The Editor 1

CHAPTER 1

The chairman of the Our Times Magazines Inc, Benton Mellows, told the English journalist he'd hired at great expense that she was fired as editor of Oh Really Magazine because instead of reviving flagging sales, the sales figures had dropped at an accelerated rate during her six-month tenure.

"You can't do this; I'll sue you," she'd screamed.

"You promised everything but delivered practically nothing," Benton said. "Tell her Mal."

Malcolm Thymes, the group's chief attorney, intoned, "Your contract expressly says no improvement within six months, no job Miss Manners. Security will see you out, giving you ten minutes to clear your desk."

"You couple of elongated faggots," she screamed.

"What's a faggot Mal?"

"It's an alternative word for firewood in England, possibly."

"Leave this room immediately you wretched woman," Benton yawned.

"Escort Miss Manners to her desk ladies," Malcolm said to the two arriving security officers. "Ensure she takes only her personal possessions and then allow her to leave via the basement where innocent people on the sidewalk will not hear her screaming bitter invective."

"Yes Mr Thymes," said one of the tough-looking security women.

Benton looked at his thirty-three year old blond son who had been observing that dismissal standing near the window and taking no part.

"That's how it's done son, clinically quick and avoiding defamatory language. What's a faggot?"

"It's old use meant a bundle of anything but usually referred to iron bars. Its renaissance has come in England with it being used as slang for homosexual males."

"So what are elongated faggots?"

"Tall homosexuals dad. You and Mal are both over six feet. She had a good waspish tongue, didn't she?"

"Yeah but little else. Is that girl you dated for a while from the Midwest still looking for a senior job on a magazine?"

"Possibly but I placed her in PR three months ago."

"But that's not what she was looking for?

"No but it's a well-paying position and is still basically journalism."

"Make her editor of Oh Really."

"What?"

"Oh come on Fargo, I haven't time to repeat everything twice. Off you go."

Fargo Mellows left, shaking his head. His father's eccentricity was a bit of a joke in the publishing world but most would admit it rarely turned out to be askew. This one was, as the saying goes, drawing a long bow.

Tess Rimes was only twenty-eight and had been a writer, news editor, social editor and a deputy sub-editor on magazines with fascinating names like Women's Soccer Monthly, Angus Cattle Bulletin and Countrywomen. The biggest circulating magazine she'd worked on averaged 72,000-plus sales. Even with its falling circulation Oh Really was still selling about 300,000 copies a month.

Jesus, his father was taking a huge risk. But then Fargo consoled himself that perhaps his father wanted the magazine closed down and believed his son's ex-girlfriend would speed the demise of the magazine.

"Oh good one dad, you rotten swine," Fargo grinned.

The operations manager asked his PA to get Tess Rimes up to his office for lunch and to make the request via Tess's manager.

A minute later Vera called him that Tess would not be back till 1:30.

"Then call her direct and tell her she's eating with me to hear something to her advantage."

It was almost 2:00 before the very attractive brunette with a sleek figure was seated with Fargo with chicken salad in front of her. She was still apologizing for lateness as he poured the French wine.

"Okay, you're sorry. At least you were out working."

"Actually I was out chatting up this guy I have my eye on."

"You lying bitch... um you are lying?"

She giggled and said yes, she'd been coordinating an awards luncheon co-sponsored by their gardening magazine. "I receive you summons and was told not to eat and so I obeyed apart from one drink and one bagel."

"Are you ready for this?"

"Yeah and it better be worth coming back here. There were some cool looking guys at the function."

"I have a new job for you that will require you to work hard and take big risks and it could end in disaster."

"Is this an odd way to propose? I thought your father was the only eccentric in the family?"

"It's a real job with a salary of $140,000 plus incentives linked to audited circulation increases."

"Omigod."

"Dad has fired the editor of Oh Really and wants you at the helm. The magazine may close if circulation drops continue."

"But I've never..."

"Dad sometimes works by intuition. He knew you for three months when you were all over me."

"Well that adoration was because you were fucking me."

"I can appreciate that. Be warned, dad might think you'll be a total failure and will justify closure with him loosing less face because he would have you to blame."

