Cate was in the living-room reading a book when the her cell phone rang. She put the book down on the sofa and picked up her cell. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the name of the caller on the display. “Hello?”
“Is this Cate Hardwicke?”
“Yes, it is.”
“This is Griffin Montgomery from Lite Christian Fiction.”
“Hello, Mr. Montgomery.”
“Are you available to come in for an interview tomorrow morning?”
“Yes, I am.”
Good. How about tomorrow morning at 10?.”
“Tomorrow morning at 10 is fine.”
“Good. I’ll see you then. Goodbye, Ms. Hardwicke.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Montgomery.” Excited, she called Gladys at her office to tell her that she had heard from the owner of Lite Christian Fiction. Gladys were delighted. She assured her that the interview would go well and that she was praying that she would get the job. They chatted for a little while longer and then Gladys had to end the call.
Cate went into her bedroom to see which outfit she could wear. She opened the closet and looked through the clothes hanging there. It took a while but she found a lime green skirt suit which still looked new because she had only worn it once. She chose to wear a orange blouse with it. Her orange shoes and matching handbag would go well with the outfit.
She left the bedroom and returned to the living-room. She continued reading her book until it was time for her to fix herself some dinner. Since Susanne and her fiancé were spending the week with his family in Dorset, Cate had to cook for herself. She wasn’t a bad cook but she wasn’t that good either. Cooking was something she had never bothered to learn how to do when she was living at home with her parents. She was quite content to let her mother or their housekeeper, Agnes to do the cooking and baking.
When she was living on her own before the breakdown, she learned how to cook. She did it more out of necessity than love. And it was less expensive cooking your own food than ordering take out. Edward had told her what a great cook Gladys was. Would Gladys be willing to teach her how to be a better cook? Perhaps, but her grandmother once said to her when she was watching her prepare a Yorkshire Pudding for Christmas dinner, “When a meal is prepared with love you can tell. It’s in the taste.”
Cate smiled. “I’m going to learn to be a good cook because of you, Granny.” She finished her simple dinner of baked chicken, with brown rice, peas and carrots and a green salad. For dessert, she had the rest of the strawberry frozen yogurt. After she washed up, she went into the living-room to watch TV and finish her book. It was a quarter after eleven when she went to bed. She prayed about the interview after she read her Bible and then, settled down for a good night’s sleep.
The moment Cate Hardwicke Griffin walked into his office, he knew that he was in trouble. She was absolutely stunning. He had to remind himself that she was there to be interviewed and that they were going to have their relationship was going to be strictly business if they were going to work together.
He stood up and after greeting her with a handshake, he invited her to have a seat. When she was seated, he said, “Miss Hardwicke, tell me a little bit about yourself and why you want to work here at Lite Christian Fiction.”
After saying a quick mental prayer, Cate told him about herself. She stuck to the personality traits which she felt would make her suitable for the job. She gave her love for books and her knowledge of Lite Christian Fiction as reasons for wanting to work there.
“How did you find out about the job?”
“I found out from my sister-in-law who found out about it from your brother.”
Griffin’s eyebrows arched. “Bertram?”
“Gladys didn’t mention him or you by name. She just said that he was a member of her church and that his brother was the owner of Lite Christian Fiction looking for an assistant.”
“I see. Miss, Hardwicke, describe for me your experience in your previous position.”
She described her experience as the Assistant editor at Wymark Publishing House, briefly outlining her main role which was to assist the publisher and commissioning editor with development and delivery of a manuscript. She mentioned that the best part of that job was reading really good manuscripts and making it possible for others to enjoy reading them too.
“I noticed that you got that job straight after graduating from university.”
“Yes.”
“And after seven years there, you left and worked at Joules Press. You were there for three years and then, you left.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you leave after working there for three years?”
Cate took a deep breath. “I had a breakdown and was in hospital for a while. After I recovered, I went into a convent.”
Griffin stared at her for a moment. “I’m not going to ask you what caused your breakdown because, frankly, it isn’t any of my business but I’m happy that you are well again.”
“Thank you.”
“What made you decide to go into a convent?”
“I thought it was what God wanted.”
“Was it?”
“No. That’s why I left.”
“What did you do after you left the convent?”
“I moved in with my cousin. I went to Lisbon where I spent three and a half weeks. When I came back, I began job hunting. Then, my sister-in-law told me about this job.”
“Miss Hardwicke, I appreciate your being honest with me. I’ll ask you just a few more questions.”
“All right.”
“What made you pursue a career in publishing?”
“My love for reading. I like the idea of correcting manuscripts, checking for flow, sense, clarity, consistency, grammar and correct facts and information which could be libelous. Some of my friends used to give me their essays or papers to read and I would clean them up and offer suggestions. They were very grateful to me, especially when they got high marks.”
“How do you determine which submissions are suitable for publication? How would you approach a situation where you notice an error in one of the books you published?”
Cate took her time and answered each question. She wasn’t nervous but very calm. When she was finished, she asked, “May I ask a couple of questions, Mr. Montgomery?”
“Absolutely.”
“What is the work culture here like and what do you expect from me six months after you employ me?”
“Here we see ourselves as caretakers. Our job is to edit and create out the manuscripts we receive works of art–books which people will want to read. We care about our authors. We’re attentive to their needs and we return their phone calls as soon as possible. We read contracted manuscripts on a timely basis and we value the authors’ opinions on titles and covers. Once we’ve published an author’s work, we feel that it’s our responsibility to see that their material sells well. And if it doesn’t sell well, If it doesn’t, we figure out what we could do differently to make the material work. Then, we recover the project, retitle it, let it rest for a season and then revisit selling it again. Here we are like a family and we care about the authors who publish with us. In answer to your other question, in five months I expect you to be working here as if you have been working for five years. In other words, no one would be able to tell that you’re the new kid on the block.”
Cate smiled. “I’m very easily adaptable.”
“Good. Do you have any other questions?”
“No.”
“Then, our interview is ended. Thank you for coming. It was a pleasure meeting you.” He rose to his feet.
Cate stood up and they shook hands. “Thank you, Mr. Montgomery.” They left his office.
When they were standing outside his office, he said, “I will be in touch. Goodbye, Miss Hardwicke.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Montgomery.” She turned and walked away.
Griffin watched her go until she disappeared from his view. What a remarkable woman. No one could tell that she had suffered from a breakdown or that she had been a nun for a year. He was glad that she had recovered from her illness and that she was out of the convent. It would have been a shame for a beautiful, young woman like her to spend the rest of her life in a convent dressed in a habit.
He wasn’t a Catholic although he was raised one and attended a Catholic school when he was a boy. He didn’t like it and he found that the nuns were too stern. There was one in particular who seemed to take pleasure in spanking boys, including me, with a paddle when we misbehaved. I still cringe when I think about her.
He turned and went back into his office. After conducting other interviews later that day and over the next couple of days, he prayed about it on the weekend. On Monday morning, he called Cate to let her know that she got the job and that she could start the next day.”
Sources: UK Indeed; Publishers Association; Cathy Bramley; Book & Such Literary Management; University of Kent
Notes to Women 