Page 85 of Not a Strong Enough Word

“Listen, I want to explain—” she starts, but I cut her off.

“No. You don’t have to explain anything. I’m the one who needs to explain. Scratch that. I need to grovel at your feet for the rest of eternity.”

“Cool it with the hyperbole, oh Wise and Witty Syntax Sorcerer, Wielder of the Red Pen, and Master of Manuscripts.” She giggles. She actually giggles.

I blink in surprise. “You…you remember that whole thing?”

She tilts her head and pinches her brows. “Of course I do,” she says quietly, the words full of emotion. “They might not be tattooed on my arm, but they’re right there in my heart. I never stopped loving you, either, you know.”

Tears sting at the corners of my eyes, and I breathe a little huff full of awe. “Scarlett, I’m so sorry. Whatever you need to do now, I’m with you. One hundred percent. Forever. Okay? I promise.”

That smile is back, and it’s stunning. I kiss her forehead for the only reason that I can’t keep my lips off of her for long, and I also want to watch that smile for a few more minutes.

“I’m glad to hear you say that.” She reaches out her hand and interlaces her fingers with mine. “Come with me?”

“I can try,” I offer. “I doubt they’ll let me in.”

“They will,” she says, and she’s so sure of it. Her eyebrows tick up as she raises her chin in a challenge. “They’ll do what I want.”

It’s hard to argue with that, so hand in hand, we go back upstairs and right into the conference room where the team is, indeed, waiting for her. Trina is already seated, a smug smile curling on her face. Casey is there, too, trying unsuccessfully not to look confused. Meri is representing the publicity team. And Anastasios Martis sits tall in the center of it all, his face giving nothing away.

“Good morning, Ms. Frye,” he greets her before turning his gaze to me. “Mr. Whitlock, thank you for walking her up here, but you’re no longer needed.”

“Ryan stays,” Scarlett states, her voice powerful and clear. Those blue eyes, glittering a few minutes ago, are now cold and unmoving, trained on my boss across the conference table.

Just when I think he’s going to double down, he nods once. “Fine.”

Quickly, I sink into the empty chair in front of me before he can change his mind, but Scarlett remains standing. For a second, I think about standing again, holding her hand and helping her get through this, but I stay where I am. I have to trust that she can do this on her own.

She clears her throat and meets the eyes of each person in the room in turn. “Thank you for meeting me on such short notice.”

“We are glad you called this meeting, actually.” Anastasios motions to one of the others for some papers. “There are a few finer points of your new contract that we’d like to go over—”

“All due respect, Mr. Martis,” she interrupts, “but I’d appreciate it if you would let me talk.”

The entire room goes still. Anastasios sets the papers down with the control of someone who is not used to being talked to like this. But he must also know that his hold on this entire situation is flimsy at best because he folds his hands on the table in front of him and says, “Of course.”

“Thank you.” Scarlett takes a big breath. “Originally, I was coming here today to tell you that I will not be signing a new contract, that I was pulling Becoming from publication. I even had Trina draw up a plan to reimburse you for the resources you’ve already spent on this project so there would be no hard feelings, unlike last time.” Her lips twitch against a grin at her own dry sarcasm, and little bubbles of pride start to rise up in my chest. Even in giving up on this book, she’s not going to let them have any reason to fault her.

Everyone in the room collectively stiffens, but they must read the determined look on her face because no one says anything. She takes a sip of the water on the table in front of her before she continues.

“I know you are aware of Charles Hall’s involvement in all of this. I also know that you, sir”—she addresses Anastasios—“had a major hand in ensuring that the deals he thought he’d get out of his information were rescinded. Thank you for that.”

He nods at her again, this time a small smirk twisting his lips. He must have enjoyed taking that asshole down. I can’t blame him.

“But you never would have known about any of that if it weren’t for Ryan.” Scarlett doesn’t look at me when she says it, but I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s standing tall and powerful, and even though she shifts uncomfortably on her feet, her words are true. She knows what she’s doing.

“I’m not the type of person to say anything when I’ve been wronged. Or, at least, I wasn’t. I hope one day, I can be. But Ryan…he won’t let people like Charles Hall win, and I think that’s admirable. If there were any questions that he has always had not only the best interests of this book at heart but my best interests as well, I would think his willingness to tell you everything that happened despite the fact that you’re unhappy with him should dispel them.”

My brows pinch as I stare up at her. She’s setting something up here, but I don’t know what. Is she trying to save me this time? If that’s the case, I want to jump up and tell her she doesn’t have to.

Anastasios flicks his gaze to me, then back to Scarlett. “I won’t argue with that,” he says.

“Good.” She shifts her feet again and rests her hands on the back of the chair in front of her. “In the interest of full disclosure, Ryan and I were involved when we were both at JMP. Any relationship between us was established long before I signed with you, and I agreed to work with him because I knew he was the best person to work on my book. He only felt the need to disclose our relationship because you accused him of leaking my identity. I need to make it clear that I am not the only one who lost something because of Charles Hall. Ryan did, too. He loves this book as much as I do, and I think Casey would agree that his edits so far have been spot on.”

Casey nods, but my frown deepens. What the hell is she doing here? I take a breath to chime in, but she splays the fingers of the hand at her side closest to me in a signal to keep quiet, so I close my mouth and try my best to stay out of it.

“Ryan went one step further yesterday. He reminded me that men like Charles Hall shouldn’t win. Yes, his deals were rescinded, but if I don’t publish my book, he wins in a different way. I cannot let that happen.” She pulls the chair out and finally sits down, folding her hands in front of her in a move that mirrors Anastasios’s exactly.