Page 65 of Long Story Short

Davis looked shocked. ‘Mate, you should have said… I hold my hands up, I know I haven’t been easy to work with sometimes. Honestly, this job is so stressful and I tend to act out when I’m stressed. And drink too much. In fact, I’m wondering if I need to quit the booze altogether.’ He turned to me. ‘Freya, I hate to admit it but you’ve given me some great advice. Whether I can actually follow it all through and get people back on my side, I don’t know. But I want to try. I have to try. I believe in this book and I want to see it on the shelves. Even if that means resolving things with Jake bloody Richards.’ But he winked at me and I knew he realised it was what had to happen.

Simon smiled. ‘Well, Freya, you’ve won Davis over so how could you not win me over? I know you might be happy with Hayley Harper but you are just what I’ve been looking for here. I’m about to start the journey towards retirement and I want to bring in some new blood that can make that happen. I think we’d make a good team until then. And you certainly seem able to handle Davis.’

‘If you can handle Davis, you can handle anyone,’ I said with a laugh. Luckily, they both chuckled along with me and Davis didn’t seem to take it personally.

‘If I could persuade you to leave Hayley, you could come and work here. We could co-agent Davis and a couple of my other authors for a while, then you could start to take on your own clients and, with time, take on some of mine too. I have no doubt you have the skills to be a great agent, and I want to help make that happen. I would give you a pay rise, of course. And you could start here as soon as you wanted,’ Simon said. ‘What do you think?’

I started at him in shock. ‘Huh?’

‘Davis told me you were honest and capable and ambitious, and I have seen that today for myself. I think I could be a good mentor to you. But you’d also help us here. We may have become a bit stuck in our ways. You could be the breath of fresh air we need. And Davis certainly has warmed to you. I think all of our clients would do so as well.’

‘Wow.’ His offer started to sink in. I glanced at Davis, who was beaming with what looked remarkably like pride. ‘You would let me actually look after clients?’ Hayley was set against that, and I knew she wasn’t a woman to change her mind. Simon was offering me what I wanted so much sooner, and I liked him instantly.

Simon nodded. ‘I would. How about I take you on a tour and give you some of our clients’ books and you can have a think about it? But if you’re completely happy where you are, I understand if you don’t want to even do that…’

I shook my head. ‘I want to do that. I definitely want to consider your offer.’ The thought of leaving Hayley was terrifying. Even telling her about this threatened to bring me out in a cold sweat. But I was getting a good feeling in Simon Langley’s office, and I had told myself to listen to my gut from now on. My gut was telling me this could well be my future.

Davis pulled his phone out. ‘I’m going to phone Jake right now, see if he’ll meet me for a coffee. I’ll tell him this is all your fault.’

Davis left Simon’s office so quickly, I couldn’t stop him. I wasn’t sure how Jake would react to hearing from Davis or my involvement in encouraging it, but I hoped he would be happy that I was being myself again. Part of me wanted him to also be proud of me but I knew I needed to stop thinking like that. If I did leave Hayley’s agency, we wouldn’t even have a professional relationship any more. I would be moving on from Jake Richards and even though that was sad, I had to make the best of this opportunity.

‘Ready when you are,’ I told Simon.

After he had shown me round and given me a tote bag full of books, I promised to think about his offer and get back to him ASAP. I left his office, stepped back onto the London streets, hot from the midday sun, and walked around in a daze, thinking over everything he had said. I knew this was the right move. But it was terrifying too.

I pulled out my phone to message Liv.

SOS. Can we meet for a glass of wine tonight? So much to tell you!

She replied instantly.

Tell me where and when…

44

Liv and I met that evening in our favourite bar. It was warm so we sat outside at a small, round table with a glass of wine each as London livened up for the night. I told her what had happened with Davis and Simon and asked for her advice.

‘Wow, Freya, that’s amazing,’ Liv said, her eyes lighting up. ‘That’s exactly what you’ve been wanting.’ Then she frowned. ‘But, hang on, Hayley is going to give you the same opportunity, isn’t she?’

‘I thought she was but…’ I told her about the meeting we’d had with Jake and his publishers, how Hayley had taken all the credit for what had happened in New York, and that I needed to wait another six months to do anything more than be her assistant. ‘It’s not that I think I don’t have to pay my dues… it’s that she promised me that if I was successful at the romance conference, she would further my career. Now she’s just gone back on it all.’

‘That’s not on. She’s gone down in my estimation now.’ Liv sighed. ‘I did worry the other day when you said you wanted to be like Hayley. I think you’re great just as you are. And I always knew you’d be a successful agent one day. I just thought Hayley would help you get there.’

I nodded. ‘Me too. But I don’t think she wants to. Not yet anyway. And I did think I needed to be like her. But then I think about the whole thing with Jake – she didn’t help his career after that article came out. I followed my gut and it worked. Hayley wasn’t any help at all there. I thought I admired her, you know? Now, I’m not so sure. She seemed fake in that publishing meeting. I never want to be fake. I would want to support my authors but I’d have to be honest with them and myself, and whoever we’re working with.’

‘Authors appreciate honesty,’ Liv said. ‘Sometimes, you’re promised the earth but then it never happens. I’d rather be told the truth and then I can manage my expectations.’

‘I’m glad you think so too,’ I said, smiling at her. ‘But could I really do this? Leave Hayley and work with Simon? It would be such a leap, such a challenge, and Hayley is going to be furious when she hears about it…’ I bit my lip. The thought of telling Hayley I was leaving for another job scared the shit out of me. But the thought of the new job was so exciting, even if it would be a challenge. I really didn’t want to run away from something I had wanted to do ever since I fell in love with romance books just because I was scared about it.

‘Of course you can do it!’ Liv said firmly. ‘You’ll be amazing. And Hayley will have to suck it up. Don’t worry about her, only about yourself. You will be great at this. In fact, I’d love you to be my agent!’

I laughed. ‘Yeah, and leave Hayley when I move to Simon’s agency, can you imagine?’ She giggled along with me. ‘God, what would she say?’

‘I dread to think,’ Liv said. Then she eyed me across the table. ‘Have you spoken to Jake about it all? I bet he’d be chuffed to hear Simon has offered you this job.’

‘No, we haven’t spoken since the meeting. He was frustrated that I went along with what Hayley wanted. And he was right. I told him to be honest then did the opposite myself. I think he’d tell me to go for this new job like you have.’

‘I think so too,’ she agreed. ‘Does his opinion still matter to you?’

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