"Which one do you think is closest to the truth?"

Fargo ducked for cover. "Can we begin dating again?"

Tess looked at him thoughtfully. "Yes I really like your mother and you are okay and I don't have anyone at present."

"Excellent reply. I'll give you forty-eight hours to respond to my offer and I promise you if you accept I'll approve all reasonable requests for you to resource your endeavors."

"Exactly what does that mean?"

"I don't know really. It's the sort of thing dad would say and no one would question him about it."

"Well you are not your father."

"I'll risk being criticized for pushing money into your campaign to be a winner because I believe in you and want your butt sitting on my knee again."

"Is your divorce through yet?"

"It's some months away but we are totally settled and the attorneys agree the judge will just rubber stamp it. Maggie has taken the children to live with her parents in LA while she looks for my replacement."

"Oh how callous."

"That's what divorce does to you. If you don't like it don't marry."

"I'd never thought of marrying you."

"Don't lie. Now tell me about what you've been doing?"

Tess said why bother with crap. "Let's finish here are then you take me down to meet my team on Oh Really."

"That's great. Welcome back baby."

"Thanks. I suppose you'll want me to move back in with you?"

"I am living back home and have sold my love nest. It's best we maintain our distance for a couple of months to avoid criticism reaching the media that you used your cunt to get your huge elevation."

"Oh your gorgeous man. You really know how to talk to a girl. Yuck."

He said firmly, "Two months."

"Yes I agree but if I happen to go soft on someone in the meantime..."

"I'll be happy for you," Fargo grinned. He said, "To keep you confused, mom never did really like my wife and consistently reminded me before and during that marriage that I ought to have stuck with you."

"Well I was to blame for that breakup Fargo. Sorry."

Fargo phoned through to call for a meeting in ten minutes of all eighteen journalists and photographers who worked on the magazine, the production staff being common to all nine magazines.

"Right go powder your nose Tess. The bitches will have their knives out for you."

They arrived to be met by Mrs Olivia Brandt, the deputy editor.

"Hi Fargo... are you serious, Tess is the replacement?"

"The decision came from above for me to manage the appointment Olivia. You didn't believe you were in the running did you?"

"No I told you before the last two appointments and I'll repeat it again. I'm not the person to tackle the near impossible. Hi Tess, we have met before. You have accepted the editorship I take it?"

"Yes."

"Listen up everyone. This is our new editor, Tess Rimes from the PR department."

The cried responses varied but "Are they mad?" came through rather loudly.

"Introduce Tess to everyone Olivia and then I'll say a few words. I return in ten minutes."

When Fargo returned he called for order and said, "Tess's appointment has been made at top level so anyone with a beef if invited to resign now. I have made arrangements for termination pay to be available within an hour of any resignation being accepted. This could be the last chance for us all to stop the sales slide that is now resulting in a loss of advertising. If this continues it will be the end of the magazine but with your help we won't allow that to happen. That's why I want you all to stay on and back Tess with her great ideas and instincts to produce mags that will produce reversals to the financial woes of Oh Really. Tess and I believe in Oh Really. Do you?"

The response was embarrassingly muted. Fargo had the sense to ignore that.

"Right, Tess starts here tomorrow morning. Please show her around Olivia and then let her get back to PR to allow her manager to reassign her work in motion and scheduled stuff. Good luck Tess and continue the fight to turn the tide everyone."

There was no applause and Fargo turned and strode out thinking if the mag closed none of those faggots would be offered work on the group's other magazines... and minutes later rescinded that thought as being unprofessional and churlish.

That evening Fargo was watching TV News with his parents when an item on Business News stated, "Our Times Group, publisher of the ailing Oh Really magazine today abruptly fired the magazine's highly-acclaimed English editor and immediately replaced Faith Manners with a reputedly highly successful magazine journalist from the Midwest, Miss Tess Rimes. Unfortunately so far we have been unable to produce evidence of Miss Rimes's apparent outstanding career. The executive chairman of Our Times Group, Benton Mellows said in making the appointment he'd picked an accomplished journalist with new ideas and high motivation who'd soon steer Oh Really back to its former position as a leading women's interest magazine."

