The Publicist Book One and Two (31 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

“No one disturbs me,” she said to Lulu, who had overheard snippets of the conversation as the sales team passed by her desk. She knew it wasn’t good. “I mean no one,” Kate emphasized. She knew Mac would wander up to see her, and she didn’t need any distractions right now.

Kate wasn’t sure what she was going to do or how she was going to rescue this one. Well, technically, the book was beyond rescue, but she needed to figure out a way to redeem the entire project. Kate spun her chair around. The windows needed cleaning. There were days when she wished her windows opened up wider so she could jump out. That’s probably why they didn’t, or the streets of New York would see a lot of publishing people kissing the pavement. She leaned forward, watching the people scurry below. From this distance, they looked pretty small—just people going about their lives just as she was trying to do, though most of her time was spent fixing bad books, and even worse, authors. So far, she’d had Sasha’s fake reviews, a couple of sisters who’d hacked up their parents, and now this. It wasn’t even spring yet. She was on a roll. Then it occurred to her. Kate spun her chair around and dialed up her friend in the books department at the
Wall Street Journal
.

“Henry.”

“Henry, Kate Mitchell. How are you?”

“Katie, it’s been a long time. What’s going on?”

“I have a story for you, and it’s perfect for the
Journal
to run it since it doesn’t affect your paper.”

“Tell me.”

Kate told him the whole story; the angle would be how tough things have gotten in publishing and what some authors would do to succeed. First Sasha with her fakers and now this. She knew it would totally discredit Master Woo Woo, but she didn’t care. And though there was a marketing firm out there that bought up books to try and spike a bestseller list, having an author do it in such a sloppy manner was a better story. Sometimes she felt like she ran a daycare, and this guy definitely deserved a time out in the naughty chair. By the time this article ran, he would be beyond unpublishable. MD would take a hit on this, a big one. If they were lucky, the curiosity factor would sell a few thousand. At least by beating the other papers to the punch, they wouldn’t look completely clueless. She finished up with Henry and then tracked down the storage facility where Woo kept his books.

“Hi. I’m calling from Morris and Dean Publishing. My name is Kate Mitchell. I’m wondering if I can speak to the manager.”

“I’m the manager,” the young, female voice replied. “My name is Linda.”

“Linda, listen, I’m working on a story that should bring some national attention to your storage facility there, but I need your help. A camera man is going to show up there. He works for the
Wall Street Journal
, and he’s going to want to take some photographs of the storage shed. Can you make sure he gets access to it?”

“Wow, the
Wall Street Journal
. Really? My daddy reads that paper every day.”

A fan. What a lucky break. “That’s great,” Kate smiled through the phone. “Well, you can tell him that he may be in the
Journal
tomorrow if he’s there when the photographer arrives.”

“Really? He’ll be so thrilled. So is that all you need me to do?”

Kate paused. “Yes, but just one more thing. Don’t let any other photographers near that place, okay? Otherwise the
Journal
will cancel the story.” That was a lie, but Kate was desperate, and Henry would be grateful they’d scooped the story.

“Oh, good thing you called. Someone was just here wanting access. I told him he had to wait until I could verify where he was from.”

Timing is everything
, she thought. “Good thinking, Linda. Now, the
Journal
photographer should be there within the half hour, and I’ll make sure you get plenty of copies for your father. Sound good?”

“Thank you so much, Miss Mitchell. I really appreciate it.”

“Call me Kate, and let me give you my number in case you need to reach me.” Kate rattled off her cell phone.

“Okay, I got it. Thanks so much.”

“No, thank you. This is going to be a great story.”

“Kate, can I ask you one question?”

“Sure, anything.”

“Why did he do it? Buy his own books, I mean?”

“Desperation can make people do funny things, Linda. So can the need to be famous.”

“I’ve never wanted to be famous.”

Kate smiled, “Good for you. Fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

A cooler than normal spring gave way to a pre-summer that quickly turned warm. Summers in New York weren’t pleasant. Often the days were sticky and hot. If the city was lucky, a thunderstorm would slide in after sunset, cutting the heat and offering at least some relief. Most of the city emptied out during August, because of all the summer months, August was often the most unbearable.

It was only mid-May, and already summer was showing that it would be hotter than normal. Kate had been nose-down in the release of
The Continued Promise
. Despite her initial misgivings, they’d seen huge pick up for the title. Barnes & Noble had ordered nearly ten thousand copies, which was huge considering the hit bookstores had taken in recent years. Bloggers were eating up the galleys. And, after shipping nearly two hundred advanced review requests, Kate had run out of books. Lulu had been a tremendous help, and Pete, who had wanted to insert himself into this promotion as well, had given her a wide berth since the Master Woo title.

Kate’s phone beeped—a text from Andrew Trapp. Their meeting had blossomed into a nice friendship, and she was really looking forward to his book release in the fall.

You staying out of trouble?

Well, I haven’t killed an author yet today, if that’s what you mean,
she wrote back.

The day isn’t over yet.

Kate chuckled. There were some authors, like Janet Easter, that Kate knew she’d always be close to. She decided that Andrew would be another one of those authors, and when he finally got out of his “agreement,” she was looking forward to going to his wedding.

