Page 63 of Long Story Short

I looked at the book, which was beside me, after I had finally put it down and tried to go to bed. I was actually hooked on it. It was about a woman who had a stalker. She was determined to find out who it was before they made good on their threat to hurt her. It was unsettling and compelling. A lot darker, of course, than my usual reading material, but I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. Davis was arrogant but I already thought he was right and that this could easily be a bestseller. If his publishers were still interested in putting it out into the world, that was.

But I had to focus on my own career dilemma, not Davis’s. I was due to meet with Hayley and after yesterday, I needed to make sure she was actually still on my side. I didn’t want to be influenced by either Jake or Davis. I needed to make up my own mind about what to do next. All I knew was that I wanted to be a literary agent one day, and I had to work out how best to make that happen.

After climbing out of bed, I hurried into the bathroom for a quick shower and then got dressed for the day. I hesitated about what to wear. I had bought two new outfits to fit my new boss-bitch attitude but yesterday, I hadn’t felt like a boss bitch at all. I had been confused and kind of pissed off for most of it instead.

I stared at my wardrobe and thought about when I had felt most confident. And the night in New York when I told Jake I wanted to meet the man he really was, the moment that had pushed him to be honest about his personal life, and to open up to both me and the world, came to mind. I hadn’t hesitated that night to tell the truth. That surely was more of a boss-bitch moment than wearing a suit I didn’t feel good in to try to look more like my boss. Or allowing her to take the credit for my work.

So, I put on the dress and boots I had worn in New York, I left my hair loose and did my favourite make-up, finishing it all off with a spritz of my sweet, summery perfume. Then I looked in the mirror and told myself that even though I looked different to Hayley, that didn’t mean I couldn’t do what she did. And both Jake and Davis Mulberry had told me I had the potential to be a good agent. They liked it when I was honest. I hadn’t been honest with Hayley at all yet. I had always known I was intimidated by Jake but I realised now just how intimidated I had been by Hayley. She was formidable and made me feel like an incapable adult because I didn’t have my shit together like she seemed to. But watching her yesterday had made me wonder if I did really want to be like her.

This morning, I needed to listen to my gut and do what I wanted to do, not what anyone told me I should do.

42

When I arrived at work, Ellen on reception waved me over eagerly. ‘Hayley is in a great mood; I think it’s something to do with Jake Richards,’ she said with a big smile. ‘I still can’t believe you survived five days in New York with him. How was the meeting yesterday? Was Hayley a superstar? I bet she gave them all hell.’

‘Um…’ I said, wondering how honest to be with her. ‘She was a tough cookie for sure,’ I added cagily. ‘I wonder if his publishers have sent in their offer for a new deal then.’ Glancing towards the office, I could see Hayley’s door open as though she was waiting for me to come in. I knew she would want to gloat if an offer had been made especially if it was as good as she’d been hoping for.

‘Go and find out then tell me,’ Ellen encouraged. The phone started ringing. She sighed. ‘No rest for the wicked. What are you waiting for?’ she added as she picked up the phone, frowning.

‘Oh, yeah, okay,’ I mumbled, finally setting off towards the office, nervous for what was about to happen. I dropped off my things at my desk, switching my laptop on, before Hayley called out, beckoning me into her office as I was expecting she would.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over, closing the door behind me when I went inside.

‘Well, we did it,’ Hayley said as she leaned back in her chair. I sat down on the other side of her desk. She smiled. ‘Craig emailed me at 8a.m. with their offer. A new six-book deal for Jake worth seven figures. The best we could have hoped for, Freya. We killed it in that meeting. I knew we would.’

This time, it was ‘we’. Yesterday, she had acted like it was all ‘I’. So, which was it really? I forced out a smile as Hayley watched me expectantly for a reaction.

‘That’s great news,’ I said.

‘Isn’t it? You played it perfectly in that meeting,’ she continued. ‘We make a good team, don’t we? I need to call Jake and tell him the good news…’

Now was my chance. While she was in such a good mood. I needed to know if she would make good on her promise to advance my career. She thought I had done well in the meeting, and even if she had taken credit, she knew that my trip to New York with Jake had resulted in this great new offer for him. I leaned forward in my chair and summoned all the courage I could muster. ‘Before you call Jake…’ I cleared my throat. ‘You said we could talk about my career. You know I really want to take on my own clients and become an agent myself. What are the next steps towards that? I am really keen to make progress here.’

