briellenoveau-blog

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Interview: Julian & Elise

@julianberkeley & @eliseberkeley

Brielle had been floored when she first gained the news that she- she of all people had been chosen to interview the Vice President and the Second Lady. It was an incredibly unique opportunity and Brielle had no doubt it would certainly be a stepping stone moment in her career, after all she had been promised exciting news. Seated down in a particularly fancy chair, with her phone balancing on the chair’s arm, Brielle took a deep breath as the couple made their way into the room. Standing up immediately, Brielle smiled politely, doing a fairly decent job of keeping her anticipation internal.

“Brielle Noveau, Washington Post, it’s pleasure to be interviewing you this afternoon,” she spoke, holding out her hand to couple, “Though I’m sure you already knew all of that,” she chuckled, brightly.

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nelliott:

“Mm. Do us a solid and go find some aspirin, yeah? Head’s fucking banging.” Grateful as Nick was that someone had finally managed to convince the intern to leave, the arrival of Brielle in his place wasn’t much of an improvement. “I’ll need a briefing on what I’ve missed after that. The shit they didn’t email over.”

“Asprin...asprin...” Brielle muttered, where the hell was she supposed to fine that? Running her hand through her hair, she paused to think, "I’m not positive but I may have some stuffed in my bag,” she offered before nodding, “Sure, let me know what they did send over and I’ll be sure to get you all caught up.”

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Brielle was headed back to her office with a cup of freshly-brewed coffee in her hand. The soft rays of sunlight were a pleasant change from the brutally unnatural florescent lighting that seemed to run rampant around The Post’s building. Pausing to lean against a stray wall, Brielle sighed contently, “What I wouldn’t give to have an outdoor office on days like this,” Bri smiled at the person nearby. “If only the weather was this nice everyday.”

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nelliott:

“Go on then, see if you can speak any fucking louder.” Nick started, the comment originally made under his breath but continued at a louder volume as he became aware that somebody was listening (and there was no turning back on it). “I may be jet-lagged and hungover to fuck but perhaps a little more noise might help to sort that out.”

If only she could find a slightly less grumpy senior reporter to attempt to charm, now that would make Brielle’s life far easier, however easy was never how Brielle’s life went. So taking a deep breath, she folded her arms and ushered out the chatty intern who had been clamoring on about his trip to Spain with a sharp glare. Walking up to Nick, Brielle relaxed her face and pressed her best smile to her lips, “Apologies on his behalf, anything else I can do to help?”

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hans-starke:

“I’m from Seattle,” Hans answers, albeit robotic. The method is an intentional one, and he carries it on as he continues: “I left for New York to study and train — West Point — at eighteen, and when I came back,” — after the war, but that goes without saying — “I went straight to where I could work. That was DC.” A subtle smile slows into his lips, though it’s an amused one at that. Hans rarely talked this much about himself — of things beyond his appearance and general fabricated greatness —, but then again people rarely asked. He’d always had an invisible sing of Go No Further, and Brielle either hadn’t seen it or ignored it. Perhaps this would be enough for her.

He tilts his head slightly to the side, as though pondering his own next question. “Do you ever get time off work,” he starts, and the smile grows. “Or do you just enjoy interviewing strangers at Christmas parties, too?”

But if the journalistic vein was this roughly imprinted onto her, there was a chance Brielle didn’t even realize this was what she was doing. 

Curiosity, Brielle had realized from a very young age, was just as much a part of herself as anything else. She was never one for small-talk or surface level conversations-- there was always something far more fascinating about deeper communication, even with the most tight-lipped company. She was rarely one to be put-off by any sort of personality, dealing with the chattiest staffers to some of the most stoic politicians. His next remarks, however, brought a sheepish grin to her lips and a faint blush as the journalist couldn’t help but shrug, “While I would consider myself a grade-A workaholic, The Post does give me a fair number of vacation days,” Brielle chuckled, “But what can I say? I make fast acquaintances, after all, strangers never last long around an inquisitive woman, like myself,” she responded, with pointed glance.

“But for the record, I don’t just go about interviewing everyone...just the people I find intriguing...” she replied with the quirk of an eyebrow paired with the confident smirk forming on her red lips.

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quicovidal:

He shook her hand over the desk, which was his desk, which was still taking a little getting used to, two years after they’d slid his name plate in the door. All busy weeks were out-of-office, for the most part – but the weeks were looking a lot less busy lately, and Quico was trying to adjust. 

Meetings helped. “Francisco Vidal,” he said, “but it’s Quico. Francisco’s just what I write down.” When he sat, he leaned forward, into an elbow he’d bent to prop him up. “I’m interested in hearing about it. I’ve been reading the Post for… I don’t know how long. A long time.” And wasn’t that what’d stuck in his head, when they’d set this meeting up? They didn’t call it a proposal if they were just looking for a quote. Quico’s smile was so easy, it was almost casual. “So of course, I’m happy to do what I can. What is it you’re looking to write?” 

Following a firm handshake, Brielle took a seat opposite the man watching him carefully. Unable to resist a smile at the mention of the Post, she offered him a grin. “The thing is...while The Post is just looking for a snazzy line to put up in big, bold letters, nothing too substantive...I, on the other hand, have my eyes on a much bigger prize,” Brielle responded, as she sat up slightly straighter in her chair and crossed her legs. “Let me elaborate,” the brunette added, in order to clarify her possibly vague words. 