Another text message.
But seriously, just wanted you to know that James and I are thinking of you. I know this is a big time for you. XO

Kate smiled; indeed it was a big week, or a big two weeks. June 1 was the release of
The Continued Promise
. The author, Michael Singer, was due in town in two days. Mac was more antsy than usual, but Kate knew why. After the Skinny Saundra book tanked, Mac needed a hit—a big one. None of his books had done well that year, and despite Edward’s encouragement to get more sex titles, every submission they’d gotten had been a rehashing of
Fifty Shades
.

…

Kate walked into Chelsea Market, which was a lovely, quaint, indoor shopping center. Formerly a large bakery, the area had converted and now boasted several shops and restaurants. Mac asked Kate to meet him at The Green Table. They didn’t eat out as often as they used to. Gradually, they were settling into a routine of making dinner, talking about their day, and making love. It was a routine Kate was beginning to cherish.

Kate entered the restaurant and Mac waved her over.

“You look amazing.” He smiled.

“You’ve already seen me today, Mac. I didn’t change.”

“That was work-Kate. She’s also stunning.” His eyes flirted with her. Kate felt herself start to melt under his gaze.
Eat first
, she thought to herself.

Kate picked up her menu. “We’re nearly there, Mac, the home stretch. I think I’ll need a vacation after this is over.”

“Me, too. I hope to God this book pulls the way we expect it will.”

Kate went to reach for Mac’s hand, and then pulled back. They were in New York; this wasn’t Whistler where no one knew them. Mac was so distracted he didn’t even pull away. Kate frowned; she let the oddity of it slip past her.

“It’ll be fine, really. He’s booked on endless shows, and
Publishers Weekly
gave him a five-star review.”

Mac nodded. Kate noticed that Mac seemed nervous.

She leaned into him and in a soft voice said, “Mac, it’s really going to be okay. I promise you. I’ll do everything in my power to make this title a success for all of us.” When he didn’t respond, she continued. “Listen, I know it’s hard with the Saundra mess and all. But once this book hits, Saundra’s book will be a forgotten title.”

“It was a huge hole in our January list; Edward is still on me about it.”

Kate rolled her eyes. God she hated that man. “Mac, what’s up with you? You never let Edward get to you. Besides, the man holds onto everything. He’s still harping on Rebecca about a title she had two years ago.”

Mac smiled. He remembered the author who was bipolar and decided that book launch time was the perfect time to go off of his meds.

“Bad books haunt us, Katie.”

“I know, but Singer has pulled this off. The book is truly good.”

Mac’s eyes softened, but Kate could still see a threat of anxiety around him. This was not like Mac. He was always the calm one. Kate remembered the day of
The
Criminal Pursuit: The Show, the Women, the Legend
book signing, when one of MD’s most inept editors—Bernard—didn’t order enough books. Mac had come sweeping in, books in hand to save the day. He’d never looked ruffled, not even once.

“You’re right, Kate.” He smiled. “It’s funny, right? You were so nervous about Singer, now I’m the one…”

She frowned. “You’re nervous about Singer now?”

Mac quickly corrected himself. “No-no not at all.”

Somehow, Kate didn’t believe him. There was something amiss with Mac tonight, though she was hard-pressed to figure out what. Finally, she just chalked it up to nerves and let it go. But the thread of it still bothered her, even as they went back to his apartment and made love.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“You want to go in together, Mac?” Kate asked, tugging her skirt up. It was another warm, pre-summer day. Mac’s apartment was bright and cool; she loved staying here and waking up next to him. He was in the bathroom, getting ready for work. His phone buzzed on the counter.

“Hang on,” he said, picking it up. “It’s from Daniel,” Mac lied. “He needs me to call him. You go ahead in. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Big day,” Kate smiled. “You ready for it?”

Mac walked out and kissed her; Kate noticed he seemed oddly distracted.
In fact,
Kate thought
, he has been this way for weeks
.

…

Michael Singer arrived at MD bright and early. By the time Kate entered the building, he was there waiting in the lobby.

A broad smile filled his face, “Kate! It’s good to see you again. So, here we are, yes?”

Kate returned his smile and extended her hand. “Michael, nice to see you again. Yes, it’s here. We’re all very excited. Why don’t you come with me? I’ve got an outline and some updates I want to share with you. Mac should be here shortly.”

She escorted her author to the big conference room, where she knew Edward would soon be joining them. The meeting was going to cover the rollout and schedule, as well as Singer’s book events, which were numerous. After that, Edward was taking the team to lunch, which included Singer. Edward had been almost dancing on air in the last few weeks. He was so happy it almost turned Kate’s stomach.

…

As soon as Kate left his apartment, Mac picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. It wasn’t his son.

“Ed, it’s Mac.”

“Yes, Mac,” Edward said, clearly impatient.

“I can’t do this. We need to tell her.”

“MacDermott, we need to proceed as we planned. It will all work out. Kate doesn’t need to know. Besides, you and I both know that we need this title to do well, don’t we?” Edward’s voice seeped with sarcasm. Mac wanted to punch him. Instead, he just hung up and headed to the office to meet with Singer.