Joe arrived at the American News Service office at precisely 7:59am. He hoped his promptness would make a good impression on Mr. Hennessy. Worriedly, he knocked on the door.
"Come in." Mr. Hennessy said. "Well! If it isn't Joe Bradley! Glad to see you can follow instructions!"
"Yes sir." Joe said proudly. "I told you I'd be here by 8:00 as promised."
"That you did." Mr. Hennessy said. "I hope you have the Princess interview finished. You've had more than enough time to work on it."
Joe opened his briefcase. "I have it right here, Sir." He said, handing the article to his boss.
Mr. Hennessy scanned the document. "Well done, Joe."
Joe blushed. "Why, thank you, sir. Thank you very much."
Mr. Hennessy began to pace back and forth, focusing on the article. "Very well done indeed."
"I worked very hard on it." Joe said.
"Yes, I can see that." Mr. Hennessy said. Suddenly, his expression turned glum. "But you didn't work hard enough!"
Startled by the outburst, Joe took a step backwards. "I-I'm not sure what you mean, sir."
"You know darn well what I mean!" Mr. Hennessy fumed. "This is boring!" He said, shaking the article in front of Joe's face. "Anyone could have written this!"
"But sir, I-"
"But sir, nothing!" Mr. Hennessy said. "You threw this together last night. I can tell!"
Joe looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry you feel that way, sir."
"Well, I'm sorry too." Mr. Hennessy said.
Joe sighed. "I'm fired, right?"
Mr. Hennessy chuckled. "Nice try, Joe. "I'm not letting you off the hook that easily. I have a special assignment for you!"
"Another assignment?" Joe said with annoyance.
"Yes, another assignment! A major assignment! This one could make you a world-famous journalist. You've always wanted that, right?" Mr. Hennessy asked.
"Well, sure..." Joe said "But..."
"But nothing. I want you to start on it immediately, do you understand?" Mr. Hennessy said. He handed Joe a large envelope. "Here it is. The instructions inside are to be followed exactly, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Joe said.
"And we can only pray that it's better than your Princess interview."
Joe opened the envelope, and pulled out a large bundle of papers. "This is a bit excessive for an article, don't you think?" he said to Mr. Hennessy.
"Don't question me, Bradley. Just do your job!" Mr. Hennessy said, ushering Joe out of his office and slamming the door.
Joe read through the instructions he was given. "Hey, wait a minute! What is this?" He banged on Mr. Hennessy's door until it was opened.
"I thought I told you to get to work, Bradley!" He boomed.
"This is terrible! I can't do this!" Joe exclaimed.
"You can, and you will!" Mr. Hennessy replied.
"But this is outrageous!" Joe said. I can't write a story like this. It wouldn't be honest!"
"Your job isn't to be honest! Your job is to write articles that sell newspapers! Do you understand me?" Mr. Hennessy said. "Now if I hear one more outburst from you, you'll be out on the streets!"
Joe sighed, knowing he couldn't afford to lose his job. "Mr. Hennessy, please. You don't understand, I-"
"I understand plenty! That article is going to get this newspaper noticed! Now, good day, Joe!" With that, Mr. Hennessy shoved Joe out of the office and slammed the door.
Shocked, Joe looked at the secretary, who was busy typing a letter. "The nerve of that guy!" he said.
The secretary paid no attention, but went right on typing.
