An Unlikely Series of Conversations
The Strand Magazine|Issue 57 -Feb-May 2019
LAERTES Jackson showed up at the human resources office of Martin, Martin, and Moll at 10:37 on a Tuesday morning in May.
Walter Mosley
An Unlikely Series of Conversations

The mid-size investment firm was located on Maiden Lane in the Wall Street area of Lower Manhattan. There was no ostentatious sign outside and only the initials MMM appeared on the legend at the entrance. Even then, just one floor, the fourteenth, was identified as housing MMM while the firm actually occupied seven contiguous floors. In the past two years MMM had been sued by various individuals and government agencies for multiple civil rights and sexual harassment violations. The CEO and several VPs had been relieved of their positions and the corporation itself had been fined millions of dollars in reparations.

The new CEO, Ms. Winsome Millerton-Pomerantz, had made a public statement vowing that the investment firm, which oversaw more than a dozen multibillion-dollar retirement funds that, either in full or in part, served public employee unions, would make a supreme effort to right the listing ship of their intentions.

Taking this intelligence to heart, Laertes decided to apply for an entry position at MMM.

Arriving at the fourteenth floor, Laertes encountered B. Chang, a young Asian woman sitting within a semi-opaque and circular azure desk.

“HR is on the twentieth floor, Mr. Jackson,” she said with a lovely red-stained smile. “Take the elevator to the right.”

On the 20th floor Clarissa Watson, a woman whose skin was even darker than Laertes’s, gave him a confused, turquoise-tinted smile, saying, “But your appointment isn’t until 1:40, Mr. Jackson.”

“I’m usually early,” Laertes said, cocking his head and smiling softly. “My father always told me to get there before your competitor because you can never tell what will be left over later on.”

This story is from the Issue 57 -Feb-May 2019 edition of The Strand Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Issue 57 -Feb-May 2019 edition of The Strand Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE STRAND MAGAZINEView All
The Strand Magazine

INTERVIEW Laurie R. King

CREATING new works based on an iconic fictional character who’s been around for over a century can be a minefield for an author.

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 62, 2020
ADVENTURE ON A BAD NIGHT
The Strand Magazine

ADVENTURE ON A BAD NIGHT

BEFORE dinner was quite finished Vivien began wanting to get outdoors, into the air she hadn’t seen since afternoon.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 62, 2020
THE EDINBURGH BANKERS
The Strand Magazine

THE EDINBURGH BANKERS

“MR. Holmes, I’m not asking for myself. It’s for the livelihood of the rest of us.”

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 62, 2020
The Adventure of the Home Office Baby
The Strand Magazine

The Adventure of the Home Office Baby

FOLLOWING the occasion of my marriage, and relocation with Mary to our newlywed home in the Paddington district, only a few blocks east of the great station itself, I was able to continue building my new practice while still finding time to assist Sherlock Holmes in a number of investigations.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 60, 2020
KEVIN OF THE DEAD
The Strand Magazine

KEVIN OF THE DEAD

PEOPLE often say to me, “Kevin, what’s it like being undead and all that?” And I say, “It’s a job, you know?” You get up at sunset, brush off the dirt and slugs, climb out of the box, and off you go into the night looking for some poor unfortunate to siphon a pint from.

time-read
10 mins  |
Issue 60, 2020
AUNT NELLIE'S DIARY
The Strand Magazine

AUNT NELLIE'S DIARY

MANY contemporary readers know Louisa May Alcott only as the author of the classic Little Women, the much-beloved story of the March sisters’ journey from childhood innocence to mature womanhood.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 60, 2020
INTERVIEW John Grisham
The Strand Magazine

INTERVIEW John Grisham

FOR the last thirty years, the term legal thriller has been synonymous with John Grisham. Credited with single-handedly popularizing the genre, he has inspired scores of other authors and, in the process, has become both a commercial and critical success.

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 59 2020
The Dowser's Discovery
The Strand Magazine

The Dowser's Discovery

“IF you don’t mind, sir,” said old Fiedler as he finished pouring our coffee, “I’d like to go into the village this morning with the others. It’s market day.”

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 58 - June-November
THE AMIABLE FLEAS
The Strand Magazine

THE AMIABLE FLEAS

IN May 1954, more than fifteen years after writing Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck rented a house for himself and his family a stones-throw from the Champs-Elysées in Paris.

time-read
8 mins  |
Issue 58 - June-November
INTERVIEW Don Winslow
The Strand Magazine

INTERVIEW Don Winslow

EVER since Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett revolutionized the crime novel with hardboiled heroes, gritty settings, and moral complexity, countless authors have tried to carry the torch.

time-read
10+ mins  |
Issue 57 -Feb-May 2019