Peter finally entered the Daily Bugle building. By now, he was very, very late, but at least a couple of the shots he got from the action earlier should get him out of that. As he entered the elevator to head up to the level where his desk was, he was more concerned about if Robbie bought the story May said she'd offered up regarding his recent absence. He thought about whether or not he should at least act like his head was still hurting from time to time in order to make it more convincing. He hated feigning being sick or injured (though often the latter wasn't actually fake, just his stories), but it was what had got him out of most mishaps regarding his secret identity over the years.

The thing that was in Peter's favor in this matter was that Robbie was a much, much more understanding boss than Jameson had been. Honestly, if Robbie hadn't been working there and if Jameson hadn't respected him so much, Peter was convinced that he would've been fired a long time ago. To be fair, the former editor of the Daily Bugle did have a softer side that he could express at times...maybe once or twice a year, but still, a softer side.

Unlike Jameson however, who could go off at any time (especially if Spider-Man was mentioned), Robbie was as steady and patient as a man could be. He definitely worked everyone in the building, but it was easier to do so because they all knew that he respected them and would never ask anything more of them than he would do himself. He was kind, firm, but also fair, and he seemed to know the name of every person that worked at the Bugle, all the way down to the janitorial staff.

The elevator doors opened, and Peter strolled out, heading in the direction of his desk. Robbie wasn't there waiting for him, so at least he wasn't going to get ambushed or anything. He moved to the front of his desk, setting the bag on it that contained his camera within, removing it. He went through and double checked the pictures again, honing in on the ones that he felt were going to be best to use. He was going to have to get to work on them quickly; hopefully that would...

"Hey Peter."

Peter looked up from his camera to see none other than the face of Glory Grant, the secretary. She had been there for the last three years, ever since Betty Brant had left. He wouldn't go as far as to say they were friends, but they definitely had a friendly acquaintanceship.

"Hey Glory," Peter replied back to her.

"Good to see you back and healthy!" she said. "Also, Mr. Robertson told me to tell you to come to his office when you get in."

Peter hung his head slightly. Glory was definitely being friendly, but he should've known she'd be carrying a message from the boss himself as well.

"Thanks," he replied, setting his camera on the desk.

"Sorry," she said. "He seemed in a good mood, so I don't think you're in any big trouble or anything."

"Hope so," he said, smiling at her as he strode past, heading to the Editor's office. It was on the same floor, but it was on the far side of the large room. Peter recited the exact details of May's excuse she said she had called Robbie about in his head: he had taken a fall, hit the back of his head, experienced a brief bout of short-term memory loss, etc. It was all good; he had this. He'd only been dealing with making excuses for twelve years now, so there was no reason for him to be worried, right?

Who was he kidding; it was HIM. He absolutely had reason to worry.

Peter peered in through the glass doors as he came up to the office. Robbie had his back to the door, appearing to read something. He decided on a gentle approach, opening one of the doors and giving a knock. His boss turned around enough to see who was seeking entrance into his particular workspace.

"Oh Peter, yes, come in," the man said, turning around fully to face Peter. "I must say, you sure know how to keep your boss waiting."

"I'm sorry Mr. Robertson," he replied apologetically, hoping his respectful word choice would help smooth any issues over. "I know I'm a little late; okay, a lot late, but..."

"Please, Peter, no need to apologize," Robbie said. "From what I hear, you've been through quite the ordeal lately."

"Yeah, yeah I have," Peter said, reaching back to rub the back of his head just slightly. The funny thing was, his boss's words were infinitely more of an understatement than he realized. "But I'm feeling much better."

"Excellent," the man replied. Peter then finally caught a glimpse of what Robbie had been reading when he entered.

"Is that a copy of the Globe?" he asked, pointing to the paper in his boss's hand. The man looked down, letting out a huff.

"Jonah and I may have butted heads and disagreed on a lot," he answered, "but one thing we did agree on was knowing our competition. We want to lead the way, but we also look anywhere and everywhere for ideas. We look at what they're doing and how it's working for them, and see what ways we could be better."

"Makes sense," Peter said, nodding his head.

"Unfortunately, the Globe seems to have fallen in line with almost every other major media and news outlet in this country when it comes to printing whatever gets them subscribers and clicks," Robbie continued. "That is something I never want to settle for. Unfortunately, our numbers seem to be behind because of it."

"We'll figure it out," Peter said. "You always come up with some good headline or find just the right story."

"Yeah, sometimes I do get lucky every once in a while," Robbie said, smiling and shaking his head. "Oh, speaking of headlines, I don't suppose you got a front-page worthy photo of Spider-Man's fight with that Shocker guy, did you?"

"That's actually what I was on my way to take care of when I got in," Peter said, nodding his head back slightly towards his work area. "They were too far away for most of the actual fight, but I did catch a couple good shots of Spider-Man saving a girl from debris that was falling in the middle of it all."

"Yes, excellent!" Robbie said, clenching his fist in celebration. "We'd been starved for some good Spider-Man content recently, so that'll hopefully get us back on track a little bit."

