Page 7 of Fraud
She snorted. “I didn’t call you when the first one came in because, honestly, what they offered was kind of a joke. I expect they thought the same thing—some first-timer without a clue. But what they forgot was me.”
“You?”
“I’m your agent and, more importantly…your best friend. I’m not going to let you take a shit deal just so we can get you published. So, I told them we’d consider it, but we were waiting on other inquiries. And then the other offer came in!”
“How much are we talking here?” I asked, curious to know if she was blowing this out of proportion.
She rattled off a figure, and I nearly fell out of my chair. It was triple—no, more than triple my salary. It was math I couldn’t even do.
“You still there? I know it doesn’t sound like a huge advance. But to offer up that kind of cash for a new author? Believe me, they have huge faith in this book.”
“That’s not a huge advance?” I made a sound that somewhat resembled a gurgle.
She laughed. “I’ll send all the particulars to your personal email address, but I wanted to give you a heads-up. Sorry for keeping you in the dark, but I didn’t want to freak you out.”
I rolled my eyes.
Mission accomplished.
Definitely not freaked out.
Nope, not one bit.
“Jane?” I said hesitantly. “What if I can’t do this?”
There was a moment of silence, followed by her calm voice. “You can do anything, Kate. Why won’t you believe me?”
Because I don’t believe in myself, I wanted to say.
We said our good-byes, and like the last time she’d called me, I sat there, immobile, in front of my computer.
In my tiny little cubicle, where I’d sat for the last six years.
Only this time was different.
I felt different.
What kind of different? That was the question.
