he began in a friendly tone.
“No.” She found herself too embarrassed to meet his eyes. Their casual coffee breaks had ceased on the day he had first taken her to task and she had never willingly entered his office since.
“Ellen tells me you took the trouble to fix up all the copy for the next issue to conform with our guidelines. Thanks for doing that without being told.”
“I won’t make any more mistakes,” she promised.
“So tell me, Hazel,” he began on a less sober note, “did you put a spanking story in the new issue?”
“Just one.”
“I figured you would.”
“You said that one would be okay.”
“I’ll make a point of reading it.”
Hazel felt her face grow warm.
“You keep writing spanking stories and I’m going to start thinking that you’re into it,” he declared, smiling at her sudden disinterest in the tempting cobbler.
“Well, of course I’m into it,” she replied, feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders.
“I heard you were over at Augie Rose the other day,” said Robert, abruptly switching back to boss mode. He had named an associate publisher. Augie Rose used Robert’s print shop and the two CEO’s maintained cordial relations. But on more than one occasion Augie had lured good editors and artists away from Corning with higher salaries, a nicer location in Beverly Hills and better benefits. This made Robert feel uneasy about Hazel visiting his place of business.
“Oh, yes, I was meeting my friend for lunch. He’s an editor there.”
“Hazel, social contacts in the industry are fine things, but please remember that Augie Rose is a competitor,” he told her firmly. Hazel didn’t quite understand what he was getting at, but instantly realized that accepting the freelance assignment from Augie Rose had been unwise.
“How did you know I was over there?” Hazel casually asked him.
“Oh, Ellen was picking up some discs and saw you.”
Hazel inserted her fork into her cobbler without taking a bite. How like Ellen to have snitched.
“They haven’t made you an offer, have they? Tell me the truth,” he demanded.
“Offer?”
“Of an in-house editorship.”
“Oh no!” she replied immediately. With any luck she would not have to admit she’d accepted the freelance.
“Good. Are you going to eat that?”
“I guess I’m not really hungry,” she said truthfully. Robert relieved her of the dessert and dispatched it rather quickly.
“Thanks,” he told her, getting up and drifting back across the street to work.
Now Hazel was in a quandary. She wanted to keep the free lance from Augie Rose, but knew that if Robert found out about it he would be displeased. And with Ellen around he would not go long in ignorance. Ellen lunched with Augie Rose employees once or twice a week and it was obvious that she was Robert’s spy.
All the rest of the afternoon Hazel sat distracted at her desk, revolving the idea of confessing to Robert at once. It was still early enough in her career at Corning to plead ignorance of the rules.
Finally, at four-thirty, Robert himself took a stroll through the building, telling everyone that they could leave early.
“Hey, get out of here,” he said, sticking his head into Hazel’s small office.
“Robert?” her timid plea for attention brought him in.
“Yes, Hazel?”
“May I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure, what’s on your mind?” He came in and sat on the edge of her worktable while she kept her seat at her desk.
“It’s about Augie Rose.”
“Yes? What about Augie Rose?” His rather broad (she’d been noticing lately) shoulders stiffened and he folded his arms across a chest still pristinely clothed in a starched shirt and silk foulard tie.
“Well, I guess I didn’t really understand the company policy with regard to other publishers and I accepted some free lance from Augie Rose.”
“What kind of free lance?” he frowned.
“The letters section for the July issue of Bridal Romance.”
“How much are they paying you?”
“$350 for six thousand words,” she mumbled.
“That’s more than I’d pay,” he declared.
“Is there a rule against accepting outside freelance?”
“Of course.”
“Oh.”
“Did you already turn in the job?”
“I promised it to them for Monday.”
“Hazel, you should have known better,” he accused.
“I’m really sorry,” Hazel submissively replied.
“Have you accepted any more assignments?”
“No.”
“Well, see that you don’t.”
“I won’t.”
“Aren’t you getting paid enough?”
“Yes, but you know how it is,” she tried to explain.
“We can give you free lance just as well as Augie Rose.
Meanwhile I’d rather your talents not be employed in the aid of my main competitor.”
“I’m really sorry I broke the rules,” Hazel said sincerely.
“Just don’t do it again.”
“I won’t,” she repeated. He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then shook his head to clear it of a dangerous thought before drifting out of the room. Hazel subsided in her seat with a sigh, her heart thumping. That wasn’t so bad, she thought to herself. He hadn’t even raised his voice. And he’d offered her free lance, though at a lower rate than Augie Rose.
She began to stuff her purse with her belongings and run a brush through her hair when Robert marched abruptly back into her office.
“I’ve just been thinking, Hazel, you committed two major errors in one month,” he said, pushing a straight-backed chair
