The wind outside was blowing against the glass, and although it wasn't raining, the streets and alleys outside the window were dim, the sky still dark.
Everything in the dormitory was as usual. Jenny woke up early, half an hour earlier than usual by accident. Jenny went to the kitchen to make sandwiches, flipping through the calendar Leni had hung on the wall. Today was Thursday, and in a few days it would be the weekend again.
The fairy tale collection she was working on was already half-edited; she thought she could finish it by the weekend.
Standing in the kitchen, Jenny fried an egg in a small iron pan, quietly thinking about today's work. Yesterday, several superiors went upstairs to meet with the acting boss. Jenny saw Mr. Baker looking completely deflated as he passed through the office. But no one had revealed any instructions from the acting boss's meeting; everyone in the office was tight-lipped.
Jenny had breakfast in the dormitory, washed the dishes, and went to the bedroom to get her coat and briefcase. Polly had also gotten up a bit earlier than usual. She seemed to have already been downstairs, having received a letter and sat on the bed opening it. Her expression grew worse and worse, clearly affected by the content.
Jenny took her short coat from the hook by the door, slipped her arms into it, and glanced back at Polly, who looked off. But Polly called out to her. Polly handed an envelope to Jenny. "Mrs. Brown asked me to give this to you." Jenny took two steps, reached out to take it, and Polly immediately closed the letter she was reading.
The letter to Jenny was from her hometown in Pennsylvania, from her eldest brother. He was a postman in town, very mature and steady, the clearest-headed person in the family. He described the current situation at home and informed Jenny that the family approved of her choices and was happy she had a good future, but there was one thing she needed to pay attention to. Their dear mother, Mrs. Jones, upon learning of Jenny's experiences, insisted on coming to New York to visit her. Mrs. Jones had bought boat tickets to New York, and to make the tickets more worthwhile, she also brought along Jenny's youngest sister, Katie. Her brother gave Jenny the ticket information for her mother and sister. Jenny calculated that they would arrive in New York in about two days, which happened to be the weekend. Her brother also said she didn't need to worry about her mother's accommodation; she planned to stay with her younger brother (Jenny's uncle).
After reading the letter, Jenny immediately covered her face. With her mother Anne Jones's sharp tongue and brute strength, she was probably enough to give their uncle's whole family a hard time. She shook her head, put the letter away, picked up her briefcase, and went to the company to clock in.
There wasn't much work in the reception hall on the first floor. Jenny finished seeing everyone in two hours in the morning, closed the window, and returned to the office. She sat down, looking around. She found several cubicles empty, the superiors all gone, including Mr. Eliot and Mr. Clare. Jenny asked Polly, but she looked bewildered, not knowing what had happened, or even when they had left the office.
Jenny had to flip through the manuscripts, picked them up, and went to ask William next door. William cleared his throat and said, "Our weekly magazine is the top seller in the Magazine Department. This new acting boss is bound to make a splash, and the first thing he'll do is check on us. Today he called all the editors from our editorial office to a meeting. Even Mr. Clare went to stand outside his door."
"So we have no one in charge today?" "Yeah, it's a rare chance to slack off a bit. You can take a break." Recently, William had noticed Jenny was exceptionally busy, though he didn't know what she was doing, always bent over her desk all day.
Jenny nodded, returned to her desk, and spread out the materials she had collected today to start making copies. Beside her, Cowens had just brought in an external contributor, a bridge engineer, who followed Cowens into the cubicle for an interview. Their topic was a recently built bridge in New York, designed by the engineer.
An hour later, Cowens escorted the engineer out and began to organize the interview notes. After finishing the manuscript, just then two messengers came in and handed him a note, saying it was from his girlfriend. Cowens didn't open it, as if he already knew what was inside; he put it directly into his drawer. Fujena, sitting nearby, glanced over curiously. It was probably Cowens's girlfriend, a typist at a company next door, looking for him again. She withdrew her gaze, waited a while, and saw that Cowens had finished organizing the interview and proposed that she write the first draft. Cowens's article was commissioned by someone else, and he felt a bit uneasy. "Let me do it. Such a small matter, I wouldn't want to trouble you." After he said that, Fujena didn't stop him. She only felt it was a bit odd; usually, he would do the interview and write the notes, and she would write the first draft.
After noon, Cowens went downstairs to meet his girlfriend. They ate together at a small German restaurant, and Fujena happened to see them. She vaguely heard them arguing. She quietly approached and hid nearby to listen, hearing the woman asking for money from Cowens. Cowens looked helpless, took an envelope from his pocket, and handed it to her.