Fargo's mother said, "That was straight PR crap apart from the TV station's comment about being unable to find anything on Tess's background Benton. I'm surprised at you making such a bearish prediction of success with Tess not having been an editor."

"My only involvement was to tell Fargo to try Tess in the position. That media release quoting me and not referring it to me was Fargo's creation."

"Well I'm excited about Tess being promoted like this and you'll have contact with her most days Fargo."

"Yes mother."

"Well don't lose her this time round and thank you Benton for bringing those two closer together. Fargo please back her totally to stop that ailing magazine draining away my money and the money of others used to establish it. I never liked the name and was almost a lone voice in saying we didn't require another magazine in our stable."

Benton said, "I'm aware Tess was moving cattle on half broken-in horses from the time she was twelve years old and that takes guts and determination. She flew solo at sixteen and qualified for her certificate to gain her private pilot's license at the minimum permissible age and gained master's degrees in English/writing and in communications/print media. She's just a bit light on experience, that's all, but prepare to see her turn her magazine around. My gut feeling about this is huge, no kidding."

Juliet said he better be right. "I have no wish being left with trying to save your butt if majority of the board decides to censure you. Closing down a magazine is messy, expensive and damaging to a publisher's reputation."

"I've brought her back to you darling and asked Fargo to put all his weight behind her and that can only lead to him putting all his weight on to her once again."

"Don't be foul Benton and you stop grinning Fargo. God you men have no class."

After dinner one of those guys with no class, Benton, went out to his club to play cards, or so he said. Instead he drove up outside a downtown apartment block and one of the three women from one of those apartments, Stella D'Ambrosi, illustrations editor on Oh Really, ran out and climbed into the car and kissed Benton sexily before buckling in.

"Your pregnancy scare gave me quite a scare," he told the 41-year-old.

"Yeah well blame me. I'd stopped taking the pill because I was going with you regularly and no one else and thought that with you being your age I'd be safe."

"Rude cow," he said. "Just don't take such a stupid risk."

"I just missed for a week longer than I ever had... it doesn't always operate almost like clockwork you know."

"Yuck I don't wish to know about such things. Are you back on the pill?"

"Yes and I'm sorry. I just panicked. I ought to have known pregnancy would have been unlikely in such a short time of stopping my contraception program."

"Christ Stella, talk about something else."

"Is you dick getting bigger darling, with all the extra work-outs I'm giving it."

"Yeah that's the sort of talk a guy wants to hear from his babe," Benton said, driving into the basement car park of a hotel near his club. His wife Juliet had agreed staying overnight at the hotel was the practical solution to avoid driving home when he'd been drinking although a lot more expensive than engaging a limousine service.

As soon as they entered the room Benton thrust a hand inside Stella's panties and slid a couple of fingers into her and pulled them out and she sucked those fingers.

"What is the report?" he grinned, unzipping and pulling out his dick that was already half erect.

"Just how you like it. Sticky with high odor."

He laughed and slapped her ass and she pulled off her panties, turned and bent over with her legs apart, indicating she was well trained to please him. In return she'd have a lovely supper and after an early morning session would go to work with an extra five hundred bucks in her handbag.

Benton had a short but very thick cock and Stella knew how to assist to keep it in. Benton had taken off his jacket and she reached around with a hand to grab his belt by the buckle to keep them from moving too far apart and she used her other hand to brace herself.

He grunted and she sighed with pleasure, she being aware he fucked better than most guys she'd ever had and that included two former husbands. Usually she came twice before he called to her and she'd let go of the belt and turn, drop to her knees and finish him by sucking and then allow him to watch her swallowing. She knew from what he'd said his wife always made him wear a condom because she didn't like any cum on her or in her.

"I'm about to fire," he called and after a dozen hearty sucks, Stella pulled hard over the rising edge of the head of his cock and jerked his cock just below where her sliding mouth finished on the upstroke. He groaned and pulled away to finish himself off as he fired into Stella's mouth. He watched the excess drip off her chin and as his panting died smiled and rubbed his cock gently over her face, still dribbling semen, the purpose of which was lost on her.