“The environmental bill...” she began, “It’s been making a splash around the Senate and my sources tell me you might be the man behind it...so let’s just say I might be interested in shining a little light on the man behind the progress. So that’s my proposal, Quico: I want an exclusive, in exchange, you get just that much more control over what those big, bold letters spell out.”

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hans-starke:

“Um,” he starts, searching his mind for the right words. It wasn’t as though he didn’t know or didn’t remember– rather, no one ever asked him about it. It was strange to touch on it out loud. “I initially lobbied for Raytheon – weapons and military shit –, but saw that oil was a much better deal.” Without a jacket now, Hans shoves his hands into the pocket of his trousers. “And how I got into that was by being in the military before. Required knowledge, or whatever.” 

And a try at politeness: “And you? Was journalism always a passion?” 

“Quite the journey, I see,” Brielle remarked, conversation a facet of journalism she embraced with ease. “I'm afraid the story’s a bit of a long one for polite conversation but the short version is that some form of writing was always in the cards for me. Writing, words-- it’s all always come quite naturally to me and it just so happened I had a penchant for investigation, so journalism feel into my lap, I suppose,” the brunette responded with a slight shrug, choosing not to go into specific details. It was likely not in her best interests to divulge the complexities of her life story to a practical stranger. 

"So, are you from around here or is Washington just the place you currently call home?” she asked, with a slight smile.

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hans-starke:

“Well, the Veep knows his guests.” Shit world views, good parties– the guy had to know something. Hans smiles, but that was the calm before the storm. While he didn’t have a problem with what does, others (very vocally) did; not that it’d ever stop him being proud. If proud was ever the right word. “I lobby for Big Oil.” 

“Can’t disagree with that,” Brielle shrugged. While she didn’t know the VP personally, it was fair to say that everyone in Washington knew each other one way or another-- politics, after all, were just a tangled mess of the same few people. She not sure if she’s surprised by his occupation, but she doesn’t particular care. Though his job may have been something easily deemed ‘controversial’, judgmental was something Brielle never was. “Yeah? How did you get into that?” she asked, noting his specificity. 

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Deepika Padukone in Sabyasachi 

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@quicovidal

Confidence, Brielle had to remind herself, confidence was key.  She had taken notice of him early on and with the environmental reform bill making strides through the Senate, she just knew she had to get the story of the man behind the progress. Bri had always had an eye for good stories and from very early on her gut had insisted this was a thread she absolutely needed to pull on. It was exactly the kind of story that could separate her from the rest. Standing outside the office door, she took a deep breath as she walked inside, “Hi, I’m Brielle Noveau, with the Washington Post,” the brunette introduced, “Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me. I really think you’ll be interested in the proposal I have for you.”

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hans-starke:

Hans takes her hand in his and brings it up to his lips, kissing the back of it. It was a move he dreaded in other men – how hard it made it look like they were trying –, but one he couldn’t completely scratch off his own repertoire also. Do as I say, and all.

“Hans,” he provides off her own introduction. Then, some sort of resemblance hits– “You work at the Post, right? With Elliot?” Hans takes off his jacket (his end of the deal) and holds it ready for her to slip inside. “We’re good friends.”

She’s mildly charmed by the gesture, if not a little surprised, but in turn, offers him her most genuine smile.“Yep, that would be me,” she affirms, chuckling at the mention of the senior reporter who seemed to have her constantly doing busywork. But quite frankly, she didn’t care- it was all just a stepping stone to where she wanted to be, a little bit of extra work was the last thing to scare her off. 

Slipping into the jacket casually, Bri paused to glance over at him appreciatively, “It really is a small world,” she replied, thoughtfully, as she turned to face him, “So Hans, what is it that you do?”

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hc + drugs

Brielle has never really been into drugs, in fact, she’s not much of an alcohol person either. She hates the feeling of not being fully alert and having full control over herself and her actions. Even when she broke her leg at thirteen years old, Brielle kept away from the pain meds, opting for natural painkillers when the pain became unbearable. 

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hc + goals

Bri is a highly goal-oriented person, but she’s also one who never seems to cross the finish line. Every time she achieves a goal, she moves on to the next, usually without a moment of celebration. Currently, Brielle has a very specific goal- she wants a position as Senior Reporter at the Washington Post and is dead-set on achieving it.

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hc + music

Bri LOVES music. Her phone is filled with everything from classical music to EDM to pop-country fusions, but she has a particular love of older American music from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s (as well as Blues from the 60s). When she’s alone at home and no one is watching, she’s been known to throw on a playlist or two and dance around as she does some housework.

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HC ethics

“Ethics are great until they stand in between me and a good story.”

- An actual quote from Brielle Zara Noveau

From the day Brielle understood she was adopted, she very quickly realized that life wasn’t black and white and for that reason, she’s never really had strong ethics. Bri’s moral compass is very pliable in that it adapts to whatever situation she’s in-- her sense of morality very open and in constant change.

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HC Fox News

As a socially liberal-leaning independent, who is otherwise a fiscal moderate, Bri has never been the biggest fan of Fox News, but after a (possibly physical) altercation with a certain Fox News reporter, following a rather intense White House press briefing, Brielle now garners particularly acute dislike for the network, as a whole.

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HC + peace

Brielle is most at peace when she’s at home in Boston. Her adoptive parents still reside in her childhood home where Brielle and her three siblings grew up together and Brielle does her best to visit whenever she can. A short hike away from the house is a small lake where Brielle used to sit and unwind as child and to this day, the lake remains as Bri’s tranquil place. She deeply misses having her own peaceful place living in D.C. which is why she enjoys returning home and spending her time with the people she loves, at the place she loves.