She hoped that
its author was not an amateur. She had started genuinely hating the extensive
corrections that she had to make in the Grammar, syntax and spellings. These
new wannabes wouldn’t even spell-check their tomes and sent their manuscripts
cockily to the publishing house, confident that all the editing would be done
by it. After all, most of them were publishing their work on their own. They
were paying to get their novels edited and published.
Of course, Martha
had to only do the editing. Susan was in charge of the proof-reading. But Susan
wasn’t thorough in her job and lots of howlers escaped her sight. Martha, who read
with an eagle’s eye, was often quick to note them and correct them. With all
her work at the publishing house, her respect for Norman only grew as she
realized what a lot of hard work went into publishing a book.
Maintaining the
highest standards of quality and content in publishing wasn’t a job for the
faint-hearted. This, coupled with the fact that the publishing house had grown
in fame and success by leaps and bounds only meant that the employees therein
were consistently working diligently. Yes, Norman had an excellent team. Now
she was proud to be a part of that team and slightly ashamed at playing truant.
She’d henceforth not give Norman another chance to be annoyed with her. She’d
even apologize to him that evening, after office hours.
She went
straightaway to her desk and immersed herself in her onerous task. For a
moment, she remembered Juan’s task but brushed it away from her mind. She
skipped lunch as she wasn’t really hungry after that huge breakfast. The
thought of the Doctor seeing her in a state of undress brought a blush to her
cheeks that Susan couldn’t help noticing. She jumped to the conclusion that the
Boss had called her to the cabin for a quick kiss.
She sighed. What
a lucky lady Martha was! She had everything on a platter. But she knew that all
wasn’t well with that elegant lady. She sincerely hoped that whatever the
problem was would get sorted out soon enough. Martha was a very pleasant and
likable lady. Though she was so accomplished as a writer, she didn’t have any
high airs about her. She was very approachable and affable. Only now, she
appeared remote and withdrawn. She casually remarked to Martha, “I hope that I
haven’t left out any errors Martha. By the way, that manuscript is a pain. It’s
very boring. Wonder who’ll read it?” Martha just smiled and continued her work.
She didn’t want to be drawn into a long conversation with the talkative Susan.
Time was precious
right now. She admitted to herself that that manuscript was indeed boring but
knew that commerce won over content at times. After all, Norman had to pay his
staff judiciously on the first of every month! But she reminded herself to
sound out Norman about her reservations about publishing that tome. Then she
would leave it to his discretion. She didn’t want to interfere in his domain.
It was his prerogative to have a final say in matters that concerned his
publishing house.
She worked
steadily till seven that evening. All the staff had left at 6 p.m. Susan had
kindly got her a mug of coffee at around 4.30 p.m. Now her stomach was growling
with hunger. Then she remembered that she had to apologize to Norman. She
walked to his cabin and saw him concentrating deeply on some documents in front
of him. As she knocked the door, he looked up and smiled slightly. “I thought
that you’d left. By the way, you can continue tomorrow, Martha.” He said it
gently.
“Norman, I’m
sorry.” “Why are you sorry Martha? You are entitled to your freedom. After all,
this work is just a means of diversion for you. I don’t want to burden you with
unnecessary work. In fact I should be the one to apologize. I deliberately gave
you that awful manuscript to work on. I was angry with you for not informing me
about your whereabouts yesterday. But I just received a call from Dr. Hussey.
He explained everything to me and now I feel better. But I still wish that
you’d confide more in me.”
“I….” she began
and stopped. “Would you be angry if I suggested that that manuscript should be
returned to its author with a request for a better one? Probably he could spice
it up a little and make it more interesting?” “Thanks for the suggestion
Martha. I’ll look into it. In fact I was toying with the idea. Now my mind is
made.” She said, “Even Susan found it boring. In fact, she was the one to
suggest the fact that no one could be interested in reading it in its current
state.” “Well, thanks to both of you then.” He said affably.
Seizing the
opportunity, she said, “Can we have dinner somewhere Norman? I’m ravenously
hungry as I skipped lunch.” He burst out laughing and she noticed that he
looked considerably younger than his years. “Yes, why not? Then I’ll drop you
home.”
Seeing that she
appeared as if she still wanted to ask something, he inquired “Do you want to
ask me something else?” She decided to face his wrath and take the bull by its
horns, right then. “Have you sacked John? I didn’t see him today.” His
expression was inscrutable as he wordlessly handed over the document in front
of him to her. It was the resignation letter of John D’ Costa.
It was tersely
worded and simply stated that he was leaving for better prospects. He had
thanked Norman for his mentor-ship and asked for an experience cum reference
letter. As she saw the neat handwriting with its carefully dotted ‘i’s and
equally carefully crossed ‘t’s, she realized what an enormous loss that meant
to the publishing house. Both Norman and John were at the receiving end just
because of her! Oh how she wished that she hadn’t started working there! As the
words blurred before her eyes, she realized that she had tears in her eyes. She
mutely handed it to Norman and sank onto a chair. All her appetite had
vanished. John was no more in her life. The painful realization hurt her beyond
measure.
To be continued....
The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.
