able to make a relationship last more than a few months. As soon as they figure out they'll always come second to the news, most guys tend to drift away from me. How about you?"

"Yeah, I have a girlfriend" Joey wondered how much information he should volunteer here, but knew Dawn would suss it out soon enough anyway "By some crazy quirk of fate, she's actually a Senator's daughter"

"Oh wow, which one?" Dawn wanted to know. Of course, she was aware who all of them were.

"Olivia Adams"

"Holy fuck, Joey? That's incredible! She's a work of art!" Dawn gasped in shock.

"Yeah I know, I'm punching way above my weight there"

"I've heard she's almost impossible to date as well. She's shot down a lot of extremely eligible bachelors. You must be a real ladies man!"

"Oh yeah, I'm a total charmer. Every woman I know is **** to get me into bed " Joey deadpanned "My round again. Another red wine?"

"Um, ah..."

The normally cool-as-ice and unflappable Dawn was suddenly looking a little flustered. With a few drinks already downed, Joey hadn't clocked that his attempt at sarcasm had now rewritten her perception of him.

"Yeah, sure, um.." she paused for a moment, then had a better idea "Actually, you know what? I only live a few blocks from here and the wine at my place is already paid for. Why don't we just head there?"

"Yeah?"

"Of course, it makes total sense" Dawn insisted, regarding Joey intensely while running one finger delicately up and down the stem of her empty glass "We can brainstorm some articles together, and I can tell you everything you need to know about life at the Post. I've been there way too long"

"Wow, that actually sounds amazing!" Joey answered with innocent enthusiasm, still oblivious to Dawn's new agenda "Let's go!"