The Taste of Temptation by Julia Kelly

Author:Julia Kelly [Kelly, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Star
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“Fuck,” Moray muttered under his breath as he stood in his shirtsleeves next to McLeod. The typesetter had his head in the printing press and was rooting around, trying to figure out why the sophisticated, usually well-oiled machine that was capable of printing up to twelve thousand pages an hour was currently standing still.

“I think I have it,” said McLeod, his voice a metallic echo against the machine’s parts.

“What is it?” asked Moray.

A few grunts and some shifting and McLeod emerged holding a shredded piece of rubber aloft. “One of the internal bands is gone,” he announced, the roundness of his syllables betraying his Inverness upbringing.

“Tell me we have another,” said Moray, looking around at the newspaper’s various printers, who were standing with their arms crossed, watching the proceedings. A couple of them glanced at each other until finally Tommy Haversham spoke up.

“Should do in the back.”

“Thank you, Tommy,” said Moray. “I’m glad to know someone’s familiar with the inventory of parts for the machines that keep our wages flowing in.”

A few of the men grumbled, but the way they toed at the ground told Moray they knew better.

“I’ll just go get it then,” said Tommy, pointing his thumb at a door that led out to the basement, where the huge rolls of newspaper, replacement cylinders, and machine parts were kept when they weren’t in use.

“A whole hour’s production lost because of a damned belt,” Moray muttered under his breath. It irked him even more that it had broken while printing the parts of the Sunday paper that could be held for a few days: the ladies’ pages, features about travel, letters to the editor, opinion columns, and the like. Printing all of that now was supposed to save some time for the men who worked Saturday, to allow them to return home in time to spend some part of the evening with their families. Mistakes midweek ate into that.

“We’ll line the type up two sections at once to minimize the time it takes to switch out the cylinders,” said McLeod. “We’ll make it up.”

Moray let out a long, steadying breath. “We will, and I’ll see to it that the other bands are checked for wear and tear.”

McLeod, who was almost as protective of the presses as Moray, nodded his approval.

Moray turned for the stairs, planning to head to the second floor, where the papers’ copy editors ruled in benevolent dictatorship over the reporters, when he spotted Eva leaning against the doorway and tapping a paper folder against her hip.

“Are you finished playing mechanic?” she asked.

He scowled as he wiped his hands on a rag. “I’m glad to see you’re eager to jump in and help.”

“My strengths lie outside of the printing room.” She held up the file. “Robert Trevlan, as you asked.”

A grin cracked through his foul mood. “You beautiful woman.”

“I prefer ‘talented, intelligent, and deserving of a raise.’ ”

He laughed. “Don’t push your luck on the last one.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “It was worth trying. I think you’ll like what you find in there.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.