Page 14 of Book Boyfriend
“Oh my God, Luna! Is this real?”
“You bet your tight ass it is!”
We both jump up and down and squeal like school girls as we embrace. Brenna rushes into the room with a nervous expression and sees that we’re both crying. As her eyes scan ours, she starts to cry right along with us. We find ourselves in a three-way hug.
Brenna sniffs out, “Are we happy or sad?”
“Summit!” I shout.
“You mean we’rehad. Like the sum of happy and sad?”
Luna grabs her cheek and kisses it. “You know what, Brenna? I’m not even upset that you don’t know what we’re talking about right now. I’m too freaking happy!”
“Ooh, we’re happy! Yay!”
I can’t help but laugh as Brenna claps excitedly and Luna stumbles over to her desk. “Brenna, get your purse! We’re going out to dinner!”
“It’s only nine thirty,” I remind her. She stares at me blankly. “In the morning.”
“Oh, right. Then breakfast! But wait.” She pauses, pressing her finger to her lips. “This doesn’t leave this office. Understood?” She points back and forth between us and we both nod. We know serious Luna when we see her.
“We will not jeopardize any of this by speaking out of turn. This is hush hush until the ink is dry!”
Luna’s right. The reality of the situation hits me like a ton of bricks. I can’t believe I let myself hope for something, even for a few seconds. That’s not me. Nothing has been decided for sure. This could all fall apart. I slide back into my window seat. Every time I get my hopes up, I get disappointed. I refuse to believe. Not yet. Not ever.
“What else can I get for you?” Brenna asks as she fluffs the pillows on the couch in my new office.
“I honestly don’t know what I need.”
Brenna wrings her hands and walks to the wall opposite my desk, straightening the rows of my books on the tall, white cases. When they are perfectly aligned she repositions the tulips on my desk. I watch her curiously. She stops when she sees me staring and peers out into the hall like she dreads leaving me.
“I’m really excited to have you here, even if it is only for a few months. Do you need anything?”
I shake my head.
“I’m just outside. Press zero and I’ll come running.”
I smile. She’s really sweet. “Thank you. I think it’s going to take me a little while to get used to this setup. Is Luna here yet?”
Brenna gazes up at the clock on the wall. Luna insists there be one in every room. She doesn’t like people constantly looking at their phones. She wants to know you’re checking the time rather than reading a text. She’s heard the checking the clock excuse way too many times. Now no phones are allowed during meetings. She runs a tight operation.
“It’s not even nine. She’s usually in about five minutes after. Half the staff rushes in at nine oh three.”
I smirk. I should know that by now. I’m just glad Brenna is early like I am. It’s nice to have someone here with me on my first day.
“Do you want more coffee?” she asks, pointing to my orange “Calm Your Tits” mug.
“No, I’m good for now. I’ve already had three cups and I’m either going to pee all day or shake uncontrollably. You go ahead and do whatever you need to do. I’m fine.”
Brenna smiles and slowly backs out of my office. It’s almost as if she thinks I’ll disappear if she takes her eyes off me. Luna probably told her to make sure I don’t make a run for it.
After we signed the contract to proceed with the movie forBook Boyfriend, Luna insisted I get an office at the publishing house. Once they get the script written, she says it’ll be easier to communicate with them if I’m here rather than at home. I think she wants to keep an eye on me and make sure I’m working on the sequel.
I hate sequels. I thought I’d wrapped up the story nicely, but I guess readers want more of Penn and Kasey. The constant requests on social media along with the fifty thousand books I sold the first month made a sequel almost a necessity. Luna said it would be stupid to walk away from the potential sales a second book could bring.
I plop down in my desk chair and swivel around in a circle, ending back at the flashing cursor on the blank page of my laptop. Leaning my head on my hand, I stare at the screen.
I can barely remember the details of Fisher’s eyes anymore and it makes me sad. I really wanted to move on from him, but since the last book did so well, I’ll be forced to think about him for a few more months. I hate that I made him so damn perfect and part of me wishes I wouldn’t have written about him at all. He’s gone from my dreamy one-night fling to the man I’ve thought about obsessively for months. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. I honestly believed I’d walk away from him and never think of him again. Boy, was I wrong.
