thought. But a tiny, rebellious voice at the back of her mind asked: would it be so very bad if you did?
Melissa looked as if she hadn’t slept a wink in the three days since Jess had last seen her and she suddenly felt very sorry for her. She’d stopped off at Starbucks and bought her favourite coffee as she did practically every morning. It was a gesture Melissa had grown to take for granted, although she always reimbursed Jess later. But when Jess gave it to her this morning, Melissa looked ready to burst into tears.
“Thank you, Jess.” I hope you had a good Christmas?”
Jess shrugged. “It was…you know – colourful.” She thought about it for a moment. It seemed so much longer than three days given what had happened to her. She almost felt like a different person now.
Kamia and Sam looked at her expectantly but Jess refrained from saying anything further. She wanted to hear what Melissa had to say.
“Well mine, as you can probably guess, was less than average. In fact it was something of a nightmare.” She took a long draught of her coffee through the spout in the lid. That was unusual as she normally tore off the lid and drank it from the cup, claiming spouts belonged on baby cups only. “I’ve thought and thought about this and considered every possible alternative. I’ve discussed it endlessly with my uncle and his advisers but we can’t find a solution. Portman Publications is in trouble and we need to downsize - radically.”
An uncomfortable silence followed as they digested the news.
“I take it we’re talking redundancies,” Jess said briskly, surprising herself. The other two looked too terrified to open their mouths.
Melissa looked at her with something like gratitude and nodded. “It’s either that or half-salaries - but I’m still in consultation. I just wanted you to know that the future isn’t exactly looking rosy; our signings are dwindling – everyone’s going to the big stables that can afford the advances and are nudging all the smaller publishers out of the way. If it’s not that, it’s the Internet and this whole ‘self-pubbing’- as they so fondly call it - which is partly responsible for the e-book revolution. I don’t want to be all doom and gloom but I must tell you that, should you want to, you are free to start looking around for other openings. It will be very hard for me to decide who should go – you’re all so good in your own areas but I’m aware that you share your expertise with each other all the time - and, needless to say, each one of you will receive glowing references. Naturally, I’ll keep you all informed, but I wanted you to be prepared. We’re looking at the end of February.” Melissa picked up her coffee again as if to indicate that the meeting was now over and her three editors returned to the outer office.
Once outside Sam and Kamia immediately began commiserating with each other and speculating the worst. Sam had a disabled wife to take care of while Kamia, together with her brother, was supporting both her parents and a younger sibling. Jess didn’t feel equal to competing with them and busied herself at her desk. The last thing she wanted was to lose her job, but her situation was probably easier than her colleagues. Being a lone parent she would be eligible for certain benefits while she looked for another position and the respite would give her more time with Ben. But she did not want to be caught in the poverty trap of single parenthood and dependency, even though she felt she was barely a step ahead of that ignominious status at the moment.
She threw herself into her work to blank out other concerns. She was proofing and editing a ghost-written autobiography – it seemed celebrities never wrote anything themselves anymore, even though the words on the page were purported to be their own. The problem was the writing from the commissioned ghost-writer was so poor that Jess needed
Melissa looked as if she hadn’t slept a wink in the three days since Jess had last seen her and she suddenly felt very sorry for her. She’d stopped off at Starbucks and bought her favourite coffee as she did practically every morning. It was a gesture Melissa had grown to take for granted, although she always reimbursed Jess later. But when Jess gave it to her this morning, Melissa looked ready to burst into tears.
“Thank you, Jess.” I hope you had a good Christmas?”
Jess shrugged. “It was…you know – colourful.” She thought about it for a moment. It seemed so much longer than three days given what had happened to her. She almost felt like a different person now.
Kamia and Sam looked at her expectantly but Jess refrained from saying anything further. She wanted to hear what Melissa had to say.
“Well mine, as you can probably guess, was less than average. In fact it was something of a nightmare.” She took a long draught of her coffee through the spout in the lid. That was unusual as she normally tore off the lid and drank it from the cup, claiming spouts belonged on baby cups only. “I’ve thought and thought about this and considered every possible alternative. I’ve discussed it endlessly with my uncle and his advisers but we can’t find a solution. Portman Publications is in trouble and we need to downsize - radically.”
An uncomfortable silence followed as they digested the news.
“I take it we’re talking redundancies,” Jess said briskly, surprising herself. The other two looked too terrified to open their mouths.
Melissa looked at her with something like gratitude and nodded. “It’s either that or half-salaries - but I’m still in consultation. I just wanted you to know that the future isn’t exactly looking rosy; our signings are dwindling – everyone’s going to the big stables that can afford the advances and are nudging all the smaller publishers out of the way. If it’s not that, it’s the Internet and this whole ‘self-pubbing’- as they so fondly call it - which is partly responsible for the e-book revolution. I don’t want to be all doom and gloom but I must tell you that, should you want to, you are free to start looking around for other openings. It will be very hard for me to decide who should go – you’re all so good in your own areas but I’m aware that you share your expertise with each other all the time - and, needless to say, each one of you will receive glowing references. Naturally, I’ll keep you all informed, but I wanted you to be prepared. We’re looking at the end of February.” Melissa picked up her coffee again as if to indicate that the meeting was now over and her three editors returned to the outer office.
Once outside Sam and Kamia immediately began commiserating with each other and speculating the worst. Sam had a disabled wife to take care of while Kamia, together with her brother, was supporting both her parents and a younger sibling. Jess didn’t feel equal to competing with them and busied herself at her desk. The last thing she wanted was to lose her job, but her situation was probably easier than her colleagues. Being a lone parent she would be eligible for certain benefits while she looked for another position and the respite would give her more time with Ben. But she did not want to be caught in the poverty trap of single parenthood and dependency, even though she felt she was barely a step ahead of that ignominious status at the moment.
She threw herself into her work to blank out other concerns. She was proofing and editing a ghost-written autobiography – it seemed celebrities never wrote anything themselves anymore, even though the words on the page were purported to be their own. The problem was the writing from the commissioned ghost-writer was so poor that Jess needed
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