Page 3 of The Baron’s Perfect Match (Twist of Fate #1)

New York City, USA

J acob Stanford smiled as he stood at the wall of windows that separated the staff offices from the print shop.

The noise on the floor from the printing press was deafening, and he’d recently had the wall built to muffle he noise that he found quite distracting while working in his office, especially when trying to calculate his expenses or write a new article for the paper.

The workers on the floor stuffed either cotton or bits of fabric in their ears to drown out the noise.

Jacob kept a wad of cotton in his jacket for whenever he needed to go on the floor, but he didn’t mind the noise when he did.

He loved his job and made sure his workers knew how much he appreciated them by offering days off when needed or even just a longer luncheon break to take care of a personal matter.

Today, the workers were preparing the Wednesday edition of The Advertiser, his fledgling newspaper, which finally seemed to be gaining traction with the New York City populace .

It had taken five long years to get the newspaper off the ground and start turning a decent profit.

Those first couple of years, he’d barely had enough funds to buy paper and to pay his workers, but he’d vowed he would not give up.

It was his dream to be a newspaper publisher.

Two years ago, Henry Williams—his partner in a shipping company and now the newspaper—had helped Jacob realize his dream by providing the funds for a printing press.

Having the press made it easier to produce the “penny prints” that so many customers seemed to crave these days, and that was when the newspaper began picking up new readers and turning a sizeable profit.

Unlike his rival paper, the New York Gazette, whose weekly publications focused mostly on dispatches from England with a little bit of local news thrown in, Jacob wanted his thrice-weekly publication to appeal more to ordinary folks.

England was an ocean away, and not much that happened there had an impact on the majority of Americans.

“Good day, Jacob,” said a voice behind him.

Jacob turned and was greeted with a smile from his business partner. “Henry, good day. I’m surprised to see you today. Have I forgotten an appointment this morning?”

Henry extended his hand. “Not at all. I was in the area and thought we could talk over a few things.”

Jacob grasped the older man’s hand in a firm handshake. Henry was a foot shorter and thirty years older than he was, but he always had a twinkle in his eye when he spoke that put people at ease. It was like talking with a beloved grandfather.

When Jacob went to work at Henry’s shipping company at seven and ten, he had no idea that not only would Henry become a dear friend and father figure, but a business partner as well.

After Jacob had worked hard at the business for a little over a year, Henry made him an offer he never expected.

With no children of his own to inherit the business, Henry had offered Jacob a twenty-five percent share of the company.

Jacob had been dumbfounded at such a generous offer and saved every dividend check to help fund his dream of someday becoming a journalist and owning a newspaper.

Of course, Henry’s generosity had only made Jacob work harder for the man, and when he’d approached Henry a few years later about his newspaper idea, Henry had once again come through, advancing him some much-needed start-up funds for a share of the paper.

Jacob was happy to oblige. He owed the man everything.

“Of course. Please come into my office.”

Henry walked into the office and sat down while Jacob closed the door. “Would you care for a brandy or coffee?” Jacob asked before taking a seat behind the desk.

“No. I cannot stay long.”

“Of course. What can I do for you?”

Henry shifted in his chair.

“Is something amiss?” Jacob asked. “You seem rather distressed this morning. ”

“No, nothing of the sort. Can I give you a piece of advice?”

“Of course. I always welcome your wise counsel. Without it, I wouldn’t be sitting in this chair.”

Henry chuckled. “Good. Mrs. Williams and I married young. I was a young man of two and twenty, and Alice had just turned eight and ten. It was a good match, which was supported by our families. Marriage life wasn’t always easy, especially in the early years of trying to build my shipping empire.

Days were long, and tempers were short sometimes.

However, in my thirty years of marriage, the most important thing I’ve learned is to make sure your wife is happy.

Without a happy wife, your life will not be very pleasant, and it’s certainly not something I would recommend. ”

The topic of marriage was the last thing Jacob expected from Henry.

“As much as I value your counsel, I’m not ready to be leg-shackled anytime soon.

I’m only five and twenty. The paper is starting to become quite profitable, and I don’t see myself taking a wife for years. I have important work yet to do.”

Henry waved his hand dismissively. “No, my dear boy, I’m not advising you to marry now. What brings me here today is Mrs. Williams’ idea for a new addition to our newspaper.”

“A new addition? I don’t understand.”

“My dear wife believes that the paper will become even more popular if we include some articles that appeal directly to women. ”

Jacob sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers. Henry was proposing an interesting concept. One that needed careful consideration. “I see. Can you share more about this idea?”

Henry reached inside his jacket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. “This is the kind of thing my wife is talking about.” He handed the sheet to Jacob.

Jacob took the paper and looked at the title, his lips turning up in a grin. An Orderly Home Keeps Chaos at Bay was the eye-catching title. In his experience, nothing kept chaos at bay, but if this helped even one woman find some peace in this life, he would be happy to include it.

