Dawn the reporter

Dawn used to dream bout becoming a journalist when she was younger. Back in highschool, she even managed the school paper for a while together with her best friend Danielle Harding. But as you know, instead of pursuing a career in journalism, Dawn got pregnant and became a stay-at-home-mom. Danielle on the other hand went off to college, and these days she worked as a senior reporter at The County Gazette - the local newspaper.

Dawn had always envied Dani for that, and she had never fully given up on her own dreams.

As she went through her options, she suddenly had an idea. Dawn had been meaning to call Dani anyway - and what if there was an opening at the paper? That would be so much better than working at a café or to clean houses for a living. This was a longshot, but it didn't hurt to ask, she thought, and called Dani.

"Hi D! Been a while. How are you holding up?"

Dawn was glad to hear the voice of her old bestie. Dawn and Dani used to be inseparable in highschool. So much so that they even shared a nickname: "The Double D:s". The name derived from both of them having names starting with D, but also from their matching cup-size. Dani's boobs rivalled Dawn's both in size and shape. The "DD:s" had grown apart a bit since then though. Dawn's redheaded friend worked a lot, didn't have any kids and had a knack for getting tangled up with shitty boyfriends. But even if they lived different lives these days, they still remained good friends.

Dawn stated her business, but Dani didn't sound too thrilled at the idea.

"You know I would love to have you working here", she said. "But I'm not gonna lie, things are really tough in this business right now. We recently had to let a whole bunch of people go. But if you're serious about this I could set up an appointment with Mike, my boss. But you shouldn't get your hopes up," she sighed.

Dawn had butterflies in her stomach as she walked into the Gazette the following day. She had been busy all morning picking out her outfit: a white blouse, a black pinstripe skirt and a stylish pair of beige high heels. She really hoped that she looked smart and professional enough.

The place was smaller and more intimate than she had imagined, with a littler more than a dozen reporters and editors scattered around in an open-plan office. She spotted Dani dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a tight black T-shirt seated at a desk cluttered with papers and coffee mugs. Her friend smiled and waved at her and silently mouthed "good luck" as Dawn was shown into the office of the editor.

Without getting up from his desk, Dani's boss introduced himself as Michael Bradshaw, editor-in-chief of the County Gazette, and gestured Dawn to have a seat. He was in his 50s, with salt and pepper hair and intense brown eyes. And he seemed to be in great shape for his age. As Dawn sat down in one the chairs opposite the desk, He seized the opportunity and checked her body out with a few quick glances. Dawn noticed and couldn't help blushing.

"I had a look at your resume," he said, picking up a printed out paper from his desk. "And I'm sorry to be blunt, mrs. Parker, but I have no idea what you aim to accomplish here."

Dawn's heart sank and she swallowed nervously.

"You have no qualifications. No higher education and no real work experience in the field journalism. In fact, you don't seem to have have any work experience at all."

"N-no, sir, but I..." Dawn stammered.

He put the paper down and pierced Dawn with his deep brown eyes once more.

"Look, I agreed to see you because Danielle put in a good word for you, but so far you haven't showed me anything to convince me that you are cut out for this line of work. I frankly feel that we are both just wasting our time."