"Charles Stross - Merchant princes 02 - The Hidden Family" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stross Charles)

spending money to receive spam at home. Finally she pulled out her mobile and
dialed The Herald's front desk. "Steve Blau, please," she said, and waited.

"Steve. Who's this?"

"Steve? It's Miriam." She took a deep breath. "About that feature."

"Deadline's this Thursday," he rumbled. "You needing an extension?"

She breathed out abruptly, nearly coughing into the phone. "No, no, I'm ready to
e-mail you a provisional draft,

see if it fits what you were expecting. Uh, I've had a bit of an exciting life
lately, got a new phone number for you."

"Really?" She could almost hear his eyebrows rising.

"Yeah. Domestic incident, big-time." She extemporized hastily. "I'm having to
look after my mother. She's had an incident. Broken hip. You want my new
details?"

"Sure. Hang on a moment. Okay, fire away."

Miriam gave him her new e-mail and phone numbers. "Listen, I'll mail in the copy
in about an hour's time. Is there anything else you're looking for?"

"Not right now." He sounded amused. "They sprang a major reorg on us right after
our last talk, followed by a guerilla page-plan redesign; looks like that slot
for a new columnist I mentioned earlier is probably going to happen. Weekly, op-
ed piece on medical/biotech investment and the VC scene, your sort of thing. Can
I pencil you in for it?"

Miriam thought furiously. "I'm busier than I was right after I left The
Weatherman, but I figure I can fit it in. Only thing is, I'll need a month's
notice to start delivering, and I'd like to keep a couple of generic op-ed
pieces in the can in case I'm called away. I'm going to be doing a lot of head-
down stuff in the next year or so. It won't stop me keeping up with the reading
but it may get in the way of my hitting deadlines once in a blue moon. Could you
live with that?"

"I'll have to think about it," he said. "I'm willing to make allowances. But
you're a pro. You'd give me some warning wherever possible, right?"

"Of course, Steve."

"Okay. File that copy. Bye."

She put the phone down for a moment, eyes misting over. I've still got a real
life, she told herself. This shit hasn 't taken everything over. She thought of
Brill, trapped by family expectations and upbringing. If I could unhook their