After reading the article, Jacob looked at Henry.

Mrs. Williams had a clever writing style, turning what could have been a boring article into a humorous essay about what could happen if one didn’t keep an orderly house.

It was refreshing, and he thought it would appeal to both women and men.

“This is a well-thought-out article, and I love the humor. It’s very clever.

I think including more pieces like it is a marvelous idea.

Would Mrs. Williams be willing to write more articles? ”

“I’m sure she would. She was quite proud of this one.”

Jacob nodded. “As she should be. It’s excellent. Unfortunately, the current edition has been set, but we can run the piece in the Friday edition. Would that suffice?”

Henry nodded. “I believe it will. Mrs. Williams will be most pleased with the decision.”

Jacob’s journalistic mind was abuzz with ideas. “I think we can make the Friday edition special, with perhaps one or two articles devoted to women. If people know there will be a special Friday edition, that should help our bottom line a great deal. What do you think?”

“Bravo, Jacob. I think that’s a capital idea.”

“Going forward, I’ll need articles by Wednesday so the press can be set.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll be happy to meet that deadline, and I have no doubt her friends will be happy to submit some articles as well. I don’t think there’ll be a shortage of material for publication.”

“This is a wonderful idea that I believe could be a great service to many. I commend your wife and will be happy to incorporate this article and any others into the paper.”

“I’m so glad, Jacob. I’ve always said you were wise beyond your years. And with that business settled, I shall take my leave.”

Jacob stood and extended his hand. “Good day, Henry. I look forward to receiving more articles.”

Henry nodded, giving Jacob’s hand a firm shake. “Good day, Jacob. We’ll talk again soon.”

After Henry left, Jacob sat in his office thinking about how he could expand the newspaper’s reach even further.

He chastised himself for not thinking of the idea himself.

Half of the population was female. It was time to capitalize on that.

Perhaps the Friday edition could also include a recipe or two.

Nothing fancy, of course, just basic ingredients that even the less fortunate patrons of the paper could enjoy .

He walked out of his office and down a short hallway to the printing area to speak with his editor, Robert Preston.

Jacob didn’t see him right away until the man walked out from behind the press.

In the din of the workshop, he’d never hear Jacob if he called out, so he walked over to Robert and touched his arm.

“Robert, a word, please.”

Robert was a tall, slender man with graying hair at his temples, nearly twenty years Jacob’s senior. He was an experienced editor with a tremendous work ethic, and Jacob had learned so much from him. He valued Robert’s opinion greatly.

Robert turned at Jacob’s touch. “Jacob, do you need something?” he shouted to be heard over the press.

Jacob nodded and pointed to his office. “I want to discuss something with you.”

“Of course,” Robert said, following Jacob out of the printing area. “Is there a problem?” he asked once Jacob had closed the door of his office.

“No. Not at all. Have a seat. I wanted to tell you about a new idea for the Friday edition.”

“That’s a relief. I thought we had a major problem to contend with in today’s edition. What’s this new idea?”

Jacob explained the details of the idea and showed him the article that Mrs. Williams had written.

Robert was silent for a few moments while reading the article, but then a huge smile split his face. “I can tell you right now that Mrs. Preston will enjoy this type of article very much. It’s really quite clever while imparting practical advice.”

Jacob nodded. “Excellent. I’m hoping for that kind of reaction from a great many women.

I’ve been thinking about this, and in addition to articles such as this, I thought it might be a good idea to include a recipe or two.

Does Mrs. Preston have a favorite dish she’d like to have included in the paper?

Something on the simpler side that anyone could follow. ”

“I must say Mrs. Preston is an excellent cook, and I have no doubt she’d be happy to submit something.”

“That’s wonderful. Please feel free to share this new idea with her, and if she wants to contribute, I’ll need the material delivered by Wednesday.

For this coming Friday’s edition, Mrs. Williams’ article will be the only one included.

Starting next week, we can expand the Friday edition to include both articles and recipes. ”

Robert nodded. “Bravo, Jacob. I commend you for broadening the paper’s reach.”

“I wish I could claim credit, but it was Mrs. Williams’ idea, which I wholeheartedly agree is a good one.

My contribution to her idea is the addition of a recipe or two.

Perhaps I can also contribute articles highlighting some of the problems I’ve seen that women grapple with on a daily basis for future editions. ”

“It should definitely help increase circulation, which has been steadily climbing. Including this new component should really help the bottom line,” Robert said.

“That’s the idea, my friend. When circulation is up, we all make money.”

“I like the sound of that,” the editor said. “Is there anything else?”

“No, that’s all for now.”

Robert stood and left the office.

Jacob had a good feeling about this turn of events.

Today had been most inspiring, and he felt he was on the cusp of something wonderful.

His parents had always taught him to help others when he could, and, hopefully, these articles could help many folks, even if only by teaching them how to cook a new meal.

It was a good start.