Page 73 of Reconciling With the Rival

“I’m worried if she comes back and makes empty promises, it’ll leave us worse off than when we were younger. You didn't see Dad back then, Lizzie. He was working himself to the bone trying to support us. He’s in a good place now, and so are we. I don’t want her coming in and bursting the bubble we created.”

She takes a few seconds to think about what I said. “I understand, Ella. But I want to at least give her a chance. She’s been calling more and more, and I think she means what she’s saying.”

I still don't believe that, but I don’t think there's any way I can change her mind without making her get madder at me. “One phone call.”

Her eyes light up. “Really?”

“Yes, but you have to be there with me,” I tell her. I have a sinking feeling I’m going to regret this in a few weeks.

“Deal,” she says as she gives me a hug. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you, sis.”

24

A Bloody Miracle

This proposal is goingto drive me to insanity.

But I want to get it. I want it more than I’ve ever wanted any contract here, but I’ve been burning the candle at both ends to make this the best pitch ever.

I had a call with the design team the other day, and they sent me the mockups for the campaign. I’m so glad they turned out exactly how I imagined. I really think the publishing company is going to like mine. Not only do I have an advantage over Leo, since I work with authors all the time, but I have a little more experience. I’m not saying he’s bad at his job—he does good work—but I’m way more passionate about this contract than he is. I'm an avid reader, and the only thing Leo reads is the laundry label on his fancy fucking sheets.

Since I approved my mockups today, I’m ahead of the schedule I set for myself. Leo and I don’t have long before wehave to turn our proposals in, and being ahead of the game bodes well for me.

Leaving early today might throw a hitch in my plans, but I'm not going to ditch Alissa on the one night a week we spend together. I’ve been working late a lot, and if I keep this up, I’m going to burn myself out.

Tuesday and Wednesday nights are my designated early days, but every other day of the week is fair game.

My phone rings, and I pick it up, already knowing who’s on the other side.

“Scott, how are you doing on this fine Tuesday?” I ask him.

“I’m doing wonderful, Ella. You sound ecstatic for this call,” he jokes. Financial planning is boring as hell to me, but you have to do it. Marketing costs a lot of money, and I have to figure out where to allocate specific funds for the campaign.

A lot of publishing companies run ads on different sites—mostly retailers that stock books. Social media ads are also a huge part of my campaign. With the explosion of new readers on all these different sites, independently published authors have had to step up on marketing. The same goes for publishing houses.

“I’m always excited to talk numbers with you.” I truly mean that. Scott is one of my favorite people to work with. He’s a cut and dry kind of guy, and he makes this part of my job easy.

“I saw your projected estimates, and honestly, I think this is doable, especially with the proposed budget they gave you. You’d end up being under by a little bit, and most places enjoy saving money in any way they can.”

“Plus, it would work well, since it would be evenly split through a few different places.” And then, judging off how those do, whichever site or retailer has the best click and purchase rate, we could always spend more there over an app that’s not doing so well.

Some sites don’t do well with certain books of certain genres. It’s all a guessing game. So, if one site doesn't perform as well, we can take some money we would use there and spend it where clicks are higher and more effective. It’s foolproof.

“Do you think it’s okay then? Did you have enough time to look? Because we can always chat tomorrow if—”

“Ella, stop. I ran your projections three different times, and they all came up the same. It’s perfect. I’d approve this immediately.”

“I knew I liked you,” I tell him, a smile on my face.

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Ella. You know I like working with you. You’re more organized than anyone else I know.”

“Well, I have to be.”

“I know,” Scott sighs on the other side of the line. “Is that all? Or did you need anything else?”

“Nothing right now, Scott. Thank you for all your help.” I look at the time and notice it’s almost four. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

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