Page 71 of Not a Strong Enough Word

“Good morning, everyone,” I say as I sink into the chair in front of me. “What’s going on?”

Anastasios leans forward and folds his hands together on top of the table. “We have a very serious problem.”

“If this is about the cover—” I start, but he interrupts with a hand raised, palm out.

“This isn’t about the cover. Somehow, JMP found out that Scarlette Frye has signed with us, before we were ready to alert them. And even though we’ve assured them we were planning to disclose the information, they’re still very upset. So upset, in fact, that this does not bode well for my position here.”

“What?” I ask, still trying to process this information. “How the fuck did that happen? All external communication has only had her pen name on it.”

Anastasios gives me a pointed look. “That is what we are here to find out.”

Suddenly, Casey’s panicked look makes sense. And so does Trina’s expression. She’s sad. Like she’s been disappointed, and she’s not sure how she’s going to break the news.

“Wait.” I close my eyes and shake my head as if my willpower alone could make this all stop. “You think I outed Scarlett to JMP?”

“Everyone who knew about her identity is in this room, and you’re the only one who we haven’t talked to yet,” Anastasios says. “And you have to admit, your motivations are questionable.” He’s outwardly calm, but his voice carries an undertone of a disciplinarian. He’s ready to punish me if he doesn’t like my answers.

“How, exactly, are my motivations questionable?” I am also trying to remain calm, but it’s proving difficult.

“This was posted to social media this morning,” Casey chimes in, sliding his phone across the table to me. I look at the post. Sure enough, it’s an old picture of Scarlett and me at a coffee shop downtown. I’m pointing at her computer and saying something, and she’s watching me with wide eyes. Underneath is a caption that reads, Scarlett Frye is back with a new book, this time at JMP’s imprint Anastasios Press. Rumor is that JMP is none too happy one of their imprints snapped her up. Her and her new editor were caught cozying up at a coffee shop to work. Will this book actually be released this time? Only time will tell.

“Who wrote that?” I mumble. “The caption is garbage. You can’t possibly think I put that together. At the very least, I would have used a lot less repetition and put the commas in the right places.”

“This is not a laughing matter,” Anastasios warns, though his expression shifts as if he hadn’t thought of that.

“Oh, I’m not laughing,” I assure him. “This could destroy Scarlett in more ways than one.” The image of her sobbing against my chest yesterday works its way to the front of my mind. “I don’t understand why you think I would have done this. Aside from Trina, I’m the one person in this room who has the most to lose professionally if JMP makes you rescind your contract.” No one has said that’s where this is going yet, but I can assume it’s on the table. We might have a lot of autonomy here, but JMP officially runs the show. They can do what they want.

Anastasios clears his throat. “Did they offer you a higher position over there for this information, Ryan? They seemed very interested in this book and whatever she was going to do next—”

“No, they did not offer me anything, and even if they did, there’s no way in hell I would have taken it.”

“Revenge, maybe?” he suggests. “I know you were involved in her deal at JMP.”

My gaze flies to Casey, who has the good sense to look sheepish. I shake my head. “I would never want revenge on Scarlett. I…” I trail off. It’s not against the rules for editors to be romantically involved with authors, but I could get taken off this book if they found out. It reeks of bias.

As my eyes meet those of everyone in the room in turn, I make a decision. Fuck it. I made her a promise, and I intend to keep it. If Scarlett goes down, I go down with her.

“That picture is from six years ago. I don’t know how anyone got it. We had done an impromptu photo shoot for her social media, but all of that has been deleted.” I take a deep breath to steady myself before continuing. “Scarlett and I had been in a romantic relationship at the time. It was why I was so involved in that deal with JMP. When Trina submitted Becoming here, I had no idea it was hers. I hadn’t seen or heard from her since the day she left.”

“I can attest to that,” Trina chimes in, looking wide-eyed at me.

“Being a spurned lover doesn’t exactly make your case for not wanting revenge,” Meri offers matter-of-factly.

Is everyone just out to clear their own names by implicating me? I shoot daggers in her direction, but I manage to calm myself before speaking again. “That’s true, but Scarlett and I recently rekindled our relationship.” Looking squarely at Anastasios, I add, “I loved her then. I’ve loved her for the entire time she was gone. And I love her now, sir. I would never hurt her. Not knowingly, and certainly not like this.”

Casey slumps in relief. I can’t believe he or Trina ever thought for a second that I had something to do with this, but I’m going to have to deal with that later because Anastasios runs a hand through his graying hair and grumbles.

“That’s a bit of a problem, Whitlock.” He sounds tired.

“I know, sir. But it’s not this problem.” I indicate Casey’s phone, which has gone dark on the table.

“No, it’s not,” Anastasios agrees.

“Did JMP hear about this from that post?” I ask.

“The caption on that photo would suggest no,” he says. “And it didn’t sound like it when they called this morning, but there were a lot of words. Most of them were unkind and vaguely litigious.”

“They don’t have a legal leg to stand on,” Trina says vehemently. “I checked. They never sued Scarlett. They couldn’t. She never signed anything. She walked away from that deal like any author has a right to.”