Not long after, Cowens returned to the editorial office and handed the completed column to Frank, who had just finished a meeting. Mr. Alpha was also in Frank's office giving instructions, and when he saw the column, he immediately stopped it. "Didn't I say not to do this column? Why did you still write it?" "The advertising fee from the construction company has already been credited to our department's performance account, so I arranged it," Frank reported directly. "Cancel this column. Have the Business Department return the advertising fee and pay the penalty. It shouldn't have been theirs in the first place." Mr. Alpha paced around the room, his expression unquestionable, and returned to his own office.
In Frank's office, Cowens anxiously pursued him. "But the penalty isn't cheap, and the manuscript is already done. Why did Mr. Alpha suddenly do this?" Frank shook his head at Cowens, knowing full well, but pretending to be clueless. "How would I know? Go make the arrangements." Cowens looked troubled, wanting to say more. His expression caught Frank's attention. "What? Something wrong?" At this critical juncture, Frank was alert. He put down his things and gestured for a troubled-looking Cowens to go to the next cubicle. "Did you take a bribe from them?"
...
Jenny worked until the afternoon, exhausted, seeing stars. Seeing that nothing was happening in the office, she clocked out at the designated time and returned to the dormitory to rest. While resting, Jenny organized the things on her boxes and shelves. When she first moved in, she had nothing but personal items; now it was filled with all sorts of odds and ends, plus a lot of alcohol, tea, and food given by others. She took out a basket and put in an unopened bottle of wine—a gift from Donnie at the last wedding—along with some mutton tallow candles and tea leaves, which Jenny kept for use. She took the basket to South Street below, found a quiet general store, and traded the bottle of wine at market price, pocketing two extra coins.
With her old mother and sister coming, Jenny planned carefully. She was fairly well-off; with the change she just got, she had ninety dollars. If they couldn't stand staying with their uncle and still wanted to stay in New York, they could manage. To be prepared, Jenny had earlier checked out two residential buildings near the company that had rental notices posted. She asked about the prices, got a sense of them, and came out. By now, the street was dark. Jenny decided to eat out, so she headed toward the restaurant area.
On the way, she suddenly saw two familiar figures ahead, walking one after another toward a restaurant—Cowens and Frank. Jenny thought they were heading out for dinner as usual after work, so she followed them in, intending to join them. Inside the restaurant, Jenny found that there weren't many customers, not a sign of good food. The two were sitting in a corner, Cowens looking down at the menu, apparently discussing something.
"Why are you two the only ones?" Jenny walked over, interrupting their not-so-lively conversation. She noticed a flicker of disguised unease on Cowens's face and suddenly felt that her presence was inappropriate. Jenny quickly changed her words, saying she was just passing through and had something to take care of. "You haven't had dinner yet, have you?" Frank grabbed Jenny's wrist, his expression very calm. "I... not very hungry." "Join us. My treat." Even during the days when she worked at Frank's place, he had kept his distance and never invited her to eat like this. If he was doing so now, there must be a reason for her presence. Jenny sat down, puzzled, searching Frank's face for an answer to why Cowens was so dejected. Frank met her eyes; after a moment of silent communication, Jenny roughly guessed what had happened. Cowens must have had a problem at work that Frank discovered, and he intended to cover for him to settle the matter. Frank was a very particular person; whether it was his subordinates or Jenny, who was hired through him, he considered them his people.
Seeing that Cowens seemed to have more to say, Jenny said she was going to buy something next door and would be right back. Frank agreed. He watched Jenny leave, then turned back to Cowens. "Do you think, if someone catches wind of the current atmosphere and reports you to the higher-ups, Mr. Alpha would use you as a scapegoat?" Cowens's face darkened. If what Frank said was true—that the new boss wanted to stamp out the unwritten gray income of the editorial office—then he was in trouble. In the company's various editorial offices, quick money came in two ways: embezzling allocated funds or taking bribes externally. Only the most honest people lived on their wages and byline bonuses. The embezzlers had been sued and sent to jail months ago. External bribes had a relatively smaller impact, and the editorial superiors themselves weren't clean, so they turned a blind eye. Unfortunately for Cowens, he had bad luck. He just hoped no one other than Frank had found out. "I had no choice. Belly's father owed money to others from his business. How could I not help her?" Frank snorted after hearing his complaint, thinking Cowens was a love-struck fool. How many times was this?