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wasn’t meeting a terrorist at all. He was hooking up with his gay lover.” Lizzie shakes her head. “The Lord was furious – first, to be accused of liaising with terrorists, and secondly, to be outed. He sued for a massive amount.”
    “Shiiiit.” That’s every media outlet’s worst nightmare.
    “The editor at the time was fired, and they settled out of court for a huge sum. Jonas came on board, and since then, well . . . let’s just say the magazine is a lot more cautious.” Lizzie pulls a face.
    “Wow.” No wonder they still employ fact-checkers.
    “Anyway, don’t worry. Once you’ve been doing this for a while, it does get easier.”
    I nod, praying she’s right – how am I ever going to move up if I can’t even fact-check vitamin water? Can you force yourself to be detail-oriented? Grimacing, I remember my disastrous stint as cosmetic surgery receptionist where, despite my efforts to keep records neatly organised, I once gave the doctor the wrong patient file. Sounds minor, right? I thought so, too, until Mrs Vasser ran screaming from the consultation room clutching her bloodied lips. Turned out she’d got lip fillers instead of the laser treatment she’d booked. Whoops.
    This job is my route to the big-leagues, I remind myself. If it takes beating the devil in the details into submission, that’s what I’ll do – all the while keeping a beady eye open for a killer story.
    The morning passes slowly as I attempt to answer Gregor’s insanely pedantic questions. Finally, after lunch (or lunch hour, anyway, given that none of us eats) I email him the finished copy and click onto the next article in my folder. My heart flutters when I see it’s from the features department – Seven Days is famous for in-depth, hard-hitting reports on everything from politics to social issues. Whatever this story is, it has to be more exciting than vitamin water.
    Holding my breath, I open the file. 
    Oh. Disappointment seeps in as I scan the text, focusing on a construction company that’s made a name for itself in the past year. This is worthy of a feature? Well, at least the piece is only a few hundred words. It won’t take me long to verify everything. Hopefully.
    My eyes flick over to the by-line, and I nearly fall off the chair. Helen Goodall! This story is by Helen Goodall! Wow. I’m actually checking an article by one of the nation’s greatest reporters. No, scratch that, one of the world’s greatest reporters! I knew this job could only get better. If Helen’s on the feature, there must be more to it than a company doing well. Perhaps it’s one of those investigative reports she’s renowned for – or used to be, anyway. My brow furrows as I try to recall some of her recent ones.
    “When’s this due in?” I ask Lizzie, who’s now sporting a giant pair of horn-rimmed glasses circa nineteen-sixties. On anyone else they’d be geek-o supreme, but on her they’re cute.
    “Hmm?” She lifts her head from the screen. “Oh, you’ve got a couple days, depending on length and topic. They usually give us longer for features, and Jonas doesn’t like to rush newbies. Gregor will let you know, don’t worry.” 
    “Thanks.” Okay, cool. Plenty of time to do a scrupulous comb-through, proving I can be a valuable member of the fact-checking team. After the earlier article carnage, the only way is up.
     
    CONSTRUCTION FIRM THRIVES IN CHALLENGING MARKET
     
    In this cut-throat market – with many construction firms taking a hit as the economy slows – it can be a struggle to even survive. But in the past year, one company hasn’t just survived, it’s flourished. How has Top Class Construction become a leader in so little time? Seven Days investigates.
     
    Bet this is one of those big companies who pay Eastern European workers peanuts to throw up ugly concrete skyscrapers. A flash of pride goes through me as I think of Jeremy and the charity, and all the people they’re helping. He couldn’t be