Hayley nodded. ‘I know. I admire your ambition. You remind me of how I was at your age. Eager. I like it. And as I said, I was impressed yesterday. You did what I asked you to. In another six months, we can start looking at you taking on your own clients, I have no doubt about that.’

I absorbed what she said with a sinking feeling in my stomach. ‘Six months?’ I repeated. That wasn’t what she had indicated when I got back. I knew I had only worked with her for that amount of time but I had proved myself, surely? I thought she might let me take over one of her clients or at least take the lead with one or two. ‘There’s nothing we could do before then to start that process?’

Hayley sighed like I was starting to irritate her. ‘Freya, you have to understand that my clients are extremely important to me, I have to always think about their best interests, don’t I? So, you have to trust me that I know what I’m doing. We will get you there. It will just take time. For now, I need you to be my assistant. Now, I really have to call Jake and tell him about the offer so we’ll talk later, okay?’ She reached for the phone on her desk before I could respond, effectively dismissing me. Conversation over.

Slowly, I stood up, utterly deflated. It felt like she had gone back on her word. Like she had let me think things would move quicker to get me on side in that meeting. To make sure I played ball and let her take the credit for Jake’s return to popularity. No one in that room yesterday, apart from me and Jake, had any clue that Hayley had had no say in what he told readers at the conference. Now his publisher had made Jake a new offer, Hayley no longer needed me on side so she had come clean about her plan. And that was for me to keep being her assistant, and to hold me back from taking on any other responsibilities for another six months. At least. Could I trust that she would let me even then?

I watched as she started to dial Jake’s number, not interested in talking to me any more. Any plans of me being a boss bitch had disintegrated. I slunk out of her office, closing the door, feeling small and like I had been used.

I saw Davis Mulberry’s book poking out of my handbag when I went back to my desk, tempting me in a way I never thought possible from that man. But there was something stirring in my gut. I hadn’t respected Hayley’s decision to encourage Jake to lie about the article, to pretend he hadn’t dissed romance readers, and my instinct to have been honest with those very readers had been the right one. I knew Hayley had tons more experience than me but I had learnt that didn’t always mean her instincts were better. I sat down at my desk and looked around the office. I would be in this place for another six months, she had just assured me of such, but I had an opportunity to do something else. Did I want to take it? I grabbed my phone and asked Davis to set up a meeting with his agent, Simon.

My fingers hovered on my phone after that and I found myself scrolling to Jake’s number. I wondered what he thought of the offer Hayley had put to him, if he was going to accept, what he would say about Davis Mulberry approaching me for help. It was annoying that I wanted to hear his opinion after everything that had happened between us.

With a sigh, I put my phone back on my desk and opened up my emails to start work, knowing that it was better not to contact him and confuse things any further between us.

* * *

That evening, I curled up on my bed to finish Davis Mulberry’s book. As the female main character started to realise who her stalker was, she drew closer to her neighbour who she’d been worried might be the one threatening her. It turned out, he had started to notice what was going on and wanted to help her. As the book got closer to the end, I was shocked to find out the identity of her stalker and the final showdown was epic. The woman she thought was her best friend was the one who had been terrifying her. It was a great twist. And when she told her neighbour she had feelings for him, they had a great love scene that surprised the hell out of me. Davis Mulberry had not only included a touch of romance mixed in with his gripping thrills and twists, but had actually done it well.

I closed the book as the night faded into the early hours of the morning and I felt that not only should this book be published despite Davis’s bad attitude, but it could be his biggest hit. And maybe if everyone knew that Davis not only didn’t actually hate romance but had included it in the book, he would be forgiven for what happened at the conference. I thought about his long-standing feud with Jake. All the times he had belittled the fact Jake wrote romance and questioned how easy it was to write. This was a big turnaround to write it himself. Was it down to the woman Davis had opened his heart to? I had to find out. If Davis Mulberry could believe in love then why was I finding it so hard? Why was Jake finding it so hard?

Rolling over, I turned off my bedside lamp and crawled under the covers, yawning after reading for so long.

I wondered if Jake was awake or asleep. If he ever thought about me at night. I couldn’t help but hope he did even though it seemed impossible. He didn’t trust love any more. Why did I think he’d ever trust me? He thought we were too different to ever work. I had agreed with him. I hadn’t been sure he really liked me. I had walked away from him at the conference. But our time together kept coming back to me regardless. The way he had looked so disappointed after the meeting with his publishers haunted me. It had made me realise I was disappointed in myself.

---