Page 55 of Not on the Same Page

“We’re going to eat at my restaurant,” Robert says. “The food is really good. Are you coming with?”

“Oh, um…” I look at Casey with my eyebrows raised. “I should probably go home.”

Casey shrugs, but by the stiffness in the movement, he’s not as nonchalant as he wants to appear. “You have to eat, right? Might as well join us.”

He clearly wants me to come with them. And when I search for those red flags and warning signs again, I can’t find them now either.

Tilting my head back and forth, I pretend to give it some thought. “You know, I am a little hungry.”

Casey rolls his eyes. “You’re never ‘a little hungry.’”

I scoff. “Asshole.”

Robert chuckles. “I like her.”

Casey regards me with an unreadable expression, his eyes full of some emotion I can’t place. “Makes sense. She’s likable. So, are we going or what?”

I don’t know why those simple words fill me with such warmth, but I could get used to this feeling. I could get drunk on it, addicted to it. Which probably should be a warning sign in and of itself.

But I can’t disappoint Robert by backing out of the meal. That’s what I tell myself, anyway.

“You guys go ahead,” I say. “I’ll catch up.”

Casey eyes me strangely again, then nods. When he and Robert get a little ways away, I pull out my phone and take a deep, shaky breath as I thumb through my contacts and look for the one I want. I open up a new message and type.

Me: Hey, Aunt Donna. If Mom still wants my number, you can give it to her.

20

CASEY

Fucking Ashton Cochran. I almost can’t believe it when his name pops up on my phone screen just before close of business. I had been so distracted by Robert’s solo field trip that I had all but forgotten about this new young adult imprint at Morgan & Danielson. But when I got back into the office the next week and opened my email to find another author’s agent telling me they were jumping ship, my rage was stoked anew. I did a little digging. It didn’t take long for the headline Ashton Cochran named as publishing director for Morgan & Danielson’s new YA imprint, Halo Sun Press to pop up.

Halo Sun. That’s no accident. He intends to outshine Starlight.

And when Ashton’s call comes through about a week later, I just know it’s to gloat.

I press the green Accept Call button and his smug face fills the screen. He’s wearing a hard smile, his eyebrows deliberately raised.

“You move fast, Cochran,” I say, my voice tight and clipped.

He cocks his head to the side, a mocking pout on his lips. “Come on now, Endersen. No congratulations? I worked hard for this.”

The clear implication there is that I didn’t, but I let it go for the sake of decorum. “I’m sure you did.”

“Look, I’m just calling to give you a heads up. Last I heard, a bunch of Starlight authors were looking for a new home, and M&D doesn’t fuck around. My unofficial directive from the higher-ups is to bury you. I have a lot of money for new acquisitions. A lot.”

“Do you have marketing plans with any teeth to back up the fancy, bloated advances you’re going to offer?” I ask.

His smirk falters only briefly, but it’s too late. I see it. He’s not equipped to handle this role, as much as he wants to be. And knowing what I do about Morgan & Danielson, they didn’t set him up with any kind of training or mentorship. He saw an opportunity he was about fifty percent qualified for, went for it, and they told him, “Good luck!”

I’d feel bad for him if he wasn’t so arrogant.

Ashton glances off screen as he tries to recover. “You and I both know it’s always about the money.”

That is what we were taught in college. It’s a belief I held for a long time, actually. Until Scarlett came back and told us in no uncertain terms that she would not risk the type of burnout she experienced again no matter how much money we offered or how many books she sold.

I’m ashamed to admit I hadn’t thought about the mental toll of publishing before that. It was always sell, sell, sell at any cost. Everyone had just gone along with it unquestioningly. Turns out that if you burn the candle at both ends, it goes out a lot faster. I won’t let that happen to my authors if I can help it.