As usual they'd have a whisky and then she'd go on to her back without removing any more clothes because Benton wasn't at all interested in tits or her butt.

When they returned from the all-night restaurant and went to bed, Benton asked, "Did your new editor get a reasonable reception?"

"Didn't Fargo brief you?"

"No," Benton lied.

"Well it was rather subdued and that must have embarrassed both Fargo and Tess. You see although we know she's topnotch as a PR person none of us knew anything about her as an editor or even if she had been an editor. Our thinking we had just gotten rid of one dud and were asking was this another? I'm aware it was you who appointed her and I'm not challenging that decision; I'm just telling you how I think everyone on staff sees it."

"Do you think she'll succeed?"

"I have no idea."

"What say I bet you $10,000 Tess will win the battle?"

"I think that's rather unlikely simply because the odds are stacked against her and anyway I have no stomach to give away ten grand should you prove to be right."

"Okay here's the bet. I wager my ten grand against your one grand that sales of Oh Really will hit at least 380,000 six months from today and still climbing and profitability will be soaring because of big jumps in advertising support."

"Oh Really" Stella laughed. "Your ten g's to my one g?"

"Yeah."

"Okay you're on. Can I talk to anyone about this?"

"Okay but with care, only to people you can trust. Just say you went to my office with proofs of my updated photo for our files and we discussed the magazine and we got into making that bet."

Benton smiled, knowing the word would spread through the building but more important it would give the team on Oh Really confidence in their new editor, giving Tess a better chance to prove she has what it takes.

He wouldn't have to wait long.

Three days later Benton's PA told him there was talk that the new editor of Oh Really had a 10,000 to one chance of turning the magazine around. Three weeks later after Benton's monthly screw, Stella gasped when she was handed an oblong box that contained a stunning necklace plus her usual $500 gratuity.

* * *

On the evening of her appointment as editor, Tess took her two roommates, Eve an air traffic controller and Kristen a business school lecturer in financial strategy, to dinner and when they had their cocktails in hand she broke the news. Until then Eve and Kristen had only been told by the youngest of the trio she'd landed a new job 'out of the blue'.

Those two listened, mouths open, for Tess to finish and then Kristen said, "You silly woman; you're boarding a sinking ship."

"Not if I can help it."

Eve asked, "I wasn't aware you had been an editor?"

"I haven't."

Kristen and Eve frowned.

The professional academic strategist said, "This is only theory... either you possess something unknown to me or you have been recruited as the fall guy, someone to heap the blame on when the board folds the magazine."

"That magazine will not fold under my watch."

"Brave words darling but please see yourself as a juicy morsel in a pool of sharks and barracuda."

"Thank you for that contribution. Eve say something nice to me."

"After listening to Kristen I fear for your survival in journalism darling but you are lovely and I'll give you all the help I can."

"Oh thank you darling. Now that's the downside. Let me tell you this and then we'll eat. Do you remember going out with a blond guy with a well-built guy with a wide face, the only guy I told you I had ever really liked..."

"Yes," said Eve, who read romantic potboilers for relaxation. "Frago someone."

"Fargo actually. Well he's director of operations of the company that owns several magazines including Oh Really and he's been instructed by the executive chairman, his father, to back me to the hilt."

"Oh no, it will be his mission to plunge in the sword," Kristen said sourly.

"That's utter rubbish. He will provide Tess with a tumultuous sex, an affair that she'll never forget, and together they'll win through."

"Er something that falls between those two extremes I should think," Tess said dryly, attracting the attention of a waitress. She was glad she'd had that conversation. Following Kristen's dire prediction Tess was now convinced she must lean heavily on Fargo rather than try to fly solo. Fargo had an MBA and a Masters in Media Studies and had worked his way up within the company, his previous role being executive editor, a position now incorporated in his expanded job of director of operations, a position that made him responsible for everything to do with magazine production and marketing.

* * *

When his father left to go to his club and his mother said she'd watch TV in bed, Fargo said he was going out for a drink and to look for a sociable female he knew.

"Well if you don't find one keep away from those professional harlots," his mother said. "You really are so much like your father."