Page 34 of The Producer: Aaron

“Maybe you should first find out why she differs from the other women you surround yourself with. It has never been a problem for you to sleep with someone and then continue with your life.”

Maybe that’s the point. I am afraid that if I taste the forbidden fruit even once, in the end, I will no longer be able to do without it. But I’m not ready to confess it out loud yet.

“How the hell did we end up talking about my sex life? We were discussing the author of the fantasy books that Dakota suggested to me.”

Tracy pauses to study me for a few moments, perhaps surprised by my sudden change of subject.

“Because after I told you about the bank robbery, the murders, and the exorcism, I realized you weren’t listening to a single word of what I was telling you.”

“Touché”

“However, we were saying that this woman—if she is a woman and not the pen name of a creepy old man—has no contacts. She is an indie author. She has several social networks, including Instagram, TikTok, a Facebook page, and a group, but no way to contact her,” she explains.

“No email, private messages, nothing?” I ask, perplexed.

“No, she disabled the option to contact her directly.”

“Why the hell doesn’t she want to be contacted? From how Dakota speaks of it, she is the author phenomenon of the year. Doesn’t she want to live her moment of glory?” This author is a puzzle I can’t figure out.

Tracy turns her laptop to a website with a list of one-star reviews.

“Maybe because she wants to keep her mental health from going insane? Some of these reviews have nothing to do with the book’s quality. They are just plain insults to the fact that she killed the most popular character in the series, thus destroying the most beloved couple. If I were her and I received such messages privately, I too would remove any possibility of contacting me.”

I take a look at the reviews and realize she’s right. There areeven phrases in which they wish her the worst suffering. How the hell can you wish a person an illness because she made the editorial choice to kill one of the characters? Usually, I don’t deal with reviews of our shows or films. There is an office that deals with precisely this. I only get the summary if viewers like or dislike our choices. I am almost in pain for those poor interns who have to sift through all this wickedness to give me the finished result.

“How the hell can you not understand that a book is fiction? These reviews are unheard of nastiness against a real person with feelings. It’s chilling what they write.” I’m stunned by yet another comment that makes my skin crawl.

Tracy shrugs and shakes her head. “The Internet is a den of frustrated people who feel powerful behind a keyboard. But look at her numbers. She has almost one hundred thousand followers on TikTok and about fifty thousand on Instagram. These are huge for an independent author.”

I must admit that her social media management is masterful. Behind this name is someone who knows how to do marketing, how to take care of a brand, and who has managed to build a loyal reader’s following that has brought her to the top of the rankings. She is not someone who has had luck with a book and found herself at the top of the charts by chance. There is hard work behind this product.

“I know. The problem is that we have no way to contact her.” I lean on my chair and stare at the computer.

Tracy gets up and catches my eye. “Give me a few days to investigate more deeply. I’ll see if I can find out something more. Do you think these books are worth all this work?”

I nod decisively. “I think it’s an excellent product that fits perfectly on the small screen. Dakota thought of a movie forevery book, but there’s so much material you can adapt it to a TV show.”

“Dakota suggested it to you, eh?” She shows off a smug smile.

“I told you she is a smart person with which you can talk about serious things.”

“She sounds like quite the keeper.” She winks at me before going out and leaving me with an idiotic grin on my face.

Dakota is not a woman you take to bed once and forget about. She is the complete package, one that includes getting up in the morning and having breakfast together. That’s why constantly thinking about her is the worst decision I’ve ever made.

***

I put my jacket on the armchair in the living room and take off my tie. I see Dakota by the pool sitting on the deck chair through the window. In front of her is a tray with something to eat and a basket of bread. On the low table next to her, she has a can of soda and an ice bucket with a bottle of wine and a glass.

Until a few months ago, I would have thought it was for her, that she was getting drunk by the pool, but now I know that is the “table” she prepared for our dinner, that the wine is for me. I walk out with a smile on my face and notice she has her nose stuck in the book. It isn’t until I’m close enough that I notice the sobs.

My heart pumps into my chest when I am on my knees next to her, worried as never before. “What’s going on? Why are you crying?”

She is so desperate that the sobs shake her violently. Who the hell did this to her? The mere thought that someone has hurt her so much that she is almost sick makes my blood boil.

“Who did this to you? Tell me, and I swear that when I’m donewith him, even his mother won’t be able to recognize him,” I hiss as I grab her by the shoulders and force her to look at me.

“You can’t. He’s dead, you know? He’s dead, and you can’t do anything to bring him back,” she desperately cries as she shows me the book.

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