"I hope so," Peter said, nodding while secretly feeling just a little guilty for his workplace's predicament, even if it was not at all actually his fault. That was another thing about Robbie that he liked though: the man got excited at the success of others. Sure, their success was also his success, but the man seemed to take genuine pleasure and pride in watching those employed under him do well. It was certainly a far cry from Jameson's way of things.

Plus, he was actually a supporter of Spider-Man, which was always a plus.

"Peter!" came the voice of another entering the office and putting his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Glad to see you back among the living."

"Thanks, Eddie," Peter replied. "Always nice to see you too."

"What can I say?" Eddie said, "I'm just a nice person to be around."

Peter could only roll his eyes and shake his head at his coworker's proud statement. A former high school quarterback turned investigative journalist, Eddie Brock seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted in life. He was only a couple years older than Peter, but he had already been married to Anne, his high school sweetheart, for almost a decade now, and he'd already been twice nominated for the Pulitzer in his five years at the Bugle, winning it on his second attempt.

"Thanks for coming, Eddie," Robbie said. "That's also why I called you in here Peter; I'm sure you've heard of the recent tech robberies that have been going on the last few days?"

Tech robberies? This was what he got for being stuck on another earth for a few days.

"Uh yeah yeah," Peter lied, nodding.

"Well, after you get those photos taken care of and turned in, I want you to go with Eddie while he interviews people at and around the sites of the attacks," Robbie instructed. "Maybe between his questioning and your pictures, we can make a story out of this AND provide some answers."

"We'll get right on it," Eddie replied. "Peter, just come by my desk after you've got those pictures ready. Sound good?"

"Yeah, absolutely," Peter answered. Eddie then turned and left the room, and he started to do the same.

"Peter," Robbie called out.

Peter spun back around in response.

"Welcome back," Robbie said with a smile.

Peter offered a smile of his own in response, nodding before turning and heading out of the office, relieved that this little visit with the boss had gone well. Granted, maybe it was always likely to go that way, knowing how Robbie handled things, but still.

When it came to his crazy life, Peter just never knew.

By now, Peter had all but mastered the art of photography, especially when it came to setting up the pictures to look good in the paper. Having been on staff as the Bugle's primary photographer since he'd graduated with his undergraduate degree, it went without saying that he had plenty of practice. Really, the biggest thing was knowing what Jameson then Robbie wanted out of the pictures. That played into how he took the shots while out in the world just as much as it did now when he came back to tweak the picture a little bit so that it would focus on what it needed to.

Peter loved his job, and he was grateful for it. It had especially been nice when he'd first come on staff and actually been allowed to take pictures of something OTHER than himself in red and blue spandex like back in his freelance days. His alter ego still played a huge role in his career (like he did in so many aspects of this city), but now he had experience covering everything from sporting events to political races. He liked being multifaceted and he liked getting to see other aspects of the city that he normally wouldn't otherwise.

Despite all this, there was a part of Peter that was still wanting something different. He'd graduated from Empire State University with his Bachelor's degree in biophysics, and just last year he'd FINALLY completed his Master's too. Those things hadn't been good enough so far to land him a career in the sciences however. After everything that had happened with Oscorp, he'd been nervous to apply to another large corporation, so he'd focused more on looking for opportunities in smaller settings. Unfortunately, there just didn't seem to be many opportunities out there right now, and the ones he did try to jump on, someone else either beat him to it or simply had a more impressive resume.

Still, as Peter focused on making his final tweaks before submitting one of his photos, he knew he shouldn't dwell on that too much. While his Aunt May more than supported him in the pursuing of his dream, she reminded him that he couldn't allow that pursuit to affect him in his place now.

He was fortunate to work in such a good place, or this advice would've been harder to take.

Deciding he was satisfied with his work, Peter closed out his computer and got up, getting in the elevator and heading to the floor where Eddie's desk was. He couldn't wait to do something as routine and pedestrian as go take some pictures of a crime scene. It might not have been that way for most people, but for him, it was a return to the normal. He exited the elevator, heading straight to area of the room where the man he was looking for was sitting.

Eddie poked his head up as Peter approached like he had his own spider sense.

"Finally ready?" Eddie said sarcastically.

"Finally?" Peter questioned. "Okay, maybe you do the photography work and I do the reporting? Asking people questions can't be that hard."

"Oh, I don't think so," Eddie said, getting out of his seat and coming alongside Peter as they walked away from his desk. "You'd never survive out there. You're far, far too nice; as soon as you had to ask the hard questions, they'd eat you alive. You'd never get anything like that."

"Well, I guess it's lucky I have someone like you to have tag along," Peter retorted. He'd quickly come to learn that, if one worked with Eddie Brock for a long enough period of time, learning to not only accept his barbs, but also give them back just as fast, was essential.

"Yes, yes you are," Eddie responded proudly.

The two of them stepped into the open elevator as Peter pondered what might lie ahead.

Peter might have meant it sarcastically, but for Spider-Man, tagging along with Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Eddie Brock could come in handy later on.

I know it's still early, but I hope you're enjoying it so far!

Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!

"The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.'" Matthew